Richard King wins the Californina Spec Mix Bricklayer 500 Regional Event!

Richard King claims the “California’s Best Bricklayer” and “Top Craftsman” titles!

On October 20^th, 2023, the California SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® regional competition took place. Masons and tenders from across the state picked up their trowels to compete for the ‘California Best Bricklayer” title. The 60-minute competition took place at Thompsons Building Materials in Sacramento, California, and first-time competitor, Richard King, who drove up from Southern California to compete, claimed victory! Richard and his tender Justin Lepage with Nuway Masonry won first place and Top Craftsman by laying 497 bricks. The Top Craftsman title is given to the team with the ‘most-sellable’ wall. With zero deductions, the King-Lepage team had the perfect wall, winning them a combined total of $800, a 2-foot Stabila Level, and a Marshalltown Tool Bag. Now, this duo will move forward to compete at the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 World Championships in Las Vegas Nevada, at the World of Concrete Tradeshow, taking place on January 24^th, 2024. The 2023 Regional Series includes 23 events throughout the United States and Canada. To qualify for the SMBL500 event in Las Vegas, teams will compete at one of the 23 individual regionals and battle for first place to secure their spot in the national competition. The teams consist of one mason and one tender; working on a 26-foot-wide wall, they have 60 minutes to lay as much brick as possible with the fewest craftsmanship errors. These teams are only allowed to compete once at one regional event throughout the year, and each duo that wins first place will advance to what is known as the “Superbowl of Masonry.” At the World Championship, they will compete to win part of $125,000 in cash in prizes, including a Kubota RTV-X1140, Essick Pro12 mixer, and of course, the title, “World’s Best Bricklayer.” The second-place winner at the California Regional event was mason Derek Boydston and tender Carlos Saurez with Boydston Masonry our of Paso Robles, California. This team laid 393 bricks in 60-minutes, winning them $350, a 2-foot Stabila Level, and a Marshalltown Tool Bag. In third place was mason Dago Fierro and tender Arnulfo Fierro with Fierro Masonry. This team laid 359 bricks in 60-minutes, winning them $250, a 2-foot Stabila Level, and a Marshalltown Tool Bag.

Disclosures:

In 2019, the SPEC MIX organization partnered with other masonry associations to create the JR. SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 Competition. In 2023, of the 23 Regional Series competitions, 15 will also hold a JR. BRICKLAYER 500 contest to allow high schoolers and masonry apprentices to compete for top honors and prizes. The program has proven remarkably successful and highly supported by the Mason Contractors Association of America, school administrators, and numerous masonry supply manufacturers and dealers. To learn more, visit https://www.specmix.com/jr-spec-mix-bricklayer-500/.

2024 World Championship: If you are interested in becoming a fan, the 22nd annual SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 World Championship will take place on January 24th, 2024, at the World of Concrete tradeshow in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Las Vegas Convention Center Bronze Lot. At this competition, 25 world-class masons lay it all on the line to claim their portion of the total purse valued at more than $125,000. Prizes include a Kubota RTV-X1140, Multiquip Pro 12 Mortar Mixer. Additionally, there will be other prizes from Hilti, Hydromobile, IQ Power Tools, QUIKRETE Companies, Razor-Back Tools, Stabila, Marshalltown, STIHL, Hohmann & Barnard, and Belden Brick.