Lean & Mean

Campbell Does it Again!

Winning the SPEC MX BRICKLAYER 500® World Championship is cool, but winning it twice in three years’ time is pretty darn sweet! In the event’s 13-year history, Fred Campbell is one of only two masons that have won the world championship twice.

After being crowned the 2013 World Champ Fred returned to Las Vegas to reclaim his title but fell short on the attempt. That obviously didn’t sit well with him so to get another chance at the title “World’s Best Bricklayer,” Fred practiced and trained hard, which allowed him to lose 65 pounds and win the East Tennessee Regional Qualifying Competition that ultimately earned him a spot in the 2015 Championship round.

When Fred walked into the arena in Vegas it was clear he was a new man, full of determination. He and his mason tender and best friend since high school, Tony Shelton, were on a mission. Both were mentally and physically prepared to win it all, including the first place prize, a Ford F-250 Super Duty truck. Together they succeeded by laying 743 perfect brick, but their 2015 victory had a different spin compared to their previous title win.

After their last triumph in 2013, Fred gave Tony the $5,000 prize money from the win, and promised his best buddy that next time they won (now that’s confidence) he would give him the truck. Well, anybody that knows Fred will agree he’s a man of his word, and he kept his promise. While standing in the Winner’s Circle when John Ruppert, General Manager of Ford Commercial Vehicles tried handing Fred the keys to the truck, the Champ said with his hands at his sides, “That’s not my truck, it’s Tony’s truck.” Seconds later Mr. Ruppert made the exchange and Tony was the owner of a shiny-new ruby red Ford Super Duty. “It’s only fair, because we work as a team,” said Fred. “He stuck with me through the years, win or lose. I couldn’t do it without him.”

If running his own masonry contracting business Creative Masonry doesn’t keep him busy enough, Fred’s six children definitely keep him and his wife, Sharon, on the go. The couple has four by birth and adopted a 3-year old boy nicknamed “Bubba” and his 4-year old sister, all of which were present that day to inspire their dad’s award-winning performance.

The children are all interested in their father’s masonry work, just as Fred was as a child. Bubba seems to be following in his father’s footsteps. During the Championship competition in Las Vegas this year, Bubba was spotted playing with the bricks and mortar. “He was actually trying to lay brick…He loves it. I got him his own little trowel because he kept onto me about it,” said Fred, who hopes this family tradition will continue. One thing is certain; the kids will have one of the best masonry instructors and mentors in the business.