Great HVAC work takes more than technical skill— it takes leadership, care, and a commitment to keep learning. Curtis Perry Jr. shares how service, training, and mentorship shape stronger technicians and stronger teams.
In this episode of Commercial Grade, host RC Victorino sits down with Curtis Perry Jr., an HVAC Service Technician, last year’s Above and Beyond Award winner, for a conversation about service, leadership, and what it really takes to grow in the trades.
Curtis shares how his path started with trade electives in high school, then took shape after a message at church inspired him to learn something hands-on. He initially considered appliance repair, but once he got exposure to HVAC, it clicked—and he’s been building his career ever since.
RC and Curtis talk about the realities of learning in the field, including the challenge of on-the-job training when certain equipment only shows up once in a while. Curtis explains why experience under pressure matters, how repetition builds confidence, and how he developed into a service team lead who helps bridge the gap between technicians and the office.
They also dig into what leadership really means in the trades: being available, caring about your people, investing in training, and helping others improve instead of just expecting results. Curtis explains why “above and beyond” service means going deeper than surface-level checks—it means doing the thorough diagnostic work, understanding the full problem, and earning trust with customers and coworkers alike.
The conversation also explores how the industry can attract more young people through career fairs, social media, and jobsite exposure, along with why the trades aren’t for everyone—and why honesty matters. Curtis also challenges old assumptions about trade careers, especially when it comes to pay, growth, and long-term opportunity.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
• How Curtis found his path into HVAC
• Why hands-on training matters more than theory alone
• The learning gaps that come with real field experience
• What great leadership looks like in service work
• Why “above and beyond” starts with better diagnostics
• How to attract more young people to the trades
• What people still get wrong about HVAC careers
Episode Timestamps:
(00:00) Welcome and guest intro
(00:52) Curtis’s trade origin story
(02:41) Why HVAC won out
(05:55) Learning on the job
(08:52) Becoming a service team lead
(10:52) Defining great leadership
(13:24) The Above and Beyond Award
(17:44) Service mindset and caring for people
(19:00) Attracting new talent to the trades
(23:29) The reality of the work
(27:03) Lightning round
(32:39) Final thoughts and wrap
About the Guest:
Curtis Perry Jr. is an HVAC professional and service team lead based in Columbia, South Carolina. Recognized as last year’s Above and Beyond Award winner by his emplyer, Curtis is known for his commitment to doing the job right, supporting fellow technicians, and leading with care. His career began with trade electives in high school and has grown through hands-on experience, technical development, and a strong service mindset. Today, he helps bridge the gap between the field and the office while mentoring others and advocating for more young people to explore the opportunities available in the trades.
Links & Resources:
• Curtis Perry Jr. on LinkedIn
• RC Victorino on LinkedIn
• Learn more at BuildOps.com
[00:00:00] Curtis Perry Jr. : You could read in a book all day, but once you get in front of equipment and you get pressure put on you to get it fixed, your mind kind of goes blink, pretty much like you forget a lot of stuff once you get in front of equipment and you got a lot of pressure on you to get it up and going, especially if it's something big like a chiller.
[00:00:16] Curtis Perry Jr. : So that's when experience comes into play.
[00:00:22] RC Victorino: Welcome, welcome everyone to Commercial Grade, the podcast that honors the unsung heroes of the trades. I'm your host, RC Victorino. I wanna give a special shoutout to build ops for making this podcast possible. Check 'em out@buildops.com. Uh, now today I'm joined by Curtis Perry, Jr. In Columbia, South Carolina.
[00:00:37] RC Victorino: And just last year he was, he won the Above and Beyond Award. Today we're gonna talk a little bit about that award. We're gonna talk a little bit about how he got started in the trades, uh, how he's growing his skills. How folks in the trades can attract folks like him into the trades. Um, so I'm really looking forward to this conversation and diving in before I introduce Curtis, I do, I do wanna call out one interesting point, probably a few times throughout this, this episode, Curtis is going to call me Sir.
[00:01:03] RC Victorino: As southern southernly as he is, and I, I, I bless him, but I'll also maybe call it out as well because it is interesting to be called Sir. So I appreciate that. Anyway, Curtis, welcome to the show.
[00:01:14] Curtis Perry Jr. : Thanks for having me.
[00:01:15] RC Victorino: Uh, so Curtis, I ask everyone this, uh, at the start of the podcast, how did you get your start in the trades?
