TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Any parent—and let’s be honest, plenty of nostalgic Millennials and Gen Xers—can tell you: LEGO is everywhere these days.
With record-breaking sales and a seemingly endless lineup of new sets catering to every interest, the iconic toy company is in the middle of a brick-built boom.
Right in the heart of it is Tucson’s own Liam Mohajeri Norris.
The University of Arizona student recently got to do something few can say: build a LEGO set he helped design.
The set?
LEGO’s first-ever How to Train Your Dragon release—just one of many projects this rising star is set to tackle as he launches his career with the company.
“I often start with the most important features. In this case, that’s the face,” Liam explained, delicately assembling the head of a dragon he knows inside and out. “That’s where the whole character basically comes from.”
During his internship with the LEGO Group, Liam’s concept design caught the eyes of company executives—no small feat in a company where thousands of ideas never see the light of day. His dragon build didn’t just get approved for production—it landed him a full-time job.
“I’m actually graduating early to be able to head back to LEGO,” Liam said. “As great as university has been, LEGO is a step up. I’ll be working again on the Icons team as a model designer. I won’t just be doing concepts—I’ll be doing full sets.”
And yes, he’s just as excited as you think he is.
“When I was working on it, I had a mentor,” Liam said. “I had created this inner eye very similar to this, but it didn’t have a dot. He said, ‘You know what would make this even better? Just put a little dot.’ So, I grabbed a white Sharpie and added it to the concept model—and that’s pretty much exactly what it is in real life. That’s crazy!”
From Sharpie dots to global product launches, it’s a surreal leap. But for Liam, it’s also a dream come true.
“Honestly, it’s surreal,” he said as we placed the final pieces. “This is insane because this is the dream, right there… To all the kids watching—follow your dreams. Keep on building. Just a few years ago, I was playing around at home dreaming up things like this, and now, this is a real thing.”
You can watch more of Tyler’s interview with Liam Mohajeri Norris in the video player below.
Tucson native building his future brick by brick with LEGO
Liam begins his career with the LEGO Group on September 1. If you’d like to keep up with him on his journey, you can follow him on Instagram and YouTube.
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