On paper, Ryan O’Leary is a tiler from Bribie Island.
In reality, he is the kind of operator the industry keeps saying it wants more of. Proud of his craft. Protective of his reputation. Allergic to shortcuts. And somehow still able to keep the job site light enough that a Monday doesn’t feel like punishment.
In today’s episode of The Good Builder Podcast, Aaron sat down with O’Leary for what quickly became less an interview and more a straight chat between two blokes who clearly love the building game, even with all its flaws. The conversation moved from apprenticeships to burnout, from social media to the “Block effect”, and from business growth to the underrated power of staying small and doing elite work.
The result was a masterclass in what it actually looks like when a tradie builds a sustainable business without becoming a stressed-out version of himself.
A trade that chose him early
O’Leary started tiling at 15, straight out of school, working with his father. He never finished school and never really flirted with corporate life. He knew early he was not going to sit in an office.
He describes himself as “a high school dropout” and jokes about probably having “a cocktail of learning disabilities”, but his story is familiar to many in the trades: school didn’t fit, hands-on work did, and the confidence came from mastery, not marks.
Over 21 years, tiling became more than a job. It became an identity.
And he is clear about one thing. Even when he tried other paths, he always came back.
He did a stint on a mining site working with explosives and hated it. “I wanted to blow my brains out,” he said, describing the boredom. Once he and his wife signed their house contract, he quit and went back to tiling.
He also spent years running a seasonal nightclub in Greece, flying back and forth while maintaining his tiling work in Australia. It was fun in his twenties, he said, but the constant restarting wore him down. Eventually he chose stability, family, and a business he could control.
“Average is the enemy” and why details matter
O’Leary has built a following online through a mix of sharp humour, job site banter, and flawless finished bathrooms. His Instagram is equal parts education and entertainment.
But beneath the jokes is a serious philosophy: the details matter, and average is the enemy.
He is not chasing speed for the sake of it. He is chasing pride.
An “average bathroom” might take him and his apprentice six days. He charges for the week and then pushes every little detail as far as he can. Not because the client is demanding it, but because he is.
“It’s for my soul,” he said. “It is for the client, but it’s more for my soul… and to put out there on Instagram for other people to see.”
That mindset is uncommon in a market where too many trades are forced into volume cycles, shaving minutes and margins, and slowly losing interest in the craft. O’Leary has deliberately designed his business so that does not happen.
Why he refuses to scale
One of the strongest themes in the podcast was O’Leary’s refusal to chase growth for the sake of it.
He runs a small crew. Just him and his apprentice, “one and a half”, he joked. He has “absolutely zero plans for growth”.
The reason is simple.
“If I’m going to spend eight hours in a bathroom… I’ve got to get along with them,” he said. He does not want ten blokes he barely knows. He wants a tight crew, strong culture, and control over quality.
That decision is a direct challenge to the default advice tradies often hear: scale up, hire more, take on bigger builders, do more jobs, make more money.
O’Leary’s view is blunt. Scaling too fast is one of the quickest ways young tradies burn out.
He regularly sees young tilers in their mid twenties start their business, take on too much work, often with volume builders, then get crushed by admin, invoices, and payment cycles they were never trained for.
“They get promised a lot from builders,” he said. “Typically builders don’t want to pay that much… young tilers work themselves into the ground.”
His advice: start smaller than you think you need to. Build your local reputation. Do one job at a time and make it perfect. The work will start rolling in.
The volume builder trap and why private work wins
O’Leary has done volume work in the past and has no interest in going back.
He describes volume tiling as repetitive, monotonous, and a “quick way to the bottom” if you are doing the same layout, the same spec, the same pressure, week after week.
What he prefers is a mix of private work and select builders who value quality and pay properly.
When he does work with builders, he looks for a specific type. Not the ones “in my ear all the time about what they’re going to make”, but the ones who say:
- the client is good
- we want you because you do a nice job
- we will pay you what you want, as long as it is done properly
For him, a “good builder” is not defined by big talk or big turnover. It is defined by caring about the final product, being fair, paying on time, and backing people when issues come up.
In his world, that is the whole game.
The “Block effect” and unrealistic expectations
O’Leary also took a swipe at The Block, not because he wants drama, but because he thinks it shapes bad expectations.
Like many tradies, he knows the moment a client references The Block, the job just got harder.
“This is what we saw on The Block… this is The Block,” clients say. In his words: “I always know I’m in for a bad time.”
He acknowledges some of the technical critiques on TV might not be wrong, but the delivery often is. And he has “no time for bullies”.
His point is bigger than a TV show. When the industry is portrayed as chaos, conflict, and constant rework, it trains homeowners to expect conflict too. It also underplays what real craftsmanship looks like when it is calm, systematic, and done by people who care.
Social media that builds reputation, not leads
Here is the twist.
Despite having a strong social following, O’Leary says he has never had a phone call that he can directly attribute to Instagram.
No “saw you online, can you do my job?” moment.
And he is fine with that.
He uses Instagram to keep the trade interesting, to have fun, to educate, and to build a reputation that carries beyond his immediate circles. He also sees it as a long-term asset for his apprentice, even if the apprentice does not fully appreciate it yet.
“If something happens… he’ll have a job like that,” he said, snapping his fingers.
O’Leary’s approach is a reminder to trades and builders that personal brand does not always create instant leads. Sometimes it creates something more valuable: trust, credibility, and career insurance.
The real retention strategy: culture
If there is a single reason O’Leary stands out, it is not the tiling.
It is the culture.
He has fun at work. He keeps the banter going. He wants apprentices to enjoy showing up. He knows if you run a job site like a punishment, young people will quit the trade before they even become good.
In a labour market where everyone is struggling to find and keep good people, that is not a nice-to-have. It is a strategy.
And the serious point behind the jokes is that this is how he plans to keep doing it long term.
His father worked in the trade for decades and “never complained, not once”. O’Leary sees that as a lesson: do the work properly, keep it human, and do not let the job grind you into someone you do not like.
A life outside the bathroom
Outside of tiling, O’Leary is a Broncos fan, a beach guy, and a dad of two young kids. He used to scuba dive heavily in Moreton Bay, but that slowed down as his father got older. He hopes to get back to it when he can afford a boat and when the kids are older.
He is also putting his hand up to train his four year old son’s footy team, a move he hopes will keep him moving, keep his back healthier, and maybe even pull him out of the pub a little more.
It is not a flashy life, but it is a good one. And that, in many ways, is the whole point.
What the industry should take from Ryan O’Leary
O’Leary is not trying to be a guru. He is not selling a course. He is not preaching hustle.
He is simply showing, in real time, what sustainable excellence looks like in the trades:
- stay selective with your clients
- protect your reputation
- charge fairly and deliver quality
- keep the crew small if that is what suits your life
- do not let admin, payment terms, or volume pressure crush your love for the work
- keep job sites fun enough that people want to stay
In an industry that is constantly talking about productivity, training, and retention, his message is almost annoyingly simple.
Care more. Complicate less. Do not let the tiles beat you.
And maybe that is the most modern thing a tradie can say in 2026.
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