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Zuleger’s
passion for LEGO products began as a child when he
received sets for his birthday and
Christmas.
He loved finding
new pieces and adding minifigures to his expanding
collection, but when it came time to pay for college, he
decided to part with some of his unique
acquisitions.
Selling LEGO
products proved to be rather lucrative for Zuleger, and he
quickly realized the market's potential. It was at this
moment that Wapi Bricks was born. The name Wapi Bricks was
a unique combination of market research and family
favorites. Zuleger said he noticed a lot of brands have
two-syllable names, which sparked an idea for
him.
He asked his
little brother to think of his favorite thing while
thinking of his own. The brothers chose
"watermelon" and "pizza,"
respectively, taking the first syllable of each word to
create "Wapi" Bricks.
Wapi Bricks
quickly gained traction, boasting an impressive 1,704
online sales and 207,000+ TikTok followers. With such
significant success, Zuleger considered opening a physical
storefront, but it wasn't until his senior year of college
that he decided to take the leap.
Zuleger recalls
a class where the professor had the students watch
motivational speeches from Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and
Arnold Schwarzenegger. Each speaker talked about how
people thought they were crazy to pursue such
out-of-the-box ideas, but they
persevered.
Schwarzenegger's
speech particularly caught Zuleger's attention, and he
said it was then that he decided to change his
post-graduation plan from becoming an engineer to selling
LEGO products full time.
A lifelong West
Bend resident, Zuleger said opening his store downtown
felt like a natural fit.
"The people
in West Bend are incredibly kind and friendly. One of my
favorite moments was at Maxwell Street Days last summer
when Mayor [Chris] Jenkins came to my booth and took a
selfie with me! Downtown West Bend is becoming a trendy
place, and I wanted to be a part of the excitement,"
said Zuleger. |