[00:01:20] RC Victorino: What led you to be where you are today?
[00:01:25] Curtis Perry Jr. : I did HVAC in high school. At the career center. Um, 'cause I needed some electives to graduate from high school just to finish up all my credits. That's where it first began. And then I was in church and they told us to like, find something you can do with your hands.
[00:01:46] Curtis Perry Jr. : So like you don't have to call somebody. To come fix everything if you buy a house or something. And that kind of sparked my interest.
[00:01:53] RC Victorino: Oh, that's so interesting. Right. So, so, uh, admittedly, if, if, if anything happened in my, I I would've to call someone, I, I can't do anything. And it's like, it's an embarrassment for me for sure, and that it's definitely a thing that I want to address and fix.
[00:02:07] RC Victorino: Uh, I'm also you. I'm old enough to be called to serve. So, so like, I feel like my time is almost passed on that, which is embarrassing, but I love that that call out because it is also a call out to the trades in particular, like the honor of doing something with, with your hands. Uh, so great, so cool. Your world's collided a little bit, you know, a, a, a need with electives for school just to graduate and also this thing from church that, that.
[00:02:29] RC Victorino: Identified, like, yeah, this is an opportunity for me to do something more with hvac, but, but why specifically HVAC and versus like anything else? I think that like during electives you also did what it was like car mechanics or something like that was another thing you were working on, is that right?
[00:02:41] Curtis Perry Jr. : Well, I think it was just auto mechanic hvac.
[00:02:43] RC Victorino: And so then what specifically with HVAC then was like, because the church telling you, like, you know, find something to do with your hands. It could be anything but like, it, see, like long story short, like if, if anyone goes to your social media, they'll see like you're not, you're not.
[00:02:57] RC Victorino: You're not throwing it in, you're actually very into, and, you know, above and beyond award is, is rightfully so from, from the outsider's view on, on what I see for what you do, uh, you're in it like you are very invested in this profession. So it's more than just like falling back and being like, Hey, like this is an opportunity for me to like, have easy money or just like have a guaranteed paycheck.
[00:03:17] RC Victorino: That there's a little bit more of a passion in there than just a paycheck. And so I'm very interested in, in what it is, uh, specifically about HVAC, that that brings out that passion for you.
[00:03:26] Curtis Perry Jr. : 2014, that's when I was in high school. But the church conversation didn't come to like three years, three or four years later.
[00:03:35] Curtis Perry Jr. : So I graduated high school in 2014, but I was trying to find electives. So when they told me, well, they was just talking to the congregation, preaching and he was like, um, try to find something with your hands. So. I was like, I just kept searching on the internet to try to find something like that I was interested in and I thought back on HVAC from high school.
[00:04:01] Curtis Perry Jr. : So I was like, um, the closest thing I can find. No, I thought about appliance repair 'cause I was like, I don't think I wanna do hvac. So I was like, the closest thing to appliance repair that I can get into is hvac. And I was like, I'll take the skills from hvac. I applied them to appliance repair since they kind of closely related, but, um, once I got into hvac, the appliance repair kind of flew out the window
[00:04:30] RC Victorino: because of, because of why?
[00:04:32] RC Victorino: Because you, you found something that you were happy with or because, like, what is it that, why, why is it that it flew out the window?
[00:04:38] Curtis Perry Jr. : Uh, I really like hvac. Like it really sparked my interest once I started learning, getting my hands, putting in on everything.
[00:04:46] RC Victorino: So that's evident in, in, uh, your social media feed specifically.
[00:04:50] RC Victorino: I'm calling out to LinkedIn. I'm not sure what you do elsewhere, but, uh, on LinkedIn, you, you absolutely. And you get great traction on this by the way. You Absolutely. Um, peel back the layer, the peel back, the burrito, if you will, and show us like inside and on, like what the experiences are of someone like you on the job doing this kind of work and.
[00:05:10] RC Victorino: I do wanna, like, I, I'm not sure what specific post this was, but I wanna meld some worlds here together a little bit. Uh, there was, you probably have done this a couple times now, uh, a poster or two where you talk about like, you were working on a project for a really long time. Like it was a, it was a big challenge, whatever.
[00:05:25] RC Victorino: It was like this thing that you've never, like, you've never gotten to see before, maybe your entire team has never gotten to see before, was a brand new sort of thing. You gotta figure out how it works. I thought that was really cool and interesting and it does call out like this idea of, um. Always be learning like, like that.
