Today is Take Your Action Figure to Work Day, an awesome day to celebrate who you are in your work environment. This fun day was started by Randy Ham, who has been gracious enough to share his thoughts with us about his five favorite action figures, which you can read on the next page.
Before we get to some great action figures, I was lucky enough to speak with Ham himself about this day and his love of action figures. I could immediately tell that he was someone who was passionate to share his love of action figures with the whole world, and eager for the world to share back. It’s hard not to be touched by his infectious joy.
Take Your Action Figure to Work Day really began on a Monday. Randy was working at a library and, while sipping his coffee and bemoaning the fact that it was the dreaded Monday, he noticed one of his Raven figures from Teen Titans.
He took a picture of her with his coffee and posted it on Instagram. That’s when he got the idea to bring her to work and Instragram her all over the library.
He decided to invite other people to join him and in the days preceding the first annual Take Your Action Figure to Work Day, it blew up on social media. News outlets like the Detroit News and Hastings got wind of the idea and talked about it. Now it’s an annual day and the rest is history.
So what is it about Take Your Action Figure to Work Day? That’s what I wanted to know when I spoke to him. It started due to a case of the Mondays, but it’s become a lot more than that.
Randy told me that this day is about expressing yourself and bringing more of your personality to your work environment. We’re living in a time where nerdy things are cool instead of something to hide and Ham thinks we should embrace that. I can’t help but feel that he’s right. Bringing your action figures to work allows for new conversations. You can get to know your co-workers as you bond over all those classic television series, movies, and comics together.
There are no rules or guidelines, Randy says, because he wants this day to be as inclusive as possible. If you want to bring a statue or bobble head, bring it! Just as long as you’re spreading the joy of the day. As for which figure to pick, the most important factor according to Ham is appearance. After all, you want a figure of your favorite character to actually look like them.
When I spoke to him, I found out that Randy’s favorite character is Wonder Woman and he has plenty of collectibles of her. I asked him why Wonder Woman and his answer didn’t disappoint. I knew then that this was the best person to create a day like this.
“Wonder Woman is someone who inspires you. She’s not about avenging people or conquering, she wants the world to be a better place. She has a strong moral code and a very positive character. Those are wonderful traits to have for an eight year-old watching Lynda Carter on TV. She’s strong, she’s confident, she believes in YOU. She doesn’t want you to be Wonder Woman, she wants to you to be the best you that you can be.”
Cue my tears.
To find out Randy’s favorite action figures – and why – click through to page 2!
