But the character for our next story is also quite exceptional
There's a saying, that men will always be boys
But whoever made up that saying
Probably didn't quite have this in mind
This is Andro
He's a 20-year old man from Tallinn
who studies history in the University
That is also reflected in Andro's home in Mustamäe
where he keeps his historical military-collection
But besides collecting mostly German military-gear
Andro also has quite a non-macho hobby
Her name is Twilight Sparkle
In Estonian, it's something like Videviku Sätendus
And she is, in a way, similar to me
Because she's kinda introverted
and she likes reading
and so on
This purple unicorn
is a character from a cartoon
whose main audience are 5-10 year old girls
My Little Pony
of which a dedicated fan Andro is
I don't know how to explain
what I like about it so much
but I just feel
with every cell in my body, that I really like it
And believe it or not
Andro is far from being the only adult
who follows the adventures of these six little ponies
Since 2010's October
when My Little Pony's new version
arrived in the US
the male fanbase has been ceaselessly growing
The facinating phenomena
also has a name
An adult male pony-fan
is called a Brony
Brony comes from the English words Bro and Pony
which means brother and pony
Popculture expert Tõnis Kahu says
That the situation
where a product appeals to a different target audience
unexpectedly
isn't uncommon at all
If we look back, then of course
The fanbase of Teletubbies in the end of 90s
which spread
It obviously had a lot of reasons for existing
A bunch of teens
came from a club
still being quite high
still going through the comedown process
And then they got a whole different connection with this childish world
What kind of pony-merch do you have?
I have a couple of these toys here
Which I keep as a decoration in front of my monitor
Then I have a poster on the wall here
And I have this nice blanket too
In addition to watching the cartoons and collecting merch
the fans also create art themselves
which they share on the internet later
Andro is also an eager artist
Here are a few of my primitve sketches
From when I first tried to draw ponies
Some are traced
And some are just these experiments
mhm
Here's some of the more fresh stuff
This is
me as a pony
Oh
"Ponified version"
of me
And here's an East-German pony
And a bit of satire on how to draw a pony
From time to time, Andro posts his drawings
to different MLP themed sites
Where thousands of male pony-fans
talk to each other every daily
Mostly it's just posting pictures and discussing them
But almost everything can be discussed
For an example, some philosophize about
My Little Pony
Or they try to explain episodes philosophically
And obviously new products and stuff is constantly being discussed
Which has come out lately
The pony-fever has also arrived on YouTube
One of the most popular fanmade things are
ponified versions of Hollyword trailers
This pink horsy
talks in the voice of Borath
It's also pop to film yourself on a pony-merch haul
to share your experience with others on the internet
But what do the bystanders think of this?
This obviously divides into a few different categories
Some don't care at all
Some think that
as long as they keep it to themselves, go ahead
And some simply hate Bronies
And usually they comment
That you're all childish men
and your intellect is on the level of a child
Or that you all are pedophiles
And you refute all these
negative, spiteful claims?
Yes, of course
But, everybody probably knows that
most of these
fandoms
have these
very weird people
who show their love for it in a very wrong way
that for sure
exists
But it's a very small part of it
First off
being a fan
and collecting fan-merch
is definitely inherent to children
But
it's been noted
that later on, it'll affect men in certain age groups
Usually, that age is usually even older
Somewhere in their 30s and 40s
men collect stuff, like discs
Which I also do a bit myself
The reason men do it
is also
psychologically investigated
Women also collect things, but it's usually not as obsessive
Don't you think it's weird, that you've found such a hobby?
I wouldn't say so, because
people are different
Everybody has their own opinions
If I like this, then why not
These kinds of men are also often characterized as nerds
Somewhat simplified
those are people who have difficulties with some aspects of life
For an example, relationships with women
or some other aspects, then they control their world
in this way
Andro is a person, who definitely isn't afraid to be differnt
Apart from being a pony-fan, he wears a suit each day with a religious devotion
and collects East-German and the Third Reich military-gear
I really like the aesthetics of most military uniforms
It's just a parallel hobby
Hobbies don't always have to relate
There can be certain contradictions
Why would you recommend people to watch My Little Pony?
As the name states: Friendship is Magic
If a bunch of men are fans of children's toys
and the world has less violence and more love due to it
Then at the end of the day
everything is good