[00:05:39] RC Victorino: I think that some folks don't really understand about the trades. There's opportunities to, to discover new things because there's so many old machines and there's so many new machines and you kinda have to be knowledgeable of it all. Uh, I say, yes, sir. Yeah, I say all this about, uh, with a preamble because I was just talking to, uh, uh, a potential future podcast, uh, guest the other day about this, and she mentioned how.
[00:06:04] RC Victorino: For, for folks who are young in the trades, who are trying to really, uh, level up their skills, that being on the job itself is not necessarily potentially the best way to do that because you're not getting the opportunities to, to repeat continuous like behaviors. Like you're not really to understand like whatever machinery you think about, like working on that.
[00:06:28] RC Victorino: Repeatedly over time like you would in a classroom where like, that's quite literally how you reinforce education. I'm interested in, since in your trajectory right now in the trades, do you think that your, your time on the job is giving you the, the skillset and the education in order to dive deep and drive dive wide enough to be, to advance your career essentially?
[00:06:52] Curtis Perry Jr. : Oh yeah, your mind kind of goes blink pretty much like you forget a lot of stuff once you get in front of equipment and you got a lot of pressure on you to get it up and going, especially if it's something big like a chiller.
[00:07:02] RC Victorino: Yeah.
[00:07:04] Curtis Perry Jr. : So that's when experience comes into play. Once you get like pressure built up, you over time you are more relaxed and then you can walk into a situation more calm.
[00:07:15] RC Victorino: Yeah.
[00:07:16] Curtis Perry Jr. : But of course you need the basics. Now the learning and reading.
[00:07:20] RC Victorino: So the, the premise of this other, uh, this, this woman that I was talking to the other day was just essentially like lack of repeated exposure to a certain, again, let's just think like a chiller, like a certain type of chiller. Like if, if you're, if you're on a job and you're working on a chiller, you might not work on a chiller like that for.
[00:07:40] RC Victorino: And you correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm just saying in gen for generalization, you might not work on a chiller, like the thing that you just worked on for another few months potentially. And so like how, how well is on the job training, ensuring that you are learning the things you need to do to, to solve these problems on the job?
[00:07:59] RC Victorino: You, you feel like it's doing a good job or do you feel like there's gaps essentially?
[00:08:04] Curtis Perry Jr. : It's gaps.
[00:08:05] RC Victorino: Interesting.
[00:08:06] Curtis Perry Jr. : Like you have to be in front of that equipment constantly.
[00:08:09] RC Victorino: Right? Exactly right. Yeah.
[00:08:12] Curtis Perry Jr. : There have been times where I've like studied manuals, like get a bunch of knowledge, try to suck a bunch of knowledge up, and then I might not see the chiller again for six months.
[00:08:20] RC Victorino: Okay.
[00:08:21] Curtis Perry Jr. : And then I forget it.
[00:08:22] RC Victorino: Interesting. So that's interesting. Okay. That that is so. Thi this was a net new thing that I had discovered the other day during the conversation that I didn't like. It's logical when you think about it, but if you never think about it, then obviously you know it's not in your head.
[00:08:36] RC Victorino: That's interesting. So, but regardless, uh, you are learning a lot clearly at your job right now. You are now service team lead. What does that actually mean? Service team lead. Can you, can you dive into that a little bit?
[00:08:50] Curtis Perry Jr. : I'm pretty much like the connection between the office and the technicians. Um. I'm responsible for helping them develop as technicians and as grow, um, pretty much whatever they need to develop their career and get better as technicians.
[00:09:10] Curtis Perry Jr. : Like I'm put in that position to help them.
[00:09:13] RC Victorino: How do you become like that? Like, like if for younger folks who are thinking about going to the trades and are interested in developing their, their career trajectory in the trades. That's a pretty cool path that you're taking so far. How, what skillset, what personality traits do you assume, or perhaps you know, for sure, uh, led you to becoming a service team lead?
[00:09:36] RC Victorino: That is definitely an honor, right?
[00:09:39] Curtis Perry Jr. : Yes, sir.
[00:09:41] RC Victorino: He called me, sir. He called me, sir, you call me sir.
[00:09:45] Curtis Perry Jr. : So when I was like a younger technician?
[00:09:49] RC Victorino: Yeah.
[00:09:49] Curtis Perry Jr. : It's been a few years back at my previous employer. Like, I've always been, like, I'd say maybe two or three years ago I started reading a lot of leadership books and, um, listening to podcasts from like Trevor Matthews about personal development.
