Skip to main content
Thursday, October 29, 2026Oct 29

This story is free to read.

Toys aren’t just for kids. Mattel and other companies are embracing ‘kidults’

Barbie collector Azusa Sakamoto is photographed in West Hollywood, California, on Oct. 15, 2024. (Christina House/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Barbie collector Azusa Sakamoto is photographed in West Hollywood, California, on Oct. 15, 2024. (Christina House/Los Angeles Times/TNS) Barbie collector Azusa Sakamoto is photographed in West Hollywood, California, on Oct. 15, 2024. (Christina House/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

Jeremy Hart played with Hot Wheels as a kid, but he eventually grew out of them, tucking the miniature cars away in a toolbox.

Then nostalgia struck when he attended the Hot Wheels convention in California with his son three years ago.

“I get these little glimmers and glimpses of memories and feelings when I look and see those Hot Wheels from my childhood,” Hart said.

Today, the 48-year-old has fully embraced his inner child. He has spent hundreds of dollars on Hot Wheels and is always on the hunt for new ones that replicate vehicles he’s owned or that were featured on TV shows he watched when he was younger, such as “The Fall Guy” and “The Dukes of Hazzard.” Hart proudly displays his collection at Dent Express, the auto body shop he started in Torrance, California.

CHILDHOOD MEMORIES