A female bricklayer is working to break down stereotypes.
Darcie Richards has a slight 5ft 2 in frame and enjoys getting glammed up on occasion.
But the 25-year-old feels most at home when she’s out on a building site with her brothers Louis and Jody and dad Ricky.
The Norfolk lass hopes to inspire other women to get into the male-dominated industry.
She shares regular videos of herself constructing walls, mixing cement and doing heavy lifting without breaking a sweat.
Her mission to get more women into bricklaying seems to be paying off too as she’s garnered 100,000 followers and more than 2.1 million likes on her @rattlekings page.
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As Darcie is one of the only female bricklayers in Britain, she sometimes surprises clients when she turns up on jobs.
She told Fabulous: “I know female electricians but I have never met a female bricklayer and don’t know of any others in the industry.
“People are gobsmacked when I turn up at a job. I’m quite petite, so I don’t look like your average burly builder. But trust me, I’m just as strong — inside and out…
“I never thought I’d end up wearing dusty overalls and steel-toecapped boots to work.
“But I love building things and am always really proud of myself once I’ve completed a job.”
By posting videos, Darcie is helping to normalise women working in construction and drawing more into the industry.
She said: “It’s great that more young girls are showing an interest, building isn’t just for boys.”
While the TikToker gets a lot of positive messages from supporters and online admirers, she faces some trolling on the platform too.
In recent videos, keyboard warriors have commented that “women shouldn’t be building”.
Another social media user argued: “No offence but a woman couldn’t do the amount I do at work… fact.”
A third sexist commenter jibed: “Get back in the kitchen and stop making a show of yourself.”
Thankfully, Darcie doesn’t let this faze her.
In a recent video, she said: “‘Get back in the kitchen’ – women get paid the same as men nowadays.
“We can do it ourselves.”
And in another, she defended: “Yes I’m a girl, no it’s not just a man’s job.”
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Trolls certainly haven’t crushed Darcie’s spirit either.
She’s recently posted videos of herself dancing on site and messing around with her brothers.
And while the work is “exhausting”, she added: “It’s always fun.”
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