I sort of stumbled into RPGs. I got my mom to buy me the AD&D 1e Monster Manual before I even knew that it was for a game. I thought it was just a book of cool monsters with esoteric-sounding stats, like a fantasy version of the Terran Trade Authority spaceship books. I didn't actually start gaming until 1981.
In the days before the Satanic Panic, RPGs could be found in general-purpose hobby shops, book stores, and toy stores -- even Toys 'R Us.
I noticed that many people I knew who games in those days dropped out of the hobby by the time it became strongly associated with geekdom.
My buddies and I treated AD&D modules like video game cartridges, playing them over and over again.