The Story of Real Brick
Former AFL player Cain Ackland is kicking goals in his post-football career with partner Kirstyn since launching their Geelong-based business, Real Brick. In just over a year, Real Brick has become Victoria’s leading brick tile company.
Cain was a ruckman for Port Adelaide, St Kilda, and Carlton before hanging up his boots professionally in 2008. He was invited to continue his football career in Geelong for Newtown/Chilwell, subsequently taking on a role at Cotton On before starting Real Brick.
“I was working in project management, and I saw an opportunity in lightweight brick cladding after witnessing Cotton On use it in shop-fit-outs for their various brands. There was a gap in this space in the Victorian market, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to launch a product that is real brick but can be applied to various surfaces, just like tiles.” says Cain.
Real Brick Uses
Real Brick crafts brick tiles that can be applied on feature walls, fireplaces, floors, and feature ceilings. Real Brick tiles are an easy-to-use material, perfect for second storey additions, and for matching heritage buildings.
Key Projects For Real Brick
In addition to their domestic work, Cain and the Real Brick team have worked on a number of large-scale corporate projects. These have included multiple projects for Cotton On Group, including the new Distribution Centre and several store fit-outs, as well as the Walt Disney head office in Melbourne. Rick Brick has also been used for restaurant fit outs as well as in projects for architects and builders.
Cain says “The most rewarding part of what I do is seeing the end result of people’s projects, and the transformation our products make. We work on large commercial projects, down to small domestic jobs. Every finished project gives me a sense of pride.
“At Real Brick, we are proud to use reclaimed products. It’s a great way to get a unique, ‘one-off’ feature, that can’t be replicated through the use of standard tiles. This also leaves a lighter environmental footprint by using raw materials”.
Contact Cain at cain@realbrick.com.au.
