Man told to ‘get a hobby’ started collecting spiders and now has over 300 tarantulas

A man who was told to take up a hobby for his mental health started collecting spiders and now has more than 300 tarantulas.

Aaron Phoenix, from Bristol in the UK, was advised by his therapist to take up a new hobby. Instead of learning a new sport or a new skill, Aaron started collecting spiders in the summer of 2021.

By March this year, Aaron had 120 spiders. He doubled his collection in the next seven months.

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Aaron’s current pride and joy is a female Mexican Flame Knee tarantula worth over £160.

“Everyone has their passion, and this is mine. The Royal Mail delivery people even know me as ‘Spider-Man’ because every week they bring me my new pets labelled ‘live animals ‘ on the box,” he was quoted as saying by Daily Star.

He said, “I could sit and watch them for hours – they’ve had an incredible effect on me and I’ll never give up owning tarantulas now. People’s reactions when I tell them are fantastic – they can’t believe it!”

Aaron credits the spiders for “doing wonders” for his mental health.

He added, “I still have my down moments but I feel now on the whole I’m in a place where my mental health has improved and I’m really content – thanks to my spiders.”

Aaron’s friends have an entire bedroom to themselves which he calls his “happy place”.

He said, “They’re my passion, obsession, whatever you want to call it.

His partner Jo, 45, and their two teen daughters Dannon, 18, and Lillie, 14, had to be convinced for the “hobby”.

“At the beginning, my partner and the kids were a bit freaked out, but they saw the positive effect it had on me immediately and became supportive,” he said.

Aaron hopes to open his own exotic pet shop some day and breed baby spiders to sell to collectors.