Meet the fans #1-Lorenzo

Since a young age, 21-year-old Lorenzo (Lawrence Croft), always knew Lara Croft would have a true impact upon his life. From first collecting posters and magazine trimmings his collection truly took off from 2014 “my journey found its point of no return and it became an addiction.”

Lawrence and I crossed paths in December 2016, at the world premiere of the Tomb Raider Suite. We connected through a group chat and a mutual friend. Together we explore London which impacted a great friendship.

"I started collecting because of videos I used to watch on YouTube of collectors. I wanted a Tomb Raider room like theirs… The one that caught my attention the an upload from Rodrigo Martin Santos.” (Whom currently holds the Guinness world record for ‘Largest Collection of Tomb Raider Memorabilia’)

It was this that encouraged Lawrence to further collect, “one of my goals is to build a themed room, with specific details. I want to include plants, waterfalls, statues etc. like a real ancient tomb.”

Now booming to it's capacity it wasn’t an easy beginning “it was difficult at the start because my parents didn't want me to buy things because they used to say are useless”. However as he collected more “they understood, Lara is part of me and collecting is a passion."

With a room decked out in merchandise “the rarest things I own are the Tomb Raider Legend Italian complete Presskit, which are my favourite…another one is probably my New and Sealed Tomb Raider 2001 Movie Skateboard."

But Lara has had a different impact upon his life aside from his collection. At the age of 4 it was Tomb Raider (Core designs, 1996) Lawrence first played, “I was addicted with that game! Lara became a part of me. I remember myself role playing Lara every day in every moment, jumping and shooting in my house and yard."

His reenactments followed him through life. When he was 15, he was introduced to Cosplay through a friend. He created a basic costume of “Marceline from Adventure Time." After this creation he then developed a Tomb Raider costume and since has grown from strength to strength.

With 6 years experience in cosplay Lawrence says “I'm more prepared when I attend a convention; I put everything from the costume to the makeup in a suitcase, and I leave additional space for the Tomb Raider treasures I may find at the con, such as action figures, comic books, games.”

The only con of being a modern Lara Croft is missing her crucial weapon the bow, on the simple basis “it's too big for the suitcase and I have to be careful not to lose it during the journey”.

However, there are plenty of positives since his growth within the Tomb Raider community “the best moments are when you really feel the community come alive. Like when I went to London for the TR Suite Live World Premiere. I met a lot of community members and lovely friends, it was such a beautiful experience!"

Another memory that has stuck with him was he attendance in Milan 2016. Where he was invited to play the demo to Rise of the Tomb Raider. "I was with the Tomb Raider Italian community where I first met Meagan Marie (Tomb Raider community manger-Pictured Left) a beautiful person, who shared so much with us, a lot of emotions and feelings."

"I cannot stop saying thank you to our Italian

community 'mum' Daniela Valeri (Pictured Right) who introduced me (and other people) into the community with love and trust, and who keeps giving us lots of opportunities.”

Through his attendance with Tomb Raider Italia he has gathered precious memories, and new exclusive collectables.

When asked upon advice he would present towards new collectors he suggested “be patient. Even the rarest thing you desire could be yours one day…you must analyse every offer and always be smart. Wait for the best offer. The web is full of sites to source Tomb Raider merchandise. ”

Lawrence has come so far with his collection and his cosplay. I hope to see him grow in strength. He is a true treasure in the community. “Collecting Tomb Raider memorabilia it not about those who have lots of money. You can easily find lots of stuff cheap items as comics, collecting cards, posters etc. everyone can start a little collection.”

[All images property of Lars Larkin/Daniela Valeri ]