[00:10:04] RC Victorino: Yeah.
[00:10:05] Curtis Perry Jr. : Um, like John Maxwell books about leadership, um, know Jocko, a bunch of people talking about leadership and I've had like team leaders over me and I just observe how they act in front of the customer.
[00:10:20] RC Victorino: Okay.
[00:10:21] Curtis Perry Jr. : Just how they were, they conduct theyself. I was like, I've always been one to try to like help the younger technicians and when people ask me, like I try to get 'em answers and just help them grow.
[00:10:31] RC Victorino: I, I don't want you to throw anyone under the bus, but I'm, I'm constantly intrigued by, um, both positive and negative influences. So you had mentioned how you like observed team leaders, how they were working with customers and just probably in general, like their leadership style and what have you. Uh. I can't imagine that every single, uh, leader that you've encountered has been, has been amazing.
[00:10:56] RC Victorino: The, the chances of that are small. Maybe, maybe you have been so blessed that you've had every, like, incredible leaders throughout, throughout your career, but in the, in the small chance that that's not true, and you've had some questionable leaders. What have you learned from those folks in terms of like, how, what not to do or like how, how have you, how have you used those negative experiences in order to create positive ones for yourself and your growth?
[00:11:22] Curtis Perry Jr. : Um, I've had some pretty good, um, leaders throughout my career. Like a lot of, a lot of smart guys have brought me up and like, train me.
[00:11:29] RC Victorino: How do you define good leadership? Like when you think about the, the folks who really have helped you move along in your career, how did they do that? What did they do for you?
[00:11:41] Curtis Perry Jr. : Like, they have like a care for other people. Like, um, make sure I can grow in my career. Like teach me, train me, like show me the ways of doing things right way. Um, answering phone calls like in the middle of the night when I need them to help me troubleshoot the unit. Um,
[00:12:06] Curtis Perry Jr. : yeah, that.
[00:12:09] Curtis Perry Jr. : I would say that it's some more things too, but I can't think of everything.
[00:12:13] RC Victorino: Well, that's interesting. Like I, I like the call out to the middle of the night phone call, answering the phone calls. 'cause it a, you know, you, you need an answer. You feel, it'd be awful if you didn't get that answer. But I, it's also, I think like it equates more toward, um, a level of dependency and accessibility.
[00:12:31] RC Victorino: Right. Like, like they were not too busy for you. I, I, I think that is a good and important trait for a, a leader is to, it's, it's not about them, right? It's, they have to, they have to put some inconveniences about themselves out away to ensure they support and lift up all the boats of the people who are reporting to them.
[00:12:52] RC Victorino: So, yeah, I think, I think that's a pretty cool, uh, call out. Um, I do wanna talk a little bit about this Above and Beyond Award. Tell me about. What that means. Why do they have an above and beyond award to begin with?
[00:13:05] Curtis Perry Jr. : I received award because of like, I guess my workmanship just trying to go above and beyond on every job I'm in.
[00:13:13] Curtis Perry Jr. : I'm on, and just not trying to like, um, what's the word? Just try to like, um, flat through a job. Doing any type of work, but actually doing it to the best of my abilities, even in my failures. 'cause I got failures and shortcomings. Um, just be honest and tell them when I'm in trouble, I don't, I can't figure something out and just try my best and help others along the way when they ask me for help.
[00:13:46] RC Victorino: What does that mean to like, go above and beyond other than like, like, you know, owning up to failures, which I think is obviously very important. I think a lot of people, you do more harm if you like, try to hide behind something and pretend like something's not happening when it is. Uh, and again, there's also, by the way, a good representation of leadership.
[00:14:03] RC Victorino: So bravo to you. Uh, but what does it mean in your world to go above and beyond on a job? Can you give me an example of, of a case where, like you or a general. Speaking, uh, someone, someone in the field would go above and beyond on the job.
[00:14:22] Curtis Perry Jr. : Okay? So this is a good scenario, okay? Say like, from a technician mindset, okay?
[00:14:30] Curtis Perry Jr. : If you got a unit cooling, I mean, I say you got a service call for a unit not cooling in the summertime, right? So let's just say you find a, a clogged up drain line, the person to be. Maybe a technician go out there and say, okay, I cleaned your drain line out. You ain't it working fine. You got 120 degrees, 120 PSI, suction your head pressure look good and all that, just the suction in your discharge or whatnot.
