The Too Cool Air Story

My journey in the HVAC industry officially began on June 3, 1999, when I enrolled at UTI in Humble, TX. But the real story goes much further back. By the time I was 4 years old, I had what you might call a "full-time job."

My father was, and always will be, the hardest-working man I've ever known. His solution to every challenge—whether school, sports, or work—was always the same: "You're not working hard enough. You've got to give it more gas." To this day, I swear Pitbull's hit song "Dale Más Gasolina" was inspired by my father!

While my friends spent weekends playing video games, my childhood was spent on job sites working alongside grown men. If there was no work lined up, it didn't mean I got to sleep in. Rain, sleet, snow, or 100-degree heat—we were up and on the jobsite by 7 AM, no exceptions. When the sun went down, we grabbed flashlights and kept going until my dad decided the day was over.

I wasn't exactly a fan of the relentless grind back then. But little did I know, he was preparing me for the future. As I grew older, I realized the endurance, work ethic, and discipline he instilled gave me a competitive edge. I didn't just work harder—I learned there was a process to everything, and that mindset has stayed with me to this day.

On June 10, 2011, my career and life took a dramatic turn. While working in an attic, I fell and severely injured my knee, permanently damaging the cartilage. After microfracture surgery, I found myself unable to work as I once had. At 31 years old, the doctor deemed me handicapped.

The company I'd put my heart and soul into threw me away like yesterday's trash. They told me I was too much of a liability to return as a service tech and offered me a dispatch position for $10 an hour. Feeling undervalued, I quit that same day.

Determined to bounce back, I joined their biggest competitor and was hired on the spot. But my knee wasn't the same—I literally dragged my leg behind me for the next 11 years. During that time, I saved up and opened my own HVAC business. Unfortunately, within a year, it failed.

I was left handicapped, barely able to move, and faced with the crushing reality of losing everything I'd worked for. This was truly rock bottom.

With no choice but to adapt, I shifted gears entirely. I walked away from residential and light commercial HVAC—despite having 19 years of experience and being one of the most technical HVAC techs this side of the Mississippi River. Instead, I joined QuikTrip as their Commercial Refrigeration and HVAC Tech.

For the first time in nearly two decades, I was a rookie again, working on unfamiliar equipment like rack refrigeration systems typically found in supermarkets. QuikTrip is serious about keeping drinks cold, and their systems are complex. It took me a year to get comfortable and two years to master them.

I was sent to every QuikTrip in the DFW area to repair their refrigeration systems. And I fixed every single one.

In 2022, I underwent stem cell treatments for both knees. I didn't know what to expect—I was just praying for less pain and maybe the ability to sleep through the night.

To my surprise, I ran out of the clinic 30 minutes after the injections. For the first time in over a decade, I was pain-free. I'm still running to this very day.

That moment sparked something in me. If I could get my knees back under me, maybe it was time to return to residential and light commercial HVAC. I spent years preparing—building business credit, setting up accounts with local HVAC suppliers, redesigning our website, doing our own SEO and marketing, and going part-time at QuikTrip to focus on growing our customer base.

By May 2, 2024, I officially left QuikTrip and have been fully dedicated to Too Cool Air ever since.