This man owns 197 flags and flies a different nation almost every day

London's Old North residents call him the "Flag Man of Maitland Street."

For more than a decade, Mark Konrad has flown flags of a different nations outside his home on the corner of Maitland and Victoria Streets.

And he changes them almost daily.

"Everyone knows the house. Everyone knows the flags," he said.

The 64-year-old said he does it because he loves flags — their colours and histories.

"I just think that this is a great way of binding people together. Flags are just a representation of those people from those particular countries," he added.

He also cheekily admits that climbing up to the flag pole is a good exercise.

How did it all start?

Konrad is an executive director of a London-based human rights organization. He started collecting flags almost 20 years ago after purchasing them for presentations. The number of flags has grown steadily over the years from 30 to 197 flags in total — collected during his travels and "on a whim" purchases.

When asked how much it cost him, he replies "a lot."

Konrad said he decided to start flying his flags outside his home about 12 years ago. He was inspired by drivers who attach the flags of their favourite soccer nations on their vehicles.

"It was a morale-booster from their particular country," he said. "So I began putting my flags out."

No 'rhyme or reason' to choosing flag

Konrad said "there's no rhyme or reason" when it comes to choosing the flag of the day.

He stores his flags in five large bins that are alphabetically labelled. He rummages through them and randomly chooses a flag. He also puts a handwritten sign on his window indicating which country the flag belongs to.

Adrienne Corneil and Robyn O'Reilly are students at the nearby Ryerson Public School. They pass by the display almost every day during their walk home from school. 

The 10-year-olds think the flags are "really cool."

"If you don't know a country … you can go search it," said Corneil.

The students also said the display sends a positive message to the community.

"I think it's cool because it's like no matter where you live, you all matter," added O'Reilly.

Peter Heathcoat has lived in his home across from Konrad's since the 1980s.

"I like the idea. It keeps us in tune with what the world consists of. There is such a variety of countries, even small ones we don't really know about," he said.

Elaine Brander lives two doors down from Konrad. She said the flags have built a "sense of community."

"Diversity is to be celebrated and it is representative of the people that we have in London so it just all fits," she added.

One complaint

Konrad said he once received a "wordy letter" after raising the North Korean flag. But, he flew it the next year anyway.

"When I am flying the flag, it's not an endorsement of a particular country, their culture, people or anything," he said.

And in case you're wondering, Konrad's favourite flag to fly is the Japanese one. He loves "looking at it because it's so pure and so, so simple."