Meet Randy and Jennifer Castricone

I didn’t grow up planning a career in HVAC. Instead, I grew up learning how to work.

Medina to Boca Raton

I’m from Medina, New York, a small town outside of Buffalo where you learn early that nobody hands you anything and you earn everything. So in 1990, I packed up my car alone and moved to South Florida. And within months of landing in the Boca Raton area, my life changed in a way I never could have planned.

A childhood friend who had moved south years earlier was working in HVAC as a maintenance tech. Then one random day we reconnected, caught up, and he said something simple that changed everything: “You should talk to my boss. He might need a helper.”

So I did.

Six Months as the Do Boy

And yes, I started exactly where most people don’t brag about starting: as a helper, slinging pookie on ductwork, cleaning up job sites, running parts, and doing whatever needed doing.

For six months, I was everybody’s go-to “do boy.” But I didn’t complain. Instead, I watched, I listened, and I absorbed everything. Because I knew that if I stuck with the trade, it would pay off.

Learning the Trade the Hard Way

After six months, the owner started letting me run PM calls. And from there, I began teaching myself diagnostics in the field, the hard way, without formal tech training to lean on.

Summers were brutal. Meanwhile, techs were overloaded and calls ran late into the evening. So they threw me into service, simply because there was no one else.

In short, I learned through trial, error, and responsibility. Some calls went great. Others didn’t. But every one of them made me better.

North Tech, and the License That Changed Everything

Eventually, an opportunity came up to attend a four-year night tech program. Three nights a week, 6PM–10PM, and no shortcuts. In 1996, I graduated from North Tech in Riviera Beach, Florida, and I immediately took the next step when my fourth-year instructor offered me a role at his company, a commercial refrigeration contractor.

Then I spent nearly four years there sharpening my skills, until 1999, when I made one of the biggest decisions of my life:

I went after my Florida HVAC license.

So in October of 1999, I passed, left my job, and started my own company.

18 Years With My Name on the Trucks

For the next 18 years, I lived every side of contracting: growth, recessions, wins, losses, stress, pride, payroll, late nights, and hard conversations. At our peak, I led a team of nearly 30 hardworking men and women. And we survived downturns, celebrated big wins, and earned every bit of it.

Crossing Over to the Manufacturer Side

In 2017, my wife and I made the decision to sell the company and move to the manufacturing side of the industry. So I joined Trane Technologies (Ingersoll Rand at the time) as an Account Manager, where I spent five years helping contractors grow profitable, sustainable businesses. In fact, after we sold the family business, we ALL went to work for Trane. See the article below. Because my background as a contractor wasn’t theory but lived experience, dealers trusted that.

Trane Technologies — Get to Know the Castricones

From there, I stepped outside my comfort zone into sales leadership for a smart controls manufacturer, and that expanded my view far beyond South Florida. Then I took on the role of SVP for a smart condensate management company, helping the business grow at a national level.

Every Lens in the Trade

Today, I have 35 years in HVAC: helper, technician, business owner, manufacturer rep, sales leader, and executive. So I’ve seen this industry through every lens.

And one thing has never changed.

People in HVAC want to collaborate. They want to share ideas. Above all, they want a trusted place for news, real reviews, straight advice, and honest conversations.

But that place hasn’t existed, until now.

Why I Built HVAC Mafia

So I built HVAC Mafia for the techs, contractors, CSRs, owners, and operators who keep this industry moving. No fluff, and no corporate spin. Just a real platform, built by someone who’s lived it, for people who live it every day.

Personal & Legacy

At the end of the day, everything I do comes back to family and the trade that made our life possible.

My wife Jennifer and I have three children and one grandchild, so HVAC isn’t just my profession, it’s woven into our family. Jennifer works in the industry alongside me, and our oldest child has followed us into the trade, continuing a path built on hard work, accountability, and pride. Together, we’ve lived the long hours, the tough seasons, and the big wins. Because HVAC didn’t just support our family, it shaped it.

That’s why I take this industry personally.

After 35 years in HVAC, I can honestly say this trade gave me everything I have. It taught me responsibility when I was young, resilience when times were hard, and leadership when others depended on me. So from helper to technician, owner to executive, HVAC has been the constant thread through every chapter of my life.

This Is My Legacy

HVAC Mafia is my way of giving back.

And it’s built for the people who are in the trucks, on the rooftops, behind the desks, and on the phones, doing the work that keeps the world comfortable. It’s a place to share real experience, protect the integrity of the trade, and help the next generation see what’s possible when you commit to the craft.

This is my legacy. Passing on a great trade the right way. Leaving the industry better than I found it. And building something that outlives me.

So if HVAC runs in your blood, you’re already family.

HVAC Mafia. Built by the trade, and built for the next generation.