It was the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and Ilija Martinovich didn’t know where to turn. On top of dealing with the pressure of being an essential worker and helping his two children navigate the new normal, the HVAC tech was diagnosed with bladder cancer in the Fall of 2020. Shortly after, his wife asked for a divorce.

“I don’t think it was anything to do with the cancer,” Martinovich says. “I think it was just a lot of stress building up on her, and her way to deal with it was to run away from the situation. But, I also needed to find my own escape.”

He decided that escape would be combining two things he loves: HVAC and food. Thus, @the_hvac_foodie Instagram account was born, and Martinovich began posting about the work he was doing and the food he was making. The community he found online, coupled with support from neighbors, co-workers, and family, is ultimately what proved crucial in helping Martinovich make it through the most challenging time of his life. 

From Hockey Blades to the Trades 

Born and raised in Toