Stu Crompton

The golf didn’t work out

When I left school I wanted to be a professional golfer. I didn’t quite make it, so I had to get a job. That was the harsh truth.

I ended up working with my dad, KC, fitting windows, doors and conservatories. Then my sister’s boyfriend at the time needed a hand labouring on site, so I went along. I laboured for two years, and that’s where bricklaying started for me.

The apprenticeship

I did my bricklaying apprenticeship around 2004 to 2006 and got my Level 2. It wasn’t a good apprenticeship. I wasn’t treated well, and as soon as I had my qualification I left.

After that it was a struggle for a while. I worked with my dad and picked up small jobs wherever I could.

A camera on a conservatory base

I started a YouTube channel in 2014 with a mix of everything: golf, football, vlogs. One day I took my camera along to a conservatory base I was building, filmed it and put it up. It did really, really well.

In 2017 I decided to concentrate on bricklaying, and my numbers went through the roof. I was one of the first to bring bricklaying up to date on social media, one of the first tradespeople to really make an impact online. Around 2019 I became the first bricklayer in the world to reach 100,000 subscribers on YouTube, and things went well from there. I started putting the videos on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram too.

The academy, the course and the trowel

Around 2019 I set up my own bricklaying academy to teach students, and I ran it for five years. I really enjoyed it, but in the end I decided it wasn’t for me. I built a lot of art pieces inside that unit, the star pier caps, the columns, the carved stone, and I honed my craft in there. I took a lot of good memories away with me.

I also have a paid bricklaying course with 72 hours of video.

Then there’s the trowel. I spent six years developing a bricklaying trowel with gauge lines, which is patent protected, and launched it in December 2023. It’s doing really well. Since then I’ve made my own Apex corner blocks, my own Crompton Dori blocks and a few other bricklaying tools, and I sell them on CromptonTool.com.

Why I built Hard Hat Way

I’ve always wanted to build an app. I just didn’t know what it was going to be until I found the problem.

Websites and companies keep cropping up that put tradespeople last. Trades end up fighting each other in a race to the bottom on price, and the good trades are the ones who suffer.

I’ve always done a good job and shown that I take pride in my work. Customers come to me already knowing they’re going to get a job done properly, so they’re happy to pay what we charge, because what a customer is really paying for is peace of mind.

That’s what we’ve built into Hard Hat Way. The reputation system comes straight from my own experience: your standing is earned from other trades on the work you actually do, not bought.

139 days

I started planning it in September 2025 and wrote the first line of code on 8 November. We launched on iOS on 2 March 2026, 114 days later, and on Android 25 days after that, on 27 March. That’s 139 days from the first line of code to two apps in the app stores, with no coding experience, no help from anybody and no funding. Just sheer determination, and making the most of every tool and resource I could get my hands on.

Where it’s at now

Six months on, the app’s doing okay. I’ve been busy with the trowel, so I haven’t been able to put as much time into it as I’d like, but I’m back on the horse now. We’ve just rebuilt the website, the latest version of the app (1.5.1) is out on Android and iOS, and the focus now is getting more customers posting jobs for trades who take pride in their work.

Away from the tools

I love playing golf with my dad. I’ve got three sisters, a wife, and a daughter who’s nearly two. I love being outdoors, and I love fast cars, even if I can’t afford one just yet.

I’ve got one of those ADHD kind of brains: always thinking, always scheming, and always determined to succeed.

Stu Crompton