[00:15:01] Curtis Perry Jr. : But going above and beyond, a technician needs to check all the readings, like super heat, sub cooling, air flow, um, make sure the filter's clean. Pick up all the dirt and trash from around the unit. Um, just try to search for any other things that's going on with the equipment, not just go off of like two pressures and say that the unit is working fine because you can have a lot of problems on the unit and if you just put your press, if you just put gauges on there and shake suction and discharge, you could have a compressor fail because you could have low super heat.
[00:15:43] Curtis Perry Jr. : They could be flooding, but you could still have your pressure look somewhat normal. But if you actually check all your readings, you could save your customer money down the road by going above and beyond what you're supposed to do.
[00:16:00] RC Victorino: I think, um, man, this is just like a common refrain in the trades and the folks that I talk to on a regular basis that I do wanna just call out is, is.
[00:16:11] RC Victorino: This honor, I guess, of being in service of others, right? So like to go above and beyond is to ensure that you are fulfilling your service. And this like, whether it be actually quite literally a contractual agreement, but also like this un this unspoken agreement between human beings and, you know, this person who's entrusting their, their livelihood to be.
[00:16:35] RC Victorino: Completely frank with you, uh, with you, that you're fulfilling the service that you, that you're ensuring that they are covered, that they are safe, much like, much like the person who answered your phone call in the middle of the night, right? To ensure that you are covered and you are safe and you've got your answers.
[00:16:48] RC Victorino: Uh, the folks in the field, the technicians are doing the same thing or ought to be doing the same thing and not just like addressing the thing that's on the ticket and, and saying goodbye. They're quite literally going through everything to be like almost putting your shoe, putting yourself in their shoes, right?
[00:17:00] RC Victorino: Like. What would I wanna make sure is happening so that I'm not left in a lurch two weeks from now or a month from now. It doesn't really matter when, like in the future, essentially, right?
[00:17:09] Curtis Perry Jr. : Mm-hmm. Definitely.
[00:17:10] RC Victorino: How, how important is that? Like, um, 'cause you, you going back to the church conversation and finding something with your hands, great.
[00:17:19] RC Victorino: Like you obviously what you do right now absolutely. Does that perfect. But also like how important is. Is it for you to reflect on and to be connected to that part of the job, which is the service, which is the human beings. Because part of it's working on with, with your hands, which you could also do, like, there could be no interaction with human beings.
[00:17:39] RC Victorino: You're with a machine, you're, you're with a chiller, you're just like in it. And you're doing stuff, and it could be for, as I've seen on your feet for many hours of the day, you're just literally working on this thing, which is
[00:17:48] Curtis Perry Jr. : Yeah,
[00:17:48] RC Victorino: probably pretty cool and fun. I, I bet. But there is that human element and the service element and, and the, to whom you are doing this for, how critical is it that part of the job for you to feel fulfilled or feel like, you know, this is a career path that you wanna invest in for the long haul?
[00:18:05] Curtis Perry Jr. : Very, because like, I mean, I love working at hvac, but. I have a love for people, like I love to see like people smile when I can get them up and going, like, somebody been hot all day. I fixed their unit. They get cooling. They got a smile on their face.
[00:18:21] RC Victorino: I get it. So like, and um, and we've talked with other folks, including, including your colleague Henry as well, about this.
[00:18:28] RC Victorino: Um, but obviously there's a labor gap, there's a shortage of folks in the trades. There's an increase in demand for the, the work that needs to be done across the board, not just like at the status quo with, uh, the fact that we have crumbling infrastructure and existing infrastructure that needs to be.
[00:18:43] RC Victorino: Maintain, what have you. But then we've got these whole other mega projects that are happening, data centers, et cetera, et cetera. Like there's, there's, you know, there's a pressure gap. Uh, there's a need to, to attract more people to the trades. And clearly this is something I, I believe it's near and dear to you.
[00:19:01] RC Victorino: This is, I, I believe in part why you're so vocal on social media. Uh, and so I am in interested in. Understand a little bit more about what you think it takes to get more and more folks in younger generations to realize the trades are a viable, fun and rewarding, uh, profession.
[00:19:21] Curtis Perry Jr. : If, well, a lot of jobs may not loudest, like actually, like just say like, go to a high school for lack of a career fair, and if possible, bring a group of a group of students on a couple jobs with them if possible.
