Christopher Gearhart
About Our Founder
Christopher Gearhart, a graphics programmer and stop motion animator, founded Bricker Builds in October of 2020 with a vision to bring new value to the LEGO community.
His passion for the LEGO system dates back to his early childhood, from building from his imagination, to designing LEGO tabletop strategy games and running a stop motion animation YouTube channel called Bricks Brought to Life.
Christopher's work is featured in the LEGO Ninjago Movie, as well as the LEGO Masters TV Show on FOX and YouTube projects such as Rogue One in LEGO and Harry Potter vs Luke Skywalker. Epic Rap Battles Of History.
Christopher now works as a software developer developing security technologies for the US government, as well as managing the growing Bricker Builds brand.
How did the idea for Bricker Builds come about?
During Christopher’s undergraduate studies at Taylor University, he developed a LEGO design & animation software called Bricker, originally created to aid in his stop motion animation work. The software allowed him to create expansive landscapes and unique animated effects (such as water, fire, or explosions) entirely out of LEGO bricks.
In May of 2020, Christopher designed a 332nd Clone Helmet with Bricker to commemorate the Season 7 finale of the Clone Wars. To his surprise, a photo of the helmet as well as a Darth Maul sculpture gained unexpected popularity, and within a handful of hours he had received dozens of DMs and comments on Instagram requesting building instructions.
Inspired by the response on Instagram, Christopher spent the next few months improving his software, laying the groundwork for the Bricker Builds website, and developing an initial product line of 10 life-sized sculptures (including clone helmets, a Dark Lord Maul bust, and three saber hilts).
On October 30th, 2020, after many long months of planning and development, the Bricker Builds brand and online sales platform launched!