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Bricks, Bargains & Mr Burrlocks
I caught up with Brian Burr, a seasoned locksmith and proud Taurean, hence his business name, Taurus Locks. With over 16 years in the trade and a lifetime of hands-on graft, it’ s a pleasure to feature Brian in his milestone month as he celebrates turning 60.
My Journey into Locksmithing I left school in 1981 at 16 and started out working in a garden nursery. I’ d done bits of work there before I officially left school, but it wasn’ t long before my cousin mentioned that the local brick factory was looking for people. I went down on the Friday, and by Monday morning I was working there. I spent the next 27 years working there – brick setting, handmaking bricks, driving forklifts, driving loading shovels, doing maintenance, welding, and repairing machines. I even became the shop steward and did that role for 15 years. It was a solid job and a big part of my life. In 2008, I was made redundant, but I stayed on into 2009 to help decommission the factory – taking apart all the machinery with the maintenance team until the place closed completely.
While I was still there, I saw an advert for the UK Locksmiths Association – a three-day training course in Essex. I went in March 2009, trained up while still employed, and by the end of May I had finished at the factory and received my redundancy money. I decided to give locksmithing a year and see what happened. My wife was a prison officer at the time, and I was using my BMW convertible to get around to jobs for about 18 months. Business picked up, so I bought a Transit Connect van, and it all started to build from there – letting agencies, management companies, and word of mouth.
In October 2009, I got invited to a BNI networking meeting and I’ ve been a member ever since. It’ s been a massive help – not just for the work but for meeting people I’ d never have crossed paths with otherwise, eg solicitors, insurance companies and various business owners. I’ ve built up a wide network so if a customer needs a reliable tradesperson, I usually know someone. I’ ve tried other networking groups, but BNI feels more structured for business – other groups are more like social clubs.
What I enjoy most about locksmithing is the flexibility. I’ m not tied to a rigid Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 life. In the early days, it felt like I was constantly chasing the next job, not knowing where it was coming from. But now I’ m established, I set my own hours. I still get callouts, but most of the work is pre-planned – lock changes, mechanism issues etc.
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MAY 2025
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