About Us

Tradie Team was created by me, Rob, a working locksmith, dad, and someone who has spent years solving problems with my hands every single day.

Growing up, I always felt there was a stigma around trades. At school, it often felt like practical careers were seen as the option for people who were “not smart enough” for university. Tradespeople were too often portrayed as rough, dirty, lower class, or somehow less successful than people in suits.

But as I got older, I realised how wrong that was.

Some of the smartest people I have ever met are tradespeople. People with incredible practical knowledge, problem solving ability, creativity, and work ethic. People who can walk into chaos, diagnose a problem, and fix it with years of skill and experience. Yet despite keeping our homes, businesses, and communities running every single day, they rarely get recognised as role models for children.

You can walk into any toy shop and find firefighter outfits, police costumes, and superhero toys. Those careers absolutely deserve respect, but so do the plumbers, electricians, mechanics, locksmiths, builders, carpenters, and decorators who quietly help people every day too.

That belief became even more personal when I became a dad.

My young son always knew I was a locksmith. He would proudly tell people, “My daddy is a locksmith.” But one day I realised something important. He did not actually know what that meant.

The day I wrote the very first Tradie Team story about Lucky the Locksmith, I sat down and read it to him. Halfway through, his face lit up and he excitedly shouted:

“He’s a locksmith just like you!”

It was one of the proudest moments of my life.

In that moment, he finally understood what I did. More importantly, he saw it as something exciting, skilled, helpful, and heroic. For the first time, he truly understood that his dad helped people for a living, just like Lucky did in the story.

That moment became the heart of Tradie Team.

I started creating these stories while still working full time as a locksmith, often writing ideas between jobs, late at night, or whenever inspiration struck. What began as one story for my son quickly became a much bigger vision.

Tradie Team is about showing children that there are many different kinds of intelligence. Not every child thrives sitting at a desk or learning from textbooks, and that does not make them less capable or less valuable. Some children are builders, fixers, creators, problem solvers, and hands on thinkers. The world needs those people.

I want children to grow up feeling proud of the people who build, repair, wire, fix, transport, and create the world around them. I want parents in trades to feel represented. I want children who may never see themselves as “academic” to know there is absolutely no shame in practical careers.

In fact, there should be pride in them.

The dream for Tradie Team is huge. Books, toys, TV, clothing, educational partnerships, and a world of characters children can grow up with. But at its core, the mission stays simple:

To celebrate the everyday heroes who keep the world running.