No offence taken. My parents told me that I was too old for Transformers practically the moment I started collecting them. 'Sif I'd stop now.

To me, my passion for Transformers has become kind of tribalistic - akin to the way some people barrack for their sports teams. For a long time, I was happy to just wear TF clothes a lot. When I was a university student I often brought a TF toy with me every day on campus.

Here's me playing with Transformers at the Keith Burrows building foyer.


After I graduated I kinda toned down a while - content to simply be seen with TF clothes and just occasionally bringing a TF with me (usually when I'm going to be meeting another Transfan). But ever since the live action movie came out Transformers has become chic and mainstream... so now we see people wearing TF clothes and symbols on their cars, but it doesn't mean that they're necessarily real fans (yeah, the definition of "fan" is subjective, I know). So now I carry a TF toy almost everywhere I go, even if I'm not going to be meeting any TF fans. Just earlier tonight my wife and I went out for dinner - I brought Fizzle with me.

To me, it marks me as a true TF fan. You don't have to be a TF fan to wear TF clothes and have TF logos on your car these days - but I think if you actually collect and play with the toys, then yeah, you're a fan. Basically, it makes me stand out as a "true" fan and not just another schmuck in a TF shirt.

I've always worn my TF hat to work - which people see me wearing on the way to the staffroom and if I'm outdoors for sport. I now wear TF belts. The kids have been noticing it and think it's cool. One of my colleagues noticed it just this afternoon. As we were debriefing at the end of the day, one of them pointed at me and yelled out, "He's wearing a Transformers belt!" and started laughing. I also carry all my stationery in a TF pencil case too.

As for my wife, she doesn't mind... most of the time. She gets more frustrated when I'm taking too long trying to choose which toy to bring, or when I freak out realising that I've left the house without a toy (and tells me NOT to turn around and go back home for one ). She gets a bit embarrassed when I play with my toy in crowded public places (I don’t do that often, I usually just hold the toy in my hand)

It's funny... if I displayed this level of tribalistic passion for a sports team - wearing that team's clothes all the time, having their logo on my car, carrying a ball with their logo on me etc.; people would recognise I'm a fan but not think that I'm odd or strange. But when I do it for a toyline then suddenly it's "weird."