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2019 COMPETITOR ROSTER | BIOS

6 MARTY MARRS 7 MARIO ALVES
ILLINOIS REGIONAL ONTARIO REGIONAL
TENDER: TONY SAVANT TENDER: MICHAEL ALVES
MARRS MASONRY A&M MASONRY
TERRE HAUTE, IN HAMILTON, ON
Win or lose, you might hear the It was a chance encounter that got
sound of champagne popping for Mario Alves hooked on the SPEC
the 2018 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER MIX BRICKLAYER 500®. seven
500® Illinois regional winner, Mar- years ago someone competing in
ty Marrs. Approaching his 40th the Ontario regional called his em-
birthday, the mason from Terre Haute, Indiana gets to celebrate his ployer, A&M Masonry, asking for a laborer to tender for the com-
4th decade in style – in Las Vegas. petition. Knowing nothing about the event, Alves and a few others
went to see it for themselves. And then it happened, someone got
This year was his third attempt to get to the nationals, and he won injured, and Alves stepped in as a replacement. He’s participated
with a brick count of 587 and no deductions. His effort also wel- in every local regional since, and just won a spot on the national
comed the honor of being named SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN. roster for the third time.
“I tried to ride a fine line between fast and perfect, and it paid off.
Second place had more brick, so not having any deductions is what The 30-year-old mason from Hamilton, Ontario has learned a lot
put me over the top,” Marrs said. Winning a spot on the 2019 na- from his experience at one of the largest regional events in North
tional championship roster is no easy task, especially in a region so America. He’s never placed in Las Vegas, but he’s had high brick
rich in masonry talent. Marrs, with his mason tender and cousin, counts and now he knows he needs to work on perfection. “It’s
Tony Savant, beat out 10 other teams of bricklayers. He knows that been a couple of close years,” he said, “Now I’m older, more ma-
to compete in Vegas, he’ll have to find a way to be even quicker ture, and I know a little more about what I have to do to get the
while still remaining perfect. job done.”

8 JUAN CABRAL 9 JOSE PEREZ
COLORADO REGIONAL LOUISIANA REGIONAL

TENDER: JOSE LIMON TENDER: JUAN PEREZ
PHOENIX MASONRY BULLSEYE MASONRY
DENVER, CO PONCHATOULA, LA

You better bring you’re A game For 37-year-old Jose Perez the best
if you expect to beat mason Juan part about coming to work every
Cabral and his mason tender Jose day is laying brick. So, winning
Limon. They had some tough the 2018 Louisiana regional was a
competition during the Colorado walk in the park. Coming in with a
regional, and they qualified for Las Vegas and took the regional strong brick count of 640, Perez practiced for about a week before
SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN prize with a brick count of 705. blowing away the competition.

36-year-old Juan Cabral with Phoenix Masonry in Aurora, CO has Perez is married with three children and has been with his compa-
been working as a brick mason since he was a kid and used to ny, Bullseye Masonry for the past five years. He picked up the trade
help his mom make improvements to her house. That experience from his father, and is passionate about promoting the industry to
has led to a great career, and a way to support his wife and four the next generation. “The masonry industry is a path to an incred-
children. ible career for all young people,” he said.

Cabral loves competing in the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 and With a great foundation to contend for the title, Perez plans on
believes it’s a great way to get the next generation excited about practicing building the double wall for a few weeks before heading
masonry. He said, “It shows other people that masonry is about to Las Vegas.
quality and speed, but mostly quality.”

30 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 | 2019 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
®