Star Wars fan Ricky Borba posted a heart-warming photo on Reddit of his lightsaber-encircled 13-month-old son with the caption, “I work from home. Every morning my 13 month old son pulls all my lightsabers off the wall and sits mesmerized as I turn them on for him. Every. Morning. Man I love Star Wars”. Within hours, the post earned thousands of upvotes. (Source: Reddit post in r/StarWars; 8/13/2018)
SaberSourcing interviewed Borba about the father and son morning lightsaber routine.
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Can you describe the process of your ‘lightsaber turning on’ morning ritual with your son from start to finish?
Working from home provides a lot of cool perks. One of my favorites, is when my 13-month-old son Caden comes over to my desk area and takes down all of my Hasbro. Signature Series lightsabers and lays them down. He looks up at me and gets really excited, and that’s when the fun begins.
Sometimes he’s able to turn on one of the lightsabers himself, and that gets him REALLY excited, but most days, I sit on the floor with him and turn on all 12 lightsabers that I own. When I do that, it’s like watching someone enter Disneyland for the first time. His eyes light up and he does all of his cute baby talk, and we sit there while he picks them up and moves them around to hear the noises they make. But he really loves it when I bang them together and it makes the sound when lightsabers hit each other. It’s priceless!
How concerned are you about your son damaging the lightsabers or breaking something around the house with the lightsabers?
It’s funny, because I’m not concerned at all, and I know that will probably make some collectors heads explode when they read this. But, so much of the joy of Star Wars the films, and also collecting, is passing it down to the next generation. Sure, it would be neat to have them all mounted on my wall, but I wouldn’t trade my son’s interactions and reactions with my lightsabers and other figures and toys for anything.
I also have 3 daughters, who have grown to love Star Wars, so it’s been incredible for me as their dad, to see my love for the films carry on to them. And let’s be honest, they are just things. If they stop working properly, I’ll know that it’s because my kids loved them and had fun with them. Life is too short to worry about keeping my toys in 10/10 shape!
When and how did you start turning on your lightsaber collection for your son?
Being that he’s the youngest of 4, he learned what was what in our house pretty quickly, from his sisters. I remember as early as him being 3 or 4 months old, me turning on the lightsabers and him staring at them intently as I held him. Then after he learned the ropes from his sisters on where he could go play and couldn’t, the lightsabers became his
favorite go-to spot.
Which specific lightsabers or colors captivate your son’s interest the most?
He seems to be really interested in the [Star Wars Original Trilogy] colors, blue, green and red. More times than not though, he either grabs Vader’s, Kylo’s, or Dooku’s. Thank God I didn’t name my son Plagueis. 😉
Does your son have any age-appropriate lightsabers of his own (like a plush lightsaber, for example)?
We have a couple Halloween store lightsabers, but honestly, he doesn’t really play with them. In fact, the only time I’ve seen him touch it is to shove it out of the way to get to the real ones.
Do you plan on giving him any of your lightsabers in the future?
Absolutely! My hope is that someday my son will either start collecting Star Wars things on his own, or ask me if he can have some of my things. It might sound weird to say, because we’re talking about toys here, but it will be a huge moment for me, if and when my son decides he wants to take after me in that regard. There’s something special about Star Wars, and I hope it resonates with my son as it has me.
How did you get started collecting lightsabers?
My dad bought me a Park Sabers “Anakin” saber in 2002. I got it with a green blade though, because I make no sense. But back in 2011, I sold all of my Star Wars collection (save for that saber my dad bought me, all of my Boba Fett stuff) to start my film production company. I bought a camera and gear with what I made from selling all of things, and have spent the last 7 years owning and operating that little company from my home.
When my business started getting stable and I was able to start collecting again, instead of buying action figures and things from toy stores again, I decided I wanted to go after more “adult” things like helmets, sabers and hot toys figures. I have 8 helmets now, and every Hasbro Signature Series saber except for Asajj.
What’s your favorite lightsaber in your collection and why?
I think the Mace Windu [Star Wars Signature Series Force FX Lightsaber] is really cool because it’s the only one with unique coloring, both in the gold on the hilt and the purple blade. But honestly, I’m kind of old school and I think if I had to choose only one to keep, it would be Anakin’s saber that Luke inherited. The blue LED they used it spot on, and it’s a beautiful hilt too.
What’s next for you?
Well, it’s really fun to talk about actually, and I’m glad you asked! The point of starting
my film production company, was the hope that one day I’d be a Hollywood film director. I’m happy to say that at 40 years old, and pursuing my dreams for the last 20 years, that is FINALLY happening this year!
In the next months I’ll be directing my first two Hollywood feature-length films. (My IMDb page is here) The first one is called The Talking Tree, and we will be filming that in October, set for a Winter 2019 release. Right after that, I’ll go into production on The Bend, and that could actually be released before The Talking Tree.
I feel very blessed and fortunate to be in the position I am in. It’s been a very hard road full of sacrifice, to be able to chase my dreams and work from home. My wife and I have lived within our means and tried our best to give our kids a great upbringing (they are 12, 10, 6, and 1.) and I wouldn’t trade my time with them for anything. Now hopefully, they’ll grow up on film sets as I continue to direct films. With my ultimate goal being of course, to direct a Star Wars film.
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Ricky Borba is a California-based filmmaker and Star Wars enthusiast. His production company is called M3G Pictures. You can find him on Facebook as borbafett.
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The Star Wars Hasbro Signature Series lightsabers referenced in the interview are out of production, but can be found on eBay [AFFILIATE LINK], Amazon [AFFILLIATE LINK] and other secondary markets.
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Ricky Borba is an amazing dad!
Amazing to see the passion with your family, love of movies and most of all your tenacity. Your an amazing person.