From handyman to House history: HVAC mogul Joe Strada pushes trade schools, business mindset in Florida race

If Republican Joe Strada wins Florida's eleventh congressional district in three weeks, he will likely be the wealthiest individual to ever hold a seat in the US House of Representatives.

It's an impressive trajectory for a man from humble beginnings who got his start fixing equipment in a bowling alley, but always had a zest for learning, building, and working with his hands.

Strada, whose HVAC, electrical and plumbing company employs roughly 4,000 people across 13 states, told Fox News Digital that his journey from handyman to wealthy entrepreneur embodies the American Dream but that neither his fortune nor his business success defines him.

PULLING BILLIONS FROM HARVARD TO FUND TRADE SCHOOLS? HERE’S WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT TRUMP’S LATEST MOVE "How about that? Just the kid, a handyman in a bowling alley, fixing things that break…and now I'm blessed to have a business that's in 13 states, thousands of people that work for me.

It's been a blessing and, I'm able to live the American dream.

"But it's difficult.

It was difficult with the headwinds and the rules and regulations that come out of Washington, D.C.

And it was very challenging …It should be difficult, but not this challenging." Strada wants everyone to be able to benefit from the American capitalist system that brought him great success: "You know, as a business owner, I realized and recognized all the problems that Washington, D.C. is causing.

All the rules and regulations that are impacting families, small business owners all across the country.

And I finally said, we need a different type of person in Washington, DC .

"We have enough lobbyists, politicians and attorneys there.

It's time to have a business-minded person that knows how to fix things that could go to Washington, and solve problems for the real, you know, real problems for the American people." Strada is on a nationwide mission to pitch young people on the value of the trades, and suggests it's a worthy alternative to racking up massive student loans: "The word of trade is really starting to spread now.

Trades people, young people just want to be successful.

Sometimes they don't know there's an opportunity in the trades.