Bob Cassilly
Founder
City Museum
St. Louis, MO USA
“I've always wanted to build a fantasy world…I figured, 'Well, what have I got to lose? I'm going to go forward and shake my fist at all this stuff and do what I want to do.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationBob Cassilly
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
As a restless child, his mom got him into sculpting and woodwork so he could channel out his energy.
Went to college to avoid the draft during the Vietnam War; also constructed elaborate "backup plan," pretended to have narcolepsy.
Always liked working around the rules, thinking outside of the box.
When he was in school, he decided that his goal would be "to never have a job."
Flipped houses until he had enough money to buy the huge empty lot where the museum now stands.
Said the empty lot had "endless potential" but he didn't know what to do with it until he actually started building it.
Felt depressed at times, built his "fantasy land" museum as a way to combat that; says his depression actually made him productive.
Says "I needed to want what nobody else wanted and live the way nobody else wanted to live, and then I could be free."
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Career
Founder
I build large scale public sculptures and parks where adults and children can lose themselves in a fantasy world.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Art
Entrepreneurship
Building Things
Interviewed By
Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway
While in St. Louis, the team lets their imaginations run free at the City Museum, an architectural marvel and playground made out of found objects from the city. Afterward, they sit down with founder and creator Bob Cassilly to learn what inspired him. In Idaho, they speak with sought-after expedition photographer Jimmy Chin, who opens up about his fears on failing and the dangers of extreme missions. "Fear is healthy," he reminds the Roadtrippers.
