In Episode 44 of Tales From The Brick, Jon (8 Bit Bricks) sits down with Jared Gella, founder of Brick Blast, the Bay Area LEGO convention in Santa Clara, California. Jared shares how his childhood love of LEGO Star Wars grew into a passion for collecting, selling, and eventually organizing LEGO events. From discovering the value of his childhood minifigures to traveling across the country as a young LEGO vendor, Jared’s journey has taken him from selling bricks at flea markets to bringing a major LEGO convention back to the Bay Area.

Jared takes us through his early experiences in the LEGO community, including attending Bricks by the Bay with his family and traveling to more than 30 cities while still in college. He talks about the friendships and lessons he picked up along the way, his years working with a nonprofit serving young people in San Francisco, and the personal experiences that ultimately inspired him and his wife to launch Brick Blast after Bricks by the Bay held its final convention in 2023.

The conversation goes behind the scenes of building a LEGO convention from scratch. Jared shares the challenges of securing a venue, coordinating vendors and exhibitors, building trust within the community, and turning an idea into a successful event. He discusses the importance of relationships, transparency, and his philosophy of underpromising and overdelivering. Along the way, he shares some memorable moments from Brick Blast’s first year, including a young fan winning a LEGO set with an unbelievable ball toss and the excitement of seeing families and builders come together.

Jared also gives us a look at what’s ahead for Brick Blast 2027, including an expanded 45,000-square-foot venue at the Santa Clara Convention Center, a full convention experience for AFOLs, and appearances by voice actors from LEGO Ninjago. He and Jon also discuss the explosive growth of LEGO’s adult fan base, the increasing number of sets being released, and why conventions remain such an important part of bringing the LEGO community together.

Find Jared Gella & Brick Blast:

• Website: https://brickblastlive.com
• Instagram: @brickblastlive
• TikTok: @brickblastlive
• YouTube: Brick Blast Live

To find the best LEGO deals, check out the Bargain Bricks app.

View the video version of this podcast at https://youtu.be/GhNhV5YsPQg

For more Tales From The Brick, visit https://talesfromthebrick.com.

Until next time… play well.