[00:19:39] Curtis Perry Jr. : And also like, you know, how a bunch of students are on social media if, if they can literally have a class in high school and put some of the guys who got content on YouTube and allow them to watch and see what HVAC is all about. Um, because a lot of people think you just like sweating and freezing on a rooftop, but it's actually a lot of fun things you can do, like.
[00:20:05] Curtis Perry Jr. : In hvac, you can literally do like controls. You can work on computers and you got chiller guys, um, rooftop guys, boiler guys. It's a bunch of stuff. But I would say just spread it through social media, like allow them to see what HVAC is actually about. 'cause there's so many avenues. 'cause you know, you got like.
[00:20:31] Curtis Perry Jr. : Women technicians as well. You got dispatchers in the office, you got salespeople, you got equipment managers, you got area service managers. It's a lot refrigeration. A lot of people think it's just like, um, you just work on one single thing. Yeah. But it's, it's, it's, it grows your mind.
[00:20:51] RC Victorino: It does grow. This is something I love to repeat as well.
[00:20:53] RC Victorino: Like it's, it is. It is an interesting merger or, or marriage of the physicality and, and the cerebral for sure, like it is absolutely requires a also a ton of patience that I don't think I have, like the ability to work on something for that long, by the way, and like, and like, yeah. That, that is something that, that I, I truly am envious of that, that, that you can do.
[00:21:15] RC Victorino: But I, I, I do like, there is a storytelling problem I think in the trades that you're, you're explaining here in that. We can talk about like, oh, join the trades, or join, you know, blue collar is back, or whatever it may be. But what does that actually mean? What does that actually mean? What is, what is a day in the life?
[00:21:32] RC Victorino: Look like. And I do believe that the more that we can do these day in a life, kind of like video series and like Instagrams and like reels and whatever it may be like, I think is definitely very effective. So this, uh, this guy I'm trying to get on the podcast, uh, he is a teacher in, I think it's Philadelphia, and he shares on social media all day long.
[00:21:48] RC Victorino: He's, he's in a trade skilled, skilled labor. Uh. A teacher in, it's maybe a middle school. It's a pretty young it's, and, but she, he shares a lot of videos of what his kids are learning, uh, and like there. They weld something or whatever it may be like, and they're like, the engagement they have is just unbelievable.
[00:22:08] RC Victorino: 'cause yes, but like, it's like Legos on steroids, right? Like every little kid loves Lego Legos, but then all of a sudden you bring in some like, some like flames or some sort of like really heavy duty stuff and you're like, oh my God, this is the coolest thing in the world. And so you should see how excited they are.
[00:22:21] RC Victorino: I think the more we showcase to people, like all those cool things and also dispatching on the things that might be attracted to others, I think that'd be, we'd have a better time. An easier time making sure that, that people aren't at least dismissing the trades right off the bat. Right?
[00:22:38] Curtis Perry Jr. : Mm-hmm.
[00:22:40] RC Victorino: Would it be fair to say though, that like, it it is.
[00:22:42] RC Victorino: Honestly, the trades are not for everyone though. It is. It is still hard work, which is part of, I think, the draw, right?
[00:22:49] Curtis Perry Jr. : Oh, it definitely, yeah, because I've been saying this in my head, I'd be like, I know a lot of people, like a lot more people like look at the trades, but if like. I don't have the mindset to look down on nobody who wanna do a four year career and go to college 'cause it.
[00:23:06] Curtis Perry Jr. : The trade is just not for everybody. If I'm being brutally honest, like, um, but a lot of people don't know about it. It is very rewarding. I have a lot of fun. Honestly. You can have a lot of fun, HVAC and the trades in general.
[00:23:21] RC Victorino: You know, one thing, like, you know, by the way, you, you have not said sir to me in quite some times with Bravo.
[00:23:27] RC Victorino: I don't know if you've been fighting it real hard, but it's been fantastic, Curtis. Um, you know, in, in my, in my wise and D years, if you will, I'll say like the, the, the worst job you can have is one where you're staring at the clock. Waiting for that shift to end. And I've, I've had those, and that is just a horrible way to spend your time, um, because man, do you spend a lot of time at work and what a, what a terrible way to, to invest that percentage of, of your existence on this planet.
[00:23:55] RC Victorino: And I would say it's pretty fair to say that, like, that is not the case with, with you and what you do. You know, in my wise and gears, I, I, I, I'll say that the worst thing that. The worst way to spend your time at, at a job is to basically stare at a clock and wait for that shift to end. And I've been there before and it really, honestly, you spend a lot of time at work in your life.
