Stanton’s World of Legos inspires many

Mastering a skill is the first step to building an income. For 15-year-old Stanton Deans, the mastery of Legos is the first step to saving for college, with his sights set on a career in marine biology. 

His skills and enterprising spirit were on display at Stanton’s Sip and Build, a community Lego building activity held on May 14 at Bethlehem of Judea Church in Hempstead. 

The ninth-grade entrepreneur has just logged another semester on the High Honor Roll at Freeport High School, said his mother, Dana Deans, 50, a lifelong Freeport resident. 

“I started building with Legos at two years old,” said Stanton at the Sip and Build on Saturday, standing in the church’s brightly decorated undercroft. Families who had registered ahead of time for the Sip and Build signed in, then headed for their seats.

They passed by long tables loaded with Stanton’s completed kits. An elaborate pirate ship shared space with a replica of the Roman Coliseum. A NASA space station competed for grandeur with a 9,000-piece model of the Titanic, protected by a mighty robot and a fire-winged Ninjago Legacy dragon. Perhaps outshining them all was the 7,000-piece Millenium Falcon. 

Someone asked Stanton where he kept all these creations. 

“In the living room,” he said. “In the kitchen. In the den, in the dining room, and the basement.”

“Stanton’s Legos have taken over,” beamed Dana Deans. “We started him with Duplos. When he was about 5, he built his first Lego police car.” 

The hours upon hours of assembling complicated kits didn’t just relax Stanton. As his skills advanced, he started getting attention on the Internet. 

“It started out with me posting videos on Facebook,” said Dana Deans, “just bragging about my son and what he does, and then he started inspiring people.”

A woman with post-traumatic stress syndrome told him she was able to relax and focus after his video influenced her to purchase a Lego kit. Others who contacted Deans said they watched his videos over and over to pick up his technique and his patience.

Mother and son decided to set up the May 14 Sip and Build. It sold out three weeks in advance. 

In the white-walled, gracefully lit undercroft, when all the registered families had arrived, Stanton called them to attention. 

“Welcome to Stanton’s World,” he said. He led the group through a short relaxation exercise ending with, “Yeah! Let’s get building!”

While pop music played at low volume, families and friends hunkered over boxes of colorful miniature pieces. Many had never used a Lego kit. They laughed and chatted, marveling at the wealth of parts needed for each creation. An age 5+ box that became a park with a gazebo and a miniature beach had 210 pieces. A Lego race car had 291. 

“Do you need help?” Stanton asked a mother named Olimpia, her sixth-grade son Robbie, and the mother’s friend, Maliaka Johnson. Rapidly he fingered little squares half the size of a contact lens, opened bags within bags to spill a cascade of electric-blue bricks beside the green platform, then plucked the exact next piece to match the diagram in the instruction book. 

“Oh, so I’m good now,” said Johnson. “I can turn my page.”

As the building time drew to a close, the comments were positive.

“I am enjoying myself more than I thought I would,” said Olimpia, “because I did not think I could tackle this.”

“I am actually having a fabulous time,” Maliaka Johnson said. “Stanton is phenomenal with these kits.”

A woman who identified herself as Shanequa said she was a former Freeporter who had come out from Manhattan for the event. Surrounding her were her cousin, Takisha, who came from Virginia with her husband James and their two   school-age sons. 

“”It’s been a good time for us to get together as a family,” Shanequa said.

“Yes, good family bonding, good connectivity, and just a lot of support.” agreed James.

“I am an AFOL—Adult Fan of Legos,” smiled Takisha. “It’s actually a community of adults that love to build with Legos.” 

It all means an income and the career of his choice for Stanton Deans, who can be found at www.stantonsworld.com or followed on Twitter @stantonsworld..