Playtime is over
Alex Thorne is giving up every kid’s dream. After two years, the Pickering teen is walking away from his gig as a tester of Canada’s hottest new toys
He’s yet to graduate high school, nab a driver’s licence or reach legal drinking age, but he’s already headed for retirement.
After a little more than two years on the job, Alex Thorne, 13, is calling it quits.
“I’m getting a bit old. My back is killing me,” joked the Pickering boy, who has been Toys R Us’s chief play officer since August 2013.
The gig, a dream job for most children, has made him among the first in Canada to get his hands on every season’s coolest toys, testing items that make Christmas wish lists months in advance.
“It’s too hard to keep track” of all the toys he’s tried, but he estimated the number to be in the hundreds.
That includes plenty of lightsabers, nerf guns, scooters, Barbie dolls and craft kits so it would be natural to think that the best part of the job has been the toys, but Alex said “that’s too stereotypical for a kid.”
“While the toys are really great, I love the travelling,” he told the Star, rattling off a list of Canadian cities he’s jet-setted to for appearances on morning shows where he tells gift givers exactly what presents will have kids cracking a smile.
“It’s too hard to keep track.” ALEX THORNE ON THE NUMBER OF TOYS HE HAS TESTED
Luckily, Alex claims “I haven’t seen a bad toy yet.”
However, he admits, “something like a Thomas the Tank Engine set is a good toy, (but) it would not appeal to me so what I have to do is put myself in the mind of someone who would like a Thomas the Tank Engine and what would be cool to them.”
Reviewing so many toys makes putting together a list for Santa Claus each year, “pretty difficult,” but Alex says there are toys he doesn’t receive from his job that he wants. Take video games, for example. “They are going to give me a few that are going to be the hottest this season, but the other ones, I get for Christmas,” he says. “It works out pretty well for me.”
Alex only keeps a few toys out of every allotment he’s given — there’s only so much space in his bedroom to store them, he says.
The rest are donated to charities, friends and Alex’s old daycare. His brother also gets to snag a few. “He has all the benefits of getting the toys without having to do all the work,” Alex says.
“You could argue his situation might be a little bit better (than mine), but I like my situation better because I get to travel.”
Alex also has to do plenty of juggling.
The high school student doubles as an actor on Nickelodeon’s Paw Patrol and on Disney/eOne’s PJ Masks.
He takes some correspondence courses to deal with the demands of his job.
To land his coveted title, Alex had to apply to a countrywide search contest—the fourth Toys R Us has hosted. Hundreds of children age 11 to 13 typically vie for the job.
The search is already underway for Alex’s successor with top finalists soon to be invited to auditions and interviews.
As one of his final duties, Alex’s reviewed some of their application vid- eos, making notes, and will be on hand for interviews.
The gig applicants are contending for comes with a one-year term and an option for an extension.
It means lots of travel, exciting experiences and toys, but a spokesperson declined to say whether it involves a salary, noting that the officers are “compensated for their time, but the terms of the agreement are confidential.”
And what about a retirement package?
Alex said, “Sadly, none.”