[00:24:14] RC Victorino: And to have that be the way you spend that time is, is it carries over to, to your non-work life. You, it, it affects you, right? And so if you can find a job where like. Sometimes it's crazy. Like you, you, you either like forget that your shift ended or you can't believe how fast it went by like. Right. Like, and I imagine that must be the work that you do.
[00:24:34] RC Victorino: Yeah. Because sometimes you're in it for so long, like it just goes by so fast.
[00:24:37] Curtis Perry Jr. : No, I was about to say, some days fly by and then some days drag if, um, if you just bored with what you're doing, if it's repetition.
[00:24:47] RC Victorino: Ah, interesting. Do you think that technology, 'cause I, I. I know, like, I don't know, I know you've been in the field for a good enough, mu good enough time that you'll have seen some progression in technology in general anyway over the last few years to begin with.
[00:25:03] RC Victorino: But do you think that there will be advancements in technologies that help to remove some of those repetitions that you're talking about? Or do you think that still human must remain in the loop for even those repetitious parts of your, of your day, if you will?
[00:25:17] Curtis Perry Jr. : It's still gonna have to remind me a day.
[00:25:19] Curtis Perry Jr. : 'cause um, every day HVAC. You not gonna get the fun calls that you get to like dig de, and troubleshoot and like, um, test your brain. Some days, nothing against like PMs, but some days you just gonna be changing filters on like a maybe 40, 50 rooftops doing the same thing consistently.
[00:25:39] RC Victorino: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:25:39] RC Victorino: Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha.
[00:25:41] Curtis Perry Jr. : And that takes longer, that drag your day out.
[00:25:44] RC Victorino: Yes. Yes. But those PMs are great for business. Right. You know, it's, it's, so, if, if you're. If you look at it from that mindset, like you're helping to contribute to ensure the, the. The success of the business. But that is a good way to, to level set that reality, right?
[00:25:57] RC Victorino: Like this is a, this is a necessary thing to, again, in service of the customers, to ensure that they're not calling you with that troubleshoot. Like it's fun to troubleshoot, but for you, but for the, but for the, uh, building owners, maybe not so much fun. Basically.
[00:26:11] Curtis Perry Jr. : Oh yeah.
[00:26:13] RC Victorino: Uh, well listen, Curtis, I don't wanna take you too long, so I wanna shift over to our lightning round, if that's okay with you.
[00:26:17] RC Victorino: It's where I ask, uh, just a handful of questions and you just respond with the first thing that comes up, uh, in your mind. You ready for this?
[00:26:24] Curtis Perry Jr. : And I wanna tell you one more thing before we switch over.
[00:26:27] RC Victorino: Please do
[00:26:28] Curtis Perry Jr. : like to young guys coming in the field, like if you doing a pm, like don't just look at a PM and just change a filter and a belt and take off.
[00:26:38] Curtis Perry Jr. : Actually use that time. If you got extra time to study the equipment, learn the sequence, the operation, and that'll allow you to get sharper more, um, learn the equipment better so when you do get on service calls and you get on-call rotation, you'll be a better technician and more valuable.
[00:26:57] RC Victorino: Well, dare I say that, Curtis, that would be someone going above and beyond on their calls, which is why you having that mindset, uh, makes total sense because you just won the above and beyond award.
[00:27:10] RC Victorino: Like that is a logical thing. So like Exactly right, right. There are so many areas of opportunity where you can just phone it in. Drew, the most basic thing that is asked of you, and there's, there's some folk who just. Realize this is an opportunity for me to, to grow in some way, shape, or form. So, yeah, uh, I will, as I say, double tap on that, Curtis.
[00:27:29] RC Victorino: Alright, let's do it. Lightning round, sir. Here we go. Third time. You call me star today, but at the end, so we'll let it pass. Uh, alright. What's one thing that gets you fired up about the future of the trades?
[00:27:40] Curtis Perry Jr. : One thing that gets me fired up on, I would say the advancement of, of equipment is just constantly learning.
[00:27:48] RC Victorino: Interesting. Are you not like afraid about the more complexity of the advancement of equipment? Like isn't that part of the concern is that some of this equipment's getting too? I mean, I equate it to like my car, right? Like a car from like 1960s is a nice machine and now I just have a computer, even though it's a Jeep until like it's less computer than like, let's say a Tesla, but it's still very much a computer on wheels.
