Michael Castello does not live in Stouffville. He never has. In fact, he lives in Sunderland, a small community a 45-minute drive away. But as someone who decided to start a business in our town, he is our neighbour. Meet Michael Castello, owner, and operator of Unique Auto Detailing, a family run business on Sandiford Drive.
Michael was born in Festival City, a small neighbourhood located on the east end of Georgetown (the capital of Guyana). During his childhood, he lived with his mother and 4 sisters. Growing up, Michael always had a “knack for cars”. He recalls being fascinated by his neighbour’s collection of cars growing up. “My neighbour taught me everything about cars.” Michael remembers being shown how the different parts of the car worked as a kid in Guyana. Although he had a passion for cars, he got involved in the world of candy. Straight out of high school, Michael started a novelty candy store in his hometown. The idea was pretty sweet, but he needed a job with financial stability. “I needed a job that had benefits… my wife was pregnant at the time.” His wife Deon lived in the same neighbourhood as Michael growing up. Although they went to different high schools, he remembers seeing her on the street back in Festival City. “We met in the community… One day I saw her and asked her out.” With a drive to provide for his soon to be family, Michael got a stable job at a beverage manufacturing company.
In 2003, Michael immigrated to Canada with his wife Deon, and their young son. As Michael said, “It had always been my wife’s dream to move to Canada.” She loved the idea of a country with so many different cultures. When they arrived in Canada, they were welcomed with open arms.
Soon after he immigrated to Canada, Michael searched for a job. A friend took him to an auto detailing shop at McCowan and Eglington. At that moment, Michael fell in love with auto detailing. He got a job at the shop and worked there for two and a half years. Subsequently, he went looking for something new… a change of pace and workflow. Michael landed in the elevator repair industry, but not for long. He could not stand to be away from his true passion. Wanting to get back into the auto detailing game, he approached it with a big vision. For the first time since back in Guyana in the small community of Festival City where he ran the candy store, Michael was going to start his own business.
One day in 2009, Michael was driving through Stouffville. Our town was not one he frequented, but on this day he just to be coincidentally looking for a space to put his new business. Michael liked Stouffville’s quaint characteristic. As he said, “I thought what a great town to be in!” Michael set up shop on Sandiford Drive right across from the present town hall. Unique Auto Detailing is a family business. He runs it with his wife and 21-year-old son. His wife, Deon takes care of the administrative side of things while his son works part-time as a detailer. As a car detailer, Michael says the best part of the job is seeing customers’ reactions when their car is cleaned. “I love to see how amazed everyone is when they get their car.” That is after all, his passion. An average day for this passionate auto detailer… personally providing an auto detailing service to our community.
Usually, Michael works with cars all day, but a person has got to have some free time. It’s a good thing he’s got 3 other detailers working for him that are mostly local and family friends.
Out of the “shop”, Michael loves to spend time with his family. He now has three kids with Deon. One in JK, another in grade 3, and his now 21-yearold who is enrolled in a kinesiology program at post-secondary school. As I spoke to Michael about his family, a vacation to a Muskoka cottage a few years back came to mind. During the summer months, his family embraces the outdoors by camping in nature. In the cold Canadian winter, they love to skate at Lake Couchiching Beach in Orillia. Family vacations are just one-way Michael loves to spend his spare time.
It’s been more than 20 years since Michael ran the novelty candy store in Festival City. Over time, he has worked in multiple industries but in the end, he found his true stride… auto detailing. Meet Michael Castello: husband, dad, local business owner, auto detailer, and neighbour.
