"Enormous challenge": Kasseler starts at the RTL show "Lego Masters"

Created: 08/08/2022, 16:00

By: Christina Hein

Colorful hobby: Jörg Ruckel works at the Offener Kanal in Kassel.

Now he is stepping into the limelight as a participant in the RTL show "Lego Masters" 2022.

© Jennifer Ruckel

The media educator Jörg Ruckel from Kassel can score with his passion for Lego bricks and will be part of the RTL show "Lego Masters" 2022.

Kassel – Jörg Ruckel, educator at the Open Channel Media Project Center in Kassel, has a great passion alongside his job: the 55-year-old from Kassel collects Lego bricks, but above all he likes to build with them.

Ever since he was a child, he has had a love for the colorful little stones that can be put together.

He has been active in the international Lego community for over 20 years.

Now his hobby is crowned with participation in the TV show Lego-Master 2022 on the RTL TV channel, as reported by hna.de.

The recording has already taken place.

"It was great fun," says Ruckel, who competed with his community partner Dirk Frantzen from Viersen.

Not much more can be revealed.

"I'm not allowed to reveal how far I've come and what I've built with my team partner.

Just this much: “Lego Masters” 2022 will be spectacular.”

The recording in Cologne was a "great experience" for the man from Kassel.

"As a media educator, it was also professionally interesting to look behind the scenes of such a big show and experience the processes up close."

Jörg Ruckel from Kassel at "Lego Masters" 2022: From August 12 on RTL the time has come

Soon, starting August 12th, the secret of how Ruckel fared with his teammate will be revealed.

In the show, moderated by Daniel Hartwich, the teams compete against each other and have to construct something out of Lego bricks within a certain construction time.

This is assessed by a specialist jury consisting of Lego design director Elisabeth Kahl-Backes and Germany's only certified Lego expert Rene Hoffmeister, who can now make a living from his skills by building models for companies, among other things.

This year, 16 candidates in eight teams of two compete for the title "Lego Master 2022" at the family show.

In addition to a trophy, there is prize money of 25,000 euros.

Jörg Ruckel's passion for Lego has already taken him to community meetings around the world.

He is usually accompanied by his wife Jennifer Ruckel, who shares his desire to travel.

On vacation, everything often revolves around the colorful stones.

Lego: Kasseler has Afols meetings in Denmark firmly in the calendar

Next year, the couple plans to fly to Melbourne for Australia's largest gathering of Lego friends.

A fixed date in the calendar is the annual fan meeting in Denmark - the largest in the world - where adults, "Afols" (Adult Fans of Lego) from all over the world come together.

"Actually, I'm more of a collector and community person, and that's why the "Lego Masters" was a huge challenge," says Ruckel.

It helped that he had built some larger creations of his own in the past.

The fans have called it "Mocs" for "My own creations".

"For me, collecting doesn't just mean buying and putting it on the shelf - most of it is also built up."

Lego builder Ruckel has also made a local patriotic appearance in his homeland.

A few years ago at the Lego fair "Aufbau" in Borken, he presented an open book of fairy tales, from which the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm grew, so to speak.

In addition, Jörg Ruckel initiated the “Lego for refugee children” campaign in Kassel.

He firmly believes in the power of imagination inherent in Lego bricks.

"You can represent everything with Lego bricks, without exception," is his credo.

The most difficult thing about the RTL show was the time factor.

"You can have great ideas, but you have to concentrate to be able to implement them in a short time." (Christina Hein)