[00:28:09] RC Victorino: Right? Like is that's a, is that what you're talking about with advancements in, in equipment? Is it more like. Computer based, technologically based, or is it something else?
[00:28:19] Curtis Perry Jr. : Oh, that as well. I mean, and it's always something to learn, but like, um, I got the mindset like, I'd be excited trying to learn the equipment despite how hard it is.
[00:28:29] RC Victorino: Yeah. Yeah. It's a great mindset. It's, it's a growth mindset, which you've clearly demonstrated many times today. So. Alright, Bravo. What's one tool you can't live without? Now, before you answer that. Anything's on the table. So it can be a tool for sure, or it can be anything else that you think of, something that you use to make things happen that you cannot live without.
[00:28:52] RC Victorino: Whether it be on the job or in your life, whatever you see fit,
[00:28:56] Curtis Perry Jr. : um, God.
[00:28:57] RC Victorino: Oh, okay. Okay. Okay, Curtis, well done. Problem.
[00:29:02] Curtis Perry Jr. : And my mind.
[00:29:04] RC Victorino: And your mind. Not the first, not the first person to say that too, by the way, which is fantastic. Um, I love to hear that. Uh, I, yes, on both fronts, it's, they're both so applicable in many different instances and feed you.
[00:29:18] RC Victorino: All the time. They're, they're there with you always. So, kudos to you. What's your favorite thing you've ever built? I love this question specifically for, for you because, uh, you talk about how it really spoke to you to, to do something with your hands, and this is how the whole story began. So, thinking about anything again, it doesn't, it doesn't have to be on the job.
[00:29:33] RC Victorino: It could be anything at all. What is, what is your favorite thing you've ever built?
[00:29:37] Curtis Perry Jr. : Honestly, it would have to be something like, um, I had to rewire a unit, um, to get a old folks home up. Um. It wasn't wired up how I was supposed to, and then I literally had to figure out how to wire it up, create a wire diagram, and get the unit up and going.
[00:29:55] Curtis Perry Jr. : But I haven't built too many things like with wood or anything like that.
[00:29:59] RC Victorino: No, but that's still a building thing. And that also just is a, before I ask the last question is also a Remi, like, just a reminder to me, and this is also the same, like let's say with like coding and engineering, uh, and software engineer engineering, I should say, is like, there's no like one way to do something.
[00:30:14] RC Victorino: There's not, like, there again, like you mentioned, like there are some calls where quite literally it's the thing that you do. Like there's a, there's a workflow, there's a formula, there's a process, what, what have you. But oftentimes like you gotta figure out like a solution. It's not the solution. There's not one singular solution.
[00:30:29] RC Victorino: It is, it is a solution. It is very, very much like engineering where it's like, you need this thing to happen now. This is the reality of where you are in, in, in the world right now. Now how am I gonna get that to this thing? And it could be anything. It could be whatever. It's very like nasa, like with like duct tape to make sure that the spaceship doesn't this integrate essentially.
[00:30:46] Curtis Perry Jr. : Yeah.
[00:30:47] RC Victorino: Uh, final question. Biggest misconception people have about the trades.
[00:30:52] Curtis Perry Jr. : I don't know if a lot of people think this, but maybe people think you can't make good money in the trades.
[00:30:57] RC Victorino: I, I think they still do. I think it's a carryover for, for, from a long time ago. Um, so yeah. So you're here to say that that is, that is false.
[00:31:07] Curtis Perry Jr. : Yeah, that's false. Like if, if you, if you apply yourself and train and actually put in time out the work and just continue to study and, um, try to master your craft, uh, you can definitely make great money over your career.
[00:31:23] RC Victorino: Awesome. Curtis, uh, beyond just, uh, the financials of the career, I think you're, you exemplify what it means to truly be, uh, commercial grade for sure.
[00:31:33] RC Victorino: Without being too pun and cheesy. Uh, I love your growth mindset. I love what you do on social media where you're really just like revealing what it's like, the experiences. I am, I am all in with you in terms of like, we need to do more of that to showcase what the trades really are like. So for the folks who might be interested, they really understand what it's like.
[00:31:52] RC Victorino: Uh, so I wanna really thank you for, for your time today. Uh, and I will be continuously following you on social media to see what else you're going on. But, um, for now, thank you so much for joining us and, uh, until next time y'all keep building.
[00:32:06] Curtis Perry Jr. : Thank you for having me.