Newton man competing on Fox’s LEGO Masters TV show

NEWTON, Mass. — Paras Patani is known as Mr. Lego, and for good reason.

“I love LEGO. As you can see, it’s kind of taken over my life,” he said.

The 48-year-old Newton man is competing on Fox’s LEGO Masters TV show. Of the 25,000 who applied, only 24 were chosen. Patani was actually recruited by the show because of his unique expertise in Lego Education. He founded the NextGen Smarty Pants Foundation when his daughter first started playing with LEGOs.

Patani uses LEGO blocks to teach robotics and engineering in a fun and engaging way.

“It’s different from mechanical metal gears and stuff. It’s just approachable by everyday people, especially children in a safe way to learn about gears,” he said.

During the filming of the 12-episode season, Patani and his teammate, Michael Kanemoto of Colorado, were sequestered in an Atlanta hotel for more than a month. The show pits 12 teams against each other as they battle to build eye-popping Lego creations with small plastic blocks. There’s a different challenge each episode and each week one team gets eliminated.

“It was just one of those life experiences that you just knew, ‘Wow, this is something special,’ you know, and I’m just going to be in it and enjoy it for as long as I possibly can,” Patani said.

It’s top secret on how Patani’s team fared in the competition. The winners receive a $100,000 prize and the U.S. LEGO Masters title.

You can watch LEGO Masters on Boston 25 starting Tuesday, June 1 from 8-9 p.m.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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