Campbell wins the title of “WORLD’S BEST BRICKLAYER”
Tennessee mason Fred Campbell wins the 2013 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® National
The 2013 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® National bricklaying championship decides, “Who is the World’s Best Bricklayer?” Mason Fred Campbell from Limestone, Tennessee, took first place overall at this “World Series of Bricklaying,” with 634 brick laid. This timed, 60 minute competition was held on Wednesday, starting at 2:15 PM CST, February 6th, 2013, at the Masonry Madness Arena, at the 2013 World of Concrete / World of Masonry trade show. This is the largest annual construction trade show in the world. It is held once a year at the Las Vegas Convention Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 2013 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 National is a bricklaying competition comprised of the best bricklayers in the world. Twenty, 2-man teams made up of a mason and mason tender compete to lay the most brick while meeting strictly defined quality standards. The competition has the largest winner’s purse of any masonry competition. The competitors compete for well over $100,000 in cash and prizes before a crowd of 5,000 fans.
First place winner, Fred Campbell, age 41, a mason with Creative Masonry, located in Jonesborough, Tennessee, was declared ”World’s Best Bricklayer,” with 634 brick laid in just sixty minutes. Fred won the grand prize of a new 2013 Ford F-250, XLT, V8, SuperDuty, CrewCab, 4 x 4 truck. Fred also won $5,000 in cash, a STIHL GS 461 Rock Boss Concrete Cutter, and thousands in additional sponsor prizes. Fred’s mason tender was Tony Shelton also with Creative Masonry. Tony is from Afton, Tennessee. This is the team’s first time in the winner’s circle at the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 National.
The 2013 SPEC MIX Bricklayer 500 TOP CRAFTSMAN award was given to mason Steve Cleveland, age 38, of Midwest Masonry, located in Mundelein, Indiana. Steve laid 530 brick. The combined brick count and quality of his wall was judged the, “most sellable.” Steve’s mason tender was William R Hill III, from Hobart, Indiana. As the SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN, Steve won $5,000 in cash, a Multiquip PRO12 mixer, a STIHL GS 461 Rock Boss Concrete Cutter and thousands in sponsor prizes.
The 2nd place overall winner was a past champion mason Ray Robinson, age 46, with JAM Construction, Lake City, Florida. Ray laid 588 brick and his mason tender was Lynette Darby. Ray won $4,000 cash, a IQ 360 14” Masonry Saw with built-in vacuum system and other sponsor prizes.
The 3rd place overall winner was mason Darian Douthit, age 41, with Providence Masonry, located in Fairland, Oklahoma. Darian laid 576 brick and his mason tender was Fernando (Andy) Zepeda of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Darian won $3,000 in cash and sponsor prizes.
The SPEC MIX TOUGHEST TENDER® winner was Adrian Tena, with G&G Enterprises, Phoenix, Arizona. Adrian won $2,500 in cash and sponsor prizes. The SPEC MIX TOUGHEST TENDER is a preliminary event held just before SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 National. In this event the tenders race the clock to set up a predefined work area for the mason. Adrian’s winning time was 20:40 minutes.
Established to showcase the skill and craftsmanship of masonry the general description of the bricklaying competition is as follows: The contest requires all masons to meet the quality standards of the event. They have 60 minutes to complete their 26 foot 8 inch, double wythe brick wall. The competition has four awards; 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place are based on the highest brick count meeting the quality standards. The 4th award, and arguably considered the most coveted price, the SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN is judged the most sellable wall with the most brick. The walls are closely evaluated by 27 carefully selected masonry officials averaging 20 years of bricklaying experience. Many of the competitors feel winning the SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN award is their main goal and it has the second highest award purse.
This year’s competition is made up of winning bricklayers from 16 Regional qualifying competitions held throughout the United States and Canada. Competition bricklayers come from states such as Ohio, Washington, Illinois, Utah, Tennessee, Colorado, Wisconsin, Iowa, Arizona, Missouri, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Florida, Northern California, and Alabama. In addition, masons from the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Ontario, and the countries of England and Australia were also laying brick. The 2012 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 National Champion, Leif Reints, Miami, Oklahoma returned to defend his title as well as the 2012 SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN® winner, Scott Tuttle, Clinton, Utah.
About the Author
Jeff Farmakes is the Marketing Communications Manager for SPEC MIX®, Inc.
