Australia’s ‘hottest’ tradie Lauren Larsen responds to cruel trolls

Australia’s ‘hottest’ tradie said she almost didn’t take up her dream job out of fear of being judged for working in a predominantly male field.

Lauren Larsen shared a series of videos on TikTok showing her life as a second-year apprentice carpenter in Melbourne.

A viral clip titled ‘POV: you start a carpentry apprenticeship at 19’ shows Ms Larsen working on building wall frames, flooring and a demolition project.

Women around Australia applauded her for showing her hard work and said she’s ‘the hottest carpenter out there’. 

Lauren Larsen (above) shared inspiring videos of her life as a second-year apprentice in carpentry on TikTok

‘Honestly I wanna know how you got into it because I’m lost and I want to start carpentry soon,’ one commenter wrote.

‘I love this and it is the motivation and inspiration I’ve been needing! I’ve been trying to test into a carpentry apprenticeship for the past year,’ another said. 

One commenter wrote that picking up a trade is what she’s ‘always wanted to do’ but she’d stopped herself from taking the first step out of fear of judgment.

Ms Larsen replied:  ‘I was worried too. But the way I see it – you’re gonna get judged no matter what you do… so you may as well be enjoying it.’

Fellow tradies also praised Ms Larsen for sharing her work online to inspire other women.

‘This makes me so happy seeing women in trades – I’m a future heavy equipment operator and it’s nice to see women not be afraid to break sexism,’ one wrote.

Ms Larsen’s videos show her working on various projects (above) as part of her carpentry apprenticeship

‘Good on you. It’s not a male job. I’m a machine operator. I operate excavators and skid steers and I love it,’ another commented.

‘Yes, more girls in the trade industry! I’m a sparkie apprentice,’ a third person said.

Another wrote: ‘I am a female concreter! I love to see us showing how capable we are!’

In a follow up video, Ms Larsen said she landed her job by asking male friends she knew in the industry for contacts.

She recommended doing a trial week in the trade but noted the most important thing was to just get in and have a try. 

‘Just give it a go!’ she said. ‘You can never lose when you give something a go.’

Ms Larsen (above) encouraged other women interested in picking up a trade to ‘just go for it’