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ANIMAL HOUSE
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THE LEGO MASTERS OF STOCKTON
THE MAGAZINE FOR THE CENTRAL VALLEY
Pandemic PETS
Locals bring home new family members amid a global shutdown
SJMAG.COM | AUGUST 2021 1 Most days, my house resembles something of a farm. From birds to horses, a cow, and a couple of Great Danes, there are no shortage of animals taking up residence on the Zoccoli ranch—and that’s just how I like it. When the animals have free range, they snack on my vegetable garden and voluntarily mow down the grass; my home was made for animals, and I rarely turn down the opportunity to add another to the brood, even when caring for them becomes another fulltime job.
With an already full house and yard, I didn’t add any of my own pets during the pandemic, but that’s what many Americans did. Last year data reported soaring increases in pet adoptions, with Nielsen clocking the rise at 202% from March to August 2020 year over year. Research also found euthanasia rates to be down 43% (partly because closed shelters couldn’t bring in new pets but also partly because more dogs were adopted and fostered) from January to June 2020. The news is almost all good on the pet front, including pet-related businesses such as pet stores enjoying a sales boost driven up by the influx of new animals finding their forever homes.
There are so many reasons people chose to adopt pets during quarantine—mostly dogs and cats. For some, they needed companionship during a lonely time. For others, the timing simply made sense—home all day to care for and train a new member of the family. For others, their kids were at the forefront, in need of something positive to focus on during such a negative time. Regardless of why, the numbers don’t lie; and the pandemic pet trend is what led us to highlight some local families in San Joaquin County who brought their own playmates home, and why they made the decision during a statewide shutdown.
Happy reading!
TONY ZOCCOLI
tony@sanjoaquinmagazine.com
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STOCKTON REALITY STARS
Talent can come from anywhere—that’s what Stockton brothers Zack and Wayne Macasaet want you to know. The newest in a growing lineup of local standouts, the brothers are finding fame on season two of LEGO Masters, where their motorized creations that pay homage to individual hobbies are impressing judges week to week. Learn more about them on page 21 and follow their journey on FOX.
THE LONG-AWAITED GREAT WOLF LODGE
For a year SJC has been waiting for the doors of Manteca’s Great Wolf Lodge to open. With capacity restrictions finally lifted, the indoor waterpark was able to welcome its first guests June 29. It’s not the only theme park getting attention, however. California has other thrilling additions for those who love rollercoasters and more. Page 32.
Let their smiles shine like never before.
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TRENDS | PEOPLE | CULTURE | STYLE the 209
BRICK by BRICK
STOCKTON BROTHERS BRING LEGO BUILDS TO LIFE ON SEASON 2 OF LEGO MASTERS
Whether it was parading dragons, exploding aliens, or wearable works of art, Stockton brothers Zack Macasaet, 26, and Wayne Macasaet, 28, built a name for themselves one brick at a time on Season 2 of Fox Network’s LEGO Masters.
The brothers, who moved to Stockton from the Philippines when they were young, jumped at the chance to represent
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their hometown on LEGO Masters. They wanted to prove that you can find talent and passion anywhere.
“Building with LEGO has always been a passion for me and my brother so being able to show what we can build on LEGO Masters was a really fun experience,” Zack says.
Wayne recalls receiving their first LEGO—a jackpot of hand-me-downs that their cousin didn’t use any more—when he was six or seven years old. “We were really amazed that we were given such a treasure trove,” he says.
From there the rest is history. The brothers quickly outgrew following the instructions for predesigned playsets and started using the store-bought sets as a base to start from, adding their own creative modifications to make their creations bigger and better. Eventually, they scraped those sets altogether and started constructing their own masterpieces. “It’s just such a large medium that you can do stuff with engineering and architecture,” Zack says.
“It’s an art form.”
And, indeed, LEGO Master judges Amy Corbett and Jamie Berard and host Will Arnett (the voice of LEGO Batman) were often blown away by the artistic creations Zack and Wayne presented at the end of each episode.
But even before competing in LEGO Masters, Zack was already known in the LEGO world. He participated in the Bricks by the Bay convention in Santa Clara and made an impression on Season 1 finalist Boone Langston with his LEGO Bridge Layer—a remotecontrolled LEGO tank that he designed to lay a bridge in order to cross a ravine and then turn around and retrieve it. In 2019, a video of that same tank went viral on the Beyond the Brick Facebook page (which features top-notch Lego creations from around the world), creating a lot of buzz around Zack’s use of power function and motorization.
Zack says it’s his use of Powered Up and other LEGO compatible systems that help him take his builds “to a completely different level.” He has spent a lot of time designing tanks and other military vehicles and before the show started, he wasn’t sure how he was going to top his viral tank. Looking back at it now, though, he believes the show pushed him to build bigger and better things. Both Zack and Wayne agree that they started the show off with a bang, saying that the very first build was the most memorable for them and they’re glad the challenges given to the contestants during LEGO Masters gave them the chance to think of some out-of-the-box designs and try new approaches to building.
And while the brothers didn’t always get along as kids, they say that being on the show was a chance to relive their childhood and embrace their different approaches to building. Wayne’s motivation and willpower helped drive Zack’s technical knowhow to bring their visions to life.
Both brothers still call Stockton home and when not building LEGO masterpieces, Zack is a sushi chef at Toyo Sushi and Wayne is an Olympic archery coach and owner of The Oasis Archery Facility (a passion they pay homage to in Episode 4—no spoilers!).
All-new episodes of LEGO Masters air Tuesdays at 9 PM on FOX. Catch up on the season on HULU or the FOX Now App.
Advancing Cannabis Industry Interests Across California
Drivon Consulting has been a catalyst for Cannabis policy reform across the San Joaquin Valley over the last five years, during which over a dozen local municipalities have moved forward in the regulation of commercial cannabis businesses including San Joaquin County. The firm has overseen the approval and/or recommendation for approval for more than 15 local cannabis land use entitlements and operating permits for clients since 2016, along with the acquisition of over 30 commercial cannabis licenses for retail, nursery, cultivation, distribution, manufacturing and event organizing from the state of California.
Drivon Consulting is dedicated to advancing and protecting the interests of clients throughout California, including established legacy cannabis operators with decades of experience from the days of medicinal cannabis in California, to entrepreneurs, investors and traditional famers entering into the space in light of the Valley’s potential to serve as a major production and distribution hub Statewide.
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Zach Drivon is a 3rd Generation Stockton Attorney specializing in Commercial Cannabis Business licensing, government relations, regulation, and compliance. Zach led the way in establishing the first commercial cannabis businesses to be approved in Stockton, Stanislaus County, Modesto, Waterford, Atwater, Merced, and San Joaquin County.
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