HISTORY
Mario Mikha, owner and operator, began his quest in his younger years in the city of Detroit, Michigan where he was born and raised. With the guidance of his two older brothers, he quickly began tinkering with cars and gaining knowledge just from the interest his brothers had sparked. From his early years of installing air intakes to his most recent years of building single-digit drag cars, assembling 2000 horsepower race engines and inventing new electronic gadgets, Mikha has the hands on experience to help you achieve your goals.
After his first Automotive Course he took at Athens High School, he knew this was the right path. but he needed to take that step a little further. Unfortunately, he had to move out of his home town and reside in Chandler, Arizona where He attended Hamilton High School for his remaining years and enrolled in the Co-Op Prep Course at the East Valley Institute of Technology. Mario placed top of his class and top of the grade in every semester. A 5-Day Job Shadow offered by E.V.I.T., Mario got to choose which dealership he would request, no better dealership than Freeway Chevrolet. Hired and welcomed on his 5th day of the job shadow, Mario was ahead of the game at only the age of 17. Finalizing his senior year at E.V.I.T., placing 3rd at the state competition, Skills USA set Mario a guaranteed enrollment at the GM ASEP Program offered by Glendale Community College in Glendale, AZ. Once granted a spot in the invite-0nly program, he was able to work part time at Freeway Chevrolet, gaining field experience and class credit. During this time, Mario worked with the World Class technicians that had the highest level of training and education General Motors offered. After an early graduation and top of his class, at the age of 19 years old, Mario became the youngest service technician at Freeway Chevrolet and all of the sister companies under the Chapman Automotive Group. From then on, his hunger for greater achievements and difficult diagnostics truly escalated. continuing on a successful dealership “bumper-to-bumper” experience, mikha felt like it was time to slowly step towards the performance side of the industry.
after leaving the dealership lifestyle, mikha went on to help build late model gm high performance cars at a couple different shops in the valley. lead technician role at both, gaining a ton of knowledge and even more hands on experience, he was getting close to his ultimate dream, his own shop. after 10+ years of workforce experience and 20+ years of hands on repairs, mikha was ready to build his own empire. in the peak of the pandemic, mikha got the keys to his shop in may of 2020 where he was finally able offer his expertise and wealth of knowledge to the world. the journey has just begun.