Whether it was parading dragons, exploding aliens, or wearable works of art, Stockton brothers Zack Macasaet, 26, and Wayne Macasaet, 28, built a name for themselves one brick at a time on Season 2 of Fox Network’s LEGO Masters.
The brothers, who moved to Stockton from the Philippines when they were young, jumped at the chance to represent their hometown on LEGO Masters. They wanted to prove that you can find talent and passion anywhere.
“Building with LEGO has always been a passion for me and my brother so being able to show what we can build on LEGO Masters was a really fun experience,” Zack says.
Wayne recalls receiving their first LEGO—a jackpot of hand-me-downs that their cousin didn’t use any more—when he was six or seven years old. “We were really amazed that we were given such a treasure trove,” he says.
From there the rest is history. The brothers quickly outgrew following the instructions for predesigned playsets and started using the store-bought sets as a base to start from, adding their own creative modifications to make their creations bigger and better. Eventually, they scraped those sets altogether and started constructing their own masterpieces. “It’s just such a large medium that you can do stuff with engineering and architecture,” Zack says. “It’s an art form.”
And, indeed, LEGO Master judges Amy Corbett and Jamie Berard and host Will Arnett (the voice of LEGO Batman) were often blown away by the artistic creations Zack and Wayne presented at the end of each episode.
But even before competing in LEGO Masters, Zack was already known in the LEGO world. He participated in the Bricks by the Bay convention in Santa Clara and made an impression on Season 1 finalist Boone Langston with his LEGO Bridge Layer—a remote-controlled LEGO tank that he designed to lay a bridge in order to cross a ravine and then turn around and retrieve it. In 2019, a video of that same tank went viral on the Beyond the Brick Facebook page (which features top-notch Lego creations from around the world), creating a lot of buzz around Zack’s use of power function and motorization.
Zack says it’s his use of Powered Up and other LEGO compatible systems that help him take his builds “to a completely different level.” He has spent a lot of time designing tanks and other military vehicles and before the show started, he wasn’t sure how he was going to top his viral tank. Looking back at it now, though, he believes the show pushed him to build bigger and better things. Both Zack and Wayne agree that they started the show off with a bang, saying that the very first build was the most memorable for them and they’re glad the challenges given to the contestants during LEGO Masters gave them the chance to think of some out-of-the-box designs and try new approaches to building.
And while the brothers didn’t always get along as kids, they say that being on the show was a chance to relive their childhood and embrace their different approaches to building. Wayne’s motivation and willpower helped drive Zack’s technical knowhow to bring their visions to life.
Both brothers still call Stockton home and when not building LEGO masterpieces, Zack is a sushi chef at Toyo Sushi and Wayne is an Olympic archery coach and owner of The Oasis Archery Facility (a passion they pay homage to in Episode 4—no spoilers!).
All-new episodes of LEGO Masters air Tuesdayss at 9 PM on FOX. Catch up on the season on HULU or the FOX Now App.