On A-B Tech’s main campus, many students know Ross Fallon’s broad smile. The dark-haired Vice President of the Student Government Association (SGA) is a regular at campus events and activities. But what many don’t know is that the 26-year-old has a popular YouTube channel with nearly 300,000 subscribers. Since he was a boy, Fallon has made a name for himself painting customized LEGO mini figures that have caught the eye of Marvel comic book and LEGO aficionados around the world.
Fallon was born in Raleigh, but his family moved to Orlando when he was 8. A fan of Star Wars, Fallon soon discovered LEGOs and became fascinated with the custom mini figures designed to complement popular action movies. Not content with the storebought figures, which often lacked detail, he began experimenting with creating his own by scraping off the faces and printed designs with an X-Acto knife and painting on his own with a Sharpie. He would then add in new armor and other details using a push pin and paint.
Around this time, after another family move, Fallon began struggling in school. His mother decided to home school him, which suited the imaginative boy just fine.
“I never really wanted to go to middle school,” Fallon said. “I only heard bad things about it from my older sister. Drama and cliques, tears and upset.”
Left with more free time in the afternoons, Fallon began following YouTube channels where fellow LEGO fans posted videos. Soon he was chatting with his new friends on Skype and posting his own videos of LEGO conventions on a new channel he created called MGF Customs.
“I would talk to my European friends in the morning and my American friends at night,” he said. “We’d talk about Star Wars, LEGOs, and we’d build fortresses with our webcams on.”
The 9-year-old was a natural in front of a camera; confident, smart, and funny. He soon began posting videos of his own creations. After finishing lessons with Mom in the morning, he’d spend four hours painting his figures, then another four filming himself showing the finished product. Fallon quickly captured a sizeable audience with his channel. By age 11, he’d hit 1,000 subscribers, which meant that he could start hosting advertisers.
“Nobody else was doing it at that time,” Fallon said. “There weren’t many YouTube channels about making custom figures. Other guys kept to Instagram. I was the only one building a sizeable channel about hyper-detailed hand-painted figures.”
Fallon had worked out a profitable rhythm. He’d devote himself for several months to painting figures then post videos of his creations just before the movies came out: People ate up his version of the Avengers and Spider-Man.
As Fallon’s subscribers grew, he began making more money, working up to several thousand dollars in a good month. “It was a gold rush,” he said with a smile. “Soon my paychecks were too big to cash at Publix.”
Over the years, Fallon honed his skills. He began imitating popular YouTube voiceover artists with a fast-talking, deep baritone. His videos, too, became more polished, with better camera work, slicker technology, and cool music.
In 2015, when Fallon was 16, his father landed a new job in Asheville. After the family was settled, Fallon’s mom encouraged her son to get his GED. Fallon took A-B Tech’s placement test and scored low in math. Disappointed in himself, he began seeing math tutors on campus for help. In 2017, he passed the exam and got his GED. One of his instructors at the time urged him to consider enrolling in college, and Fallon took a couple of liberal arts classes, but his confidence faltered. “I felt like I was 'less than,' he said. “Other students had come from high school, and that was intimidating to me.”
Meanwhile, a new Marvel movie, “Avengers: Infinity War,” was due to come out and Fallon had set his mind on his greatest project yet: To create 13 mini figures in five months. He achieved his goal, and his YouTube channel experienced its greatest success, with videos drawing millions of views.
But soon, many of Fallon’s longtime YouTube friends began going off to college, leaving him on his own. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, bringing a couple of years of depression and isolation.
“This was all I knew. This was my life. I didn’t have any local friends or framework,” Fallon said. “I started to become an adult, and I started to think ‘I can’t do this forever.”
In 2023, Fallon made the decision to get his college degree. He enrolled full-time at A-B Tech and did well in his classes. Soon, he was attending campus events and meeting new people, the first people, he jokes, who were not Star Wars and LEGO fans.
“It helped me get outside my comfort zone,” Fallon said. “To be able to walk into a room and connect with staff and students from different clubs and societies.”
Fallon’s confidence grew as he found he had a natural ability with people—not just on YouTube but in the real world. After connecting with SGA president Mariana Flores, he felt called to run for SGA Vice President and was elected. Now, set to graduate in May, Fallon plans to enroll in UNC Asheville’s New Media program.
These days, along with schoolwork and SGA responsibilities, Fallon still finds time to post to his YouTube channel but spends a lot less time on his mini figures. He is more focused on finishing his last semester on campus. Someday, he hopes to become a graphic designer and work for LEGO doing marketing or design.
In the meantime, Fallon is grateful to have had an influence on the scores of people around the world who tune in to his videos, many of whom are fellow artists who have grown up with him.
“I have had a reverse-engineered life,” Fallon said. “I’ve already inspired a few thousand people around the world to be creative. If I can continue impacting others, it will be time well spent.”