David Beckham Admits Building Lego Sets Helps Calm His OCD
David Beckham is a highly recognized media personality and businessman. The former soccer player has remained relevant after his days on the pitch and has a family that grounds him. He and his wife, Victoria Beckham, boast a collective net worth inching toward $1 billion, and although they have access to the best therapy, David Beckham builds Lego sets to calm his OCD.
The former soccer superstar has built a beautiful family
David Beckham’s career with Manchester United began in his teen years after competing on the team’s youth squad. He led the team to a national championship and three years later began playing with the pros in league competitions. He achieved mainstream attention when he scored a goal in 1996 from the halfway line.
Beckham’s prowess at soccer made him one to watch and one of the best players in England. He retired in 2013 after a two-decade career with 19 major trophies.
He and Victoria met in his team’s players’ lounge when the fashionista was a member of the mega-famous pop group Spice Girls. Back then, she went by her stage name, Posh Spice. The singer owned up to having been “a little drunk” during their first encounter but noticed Beckham was standing with his family.
He asked Posh for her number, and the two began dating soon after. After dating for a year, the two announced their engagement. They welcomed their first son, Brooklyn, 14 months later. The pair walked down the aisle in July 1999. They had a second son, Romeo James, in September 2002 and a third, Cruz David, in February 2005. Their daughter Harper was born in July 2011 in Los Angeles.
Building Legos helps David Beckham manage his OCD
David Beckham spoke with The Sunday Times in 2014 and revealed his favorite activity. He gushed about his and his children’s love of Legos.
“The last big thing I made was the Tower Bridge. It was amazing. I think Legos sometimes help to calm me down.”
The Lego Tower Bridge set has more than 4,000 pieces. When finished, it stands 17 inches tall, 40 inches long, and 10 inches wide. The former soccer player compared his Lego-building passion with cooking, describing it as “therapeutic.”
The star revealed in 2010 for the first time his passion for the game, saying, “What would I like to do if I wasn’t a footballer? I love drawing cartoons and building Legos with my sons.”
He revealed he bought a Taj Mahal Lego set in Milan but built only part of it. “I know it’s not a career, but I love doing it,” he admitted.
Beckham built a Disney World Cinderella Castle Lego set in 2017 for his daughter and posted a selfie of himself on Instagram next to his creation with the caption, “1am done…. Someone’s going to have a nice surprise in the morning.”
David Beckham has been vocal about his OCD
Psychologist Jon Sutton says building Lego sets can help anyone with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
“I can see it being very therapeutic for someone with David’s personality,” Sutton told The Sunday Times. “Legos are about making order out of chaos. You get the set out of the box, empty it onto the floor, and start with this mess that you then have to carefully build piece by piece.”
Sutton noted that the same methodical focus used in building Lego sets was what Beckham used when “repeatedly practicing penalties,” thus making him a great player.
Other notables who love Legos include Brad Pitt, Will.i.am, and former U.S. President George Bush Sr., The Times reports.
