15+ People Whose Secret Hobbies Deserve All the Attention

The Internet is full of stories about people who take their hobbies to such a high level that you don’t know whether to applaud them, ask for an autograph, or make a documentary about them. In this article, we collect anecdotes that prove that sometimes the most impressive talent is right next to you, disguised as “just a hobby.” Get ready to feel creative envy and the desire to start something new!

“I recycle Coca-Cola cans to make things like this Coca-Cola can plane.”

• I liked to play a little guitar as a hobby, just knew a few chords and could sing along. One night I ran into an old friend who needed a rhythm guitarist/singer for some gigs. I was pretty tuned up and said I’d fill in. Those guys were serious musicians. The trick was to never let them know what you didn’t know and act like you’d been there before. So I ended up playing 100 gigs over the years with them and other bands. It was a lot of fun and I met a lot of people. © Outside_Egg4286 / Reddit
• An old lady who lives in my building always walks down the street wearing the strangest hats. Feathers, fake fruit, even one with a plastic parrot. All the neighbors thought she was crazy. Until the other day, when I was searching the internet and I came across a video of her. Turns out she has a vintage sewing YouTube channel and does millinery tutorials. She has over a million subscribers!
• Once I thought my father had gone crazy. Or worse, that he was cheating on my mother. Every Sunday he would get up at 6 a.m. to “go meditate in the park.” He always came back sweaty and tired. It was too suspicious. My mother didn’t seem to mind, and that made me even angrier. How could she not notice? So one day I decided to follow him. And to my surprise, he was actually breakdancing with a group of former b-boys. They are in their 40’s, 50’s, 60’s. My mom already knew, so she never said anything to him.

“My hobby is designing and building keyboards. This is from the last 3 months.”

• On the outside, I’m a 40-something mom who dresses fairly conservatively and speaks fairly properly. That is, until you get to know me. The reality is that, although I don’t show it, in my personal life I enjoy video games, heavy metal/rock concerts, and playing pool. © WryAnthology / Reddit
• I used to think my boss was the most boring guy on the planet. Gray suit, ham and cheese lunch every day. But that changed one day when I passed him on the street wearing a tight T-shirt and carrying a weird bag. Now I can’t look at him the same way in the office. It turns out he competes in bodybuilding in his spare time. He’s been doing it since he was 50. He’s 63 now, and he’s more chiseled than I was at 30. He even offered to train with me.
• I roast my own green coffee. It’s great because there are thousands of varieties and no two batches are the same. It also makes me feel like a scientist (I have a lab notebook where I compare roasts and coffees and tweak my settings). I have two commercial roasters and am itching to build one of my own. © UYScutiPuffJr / Reddit

“Carving avocado pits is my favorite hobby.”

• I have been on dialysis for a few months and sleep for the four hour sessions about 4x a week. I started to feel like I was always sleeping. The other day I decided to try something new and I took my cross stitch with me and I was able to cross stitch during the treatment session. I feel like this is life changing because I’m being productive instead of sleeping. Also, there were a lot of people who were very curious about what I was making, which was cute and fun because I had some great conversations and got to know some of my fellow dialysis community members a little bit better. To me, that feels life-changing. © mooseyoss / Reddit
• My grandfather was always very mysterious. Sometimes he would lock himself in the garage for hours and come out all dirty, but he wouldn’t tell us what he was doing. We thought he was fixing old things, even though we never saw anything new in the house. When he turned 80, we convinced him to let us into his “cave.” What we found was amazing: he had recreated in miniature the entire town where he was born, with lights, trains, trees, even moving dolls. Everything was handmade. When we asked him why he never showed it, he said, “I did it for me, so I wouldn’t forget where I came from.”
• My wife and I run a reptile rescue called Scaly Tailz. We take in the scaly critters that people no longer want or can keep and show them off at schools, events, and even comic/sci-fi conventions. Kids get to learn that these guys aren’t necessarily scary or dangerous. © Flocwald / Reddit

“Finally finished! Here is my new miniature flower composition. Absolutely all flowers and details are completely hand sculpted from air dried clay.”

• I like genealogy. I started building a family tree and then taught myself how to trace undocumented relatives through DNA. But, this led me to uncover some nasty family secrets. For example, I found out that my paternal great-grandfather had a secret illegitimate son with the same name as his adopted daughter. And even worse, that my maternal grandmother’s father was not her biological father. There are many more interesting things I found, but these were the highlights. © carl0071 / Reddit
• No one in the building talked to the doorman. He was always serious, listening to Japanese music with headphones. One day I saw him in the courtyard making strange movements with a long stick. I hid to look out the window and couldn’t believe it: he was doing katas. I went over to talk to him to find out more, and it turns out that he has a black belt in three disciplines, was a national kendo champion in the 90s, and now trains at night because he is embarrassed. The weirdest thing is that he also does origami. And he’s really good at it.
• I have a weird hobby of collecting mugs. I absolutely love mugs, my friends know this and support my addiction by sending me links to cool mugs online and even buying me mugs they think I’d like. I’m currently collecting a mug for every state I’ve visited. I’m in about 11 states. © mannyaf / Reddit

“A new hobby of mine is to ’spruce up’ things I find thrifting. These wicker shelves are great for holding crystals!”

• I was walking down the street in a European city when a man stopped to photograph a manhole cover. We stopped to watch in amazement. He turned to us, shrugged his shoulders, and said, “It’s my hobby.” Well, good for him. © tjjwaddo / Reddit
• In the neighborhood there is a guy who runs every morning at the same time. Always wearing the same T-shirt, headphones and a steady pace. Nothing out of the ordinary: just another jogger. But one day, while chatting at a neighborhood fair, I found out something that blew my mind. He wasn’t running for health or exercise. He runs to trace words or drawings on the map with GPS. He uses an app that records his route and then uploads the design: encouraging phrases, simple drawings. “Today I drew a heart with a flower for my sister who is in the hospital,” he told me. He has dozens. Each exit is a hidden message, visible only from above.
• There was a man in my neighborhood who always sat in front of his shop, which was a kind of makeshift workshop where he fixed watches. I saw him every day, but I never understood what he was doing. I thought he was a watchmaker with his shop. One day, when I saw him more closely, I approached him to say hello. We started talking and he told me that he was not a professional watchmaker, nor had he studied watchmaking. He had learned to repair wristwatches as a hobby, taught by his father. “This is how I remember it. When you fix something small, little by little, it makes you feel better,” he told me. Since then, every time I walk by, I see watches that look completely refurbished, even though I haven’t sold them. It’s like I found a way to bring things back to life.

After reading these stories, you’ll probably want to dust off your watercolor set, start a secret origami club, or at least stop underestimating the power of a hobby done right. Because if we’ve learned anything today, it’s that passion and creativity know no bounds. And if you want to learn more about hidden talents and fascinating habits, check out this article about the world’s most surprising hobbies. Your next favorite hobby could be just a click away.