"I'm a 34-year-old man and love dolls - I've got a collection worth thousands"
- 9 months ago
Meet the man with a 200-strong collection of DOLLS in his spare room - which range from shop-bought Barbies to £600 Japanese imports.
Former X Factor contestant Duane AJ, 34, spends lots of his spare cash on his hobby - including buying mini Jimmy Choo shoes for some of the dolls.
He started collecting at the age of five - for which he says he was bullied during his childhood.
But singer Duane, from Truro, Cornwall, says he now wants to speak out, to break the stereotype - saying men can collect dolls too.
He said: "It's an expensive hobby - I have to make sure all my bills are paid each month before I buy any dolls.
"I don't know why I love them so much, but I do. I believe I was born to collect dolls.
"I just want to raise awareness for guys who collect dolls. It's fine to do what you enjoy, whoever you are."
Duane - who made it to the 'boot camp' stage of X Factor in 2006 - got his first doll at a car boot sale.
His grandma offered to buy him something he liked and he picked his first ever doll - and became "obsessed".
From there it grew - and for every birthday and Christmas family would buy him different types of dolls.
But when he began taking them to school he was picked on by classmates for his hobby.
He said: "Growing up my family always fully supported my hobby - they never made me feel like it was wrong.
"But at school the boys would take the mick and call me gay - it got the better of me and in the end I stopped taking them."
From there, Duane continued collecting dolls in secret - even as he moved into adulthood.
He began to stop being ashamed and embrace his passion.
After paying his bills each month, all of his leftover money would go on purchasing new dolls for his collection.
He has everything from £20 Barbies through to Japanese Smart Dolls which set him back up to £600 due to having to also pay to import them.
The costs incurred aren't only from buying Smart Dolls but accessorising them - including with £70 genuine Jimmy Choo shoes.
Duane's enormous collection of dolls is worth thousands of pounds - and occupies an entire room in his house where he lives with his husband.
His favourite doll is currently a limited edition Alice in Wonderland doll which he got on eBay before Disney even released them in the UK, costing around £100.
Former X Factor contestant Duane AJ, 34, spends lots of his spare cash on his hobby - including buying mini Jimmy Choo shoes for some of the dolls.
He started collecting at the age of five - for which he says he was bullied during his childhood.
But singer Duane, from Truro, Cornwall, says he now wants to speak out, to break the stereotype - saying men can collect dolls too.
He said: "It's an expensive hobby - I have to make sure all my bills are paid each month before I buy any dolls.
"I don't know why I love them so much, but I do. I believe I was born to collect dolls.
"I just want to raise awareness for guys who collect dolls. It's fine to do what you enjoy, whoever you are."
Duane - who made it to the 'boot camp' stage of X Factor in 2006 - got his first doll at a car boot sale.
His grandma offered to buy him something he liked and he picked his first ever doll - and became "obsessed".
From there it grew - and for every birthday and Christmas family would buy him different types of dolls.
But when he began taking them to school he was picked on by classmates for his hobby.
He said: "Growing up my family always fully supported my hobby - they never made me feel like it was wrong.
"But at school the boys would take the mick and call me gay - it got the better of me and in the end I stopped taking them."
From there, Duane continued collecting dolls in secret - even as he moved into adulthood.
He began to stop being ashamed and embrace his passion.
After paying his bills each month, all of his leftover money would go on purchasing new dolls for his collection.
He has everything from £20 Barbies through to Japanese Smart Dolls which set him back up to £600 due to having to also pay to import them.
The costs incurred aren't only from buying Smart Dolls but accessorising them - including with £70 genuine Jimmy Choo shoes.
Duane's enormous collection of dolls is worth thousands of pounds - and occupies an entire room in his house where he lives with his husband.
His favourite doll is currently a limited edition Alice in Wonderland doll which he got on eBay before Disney even released them in the UK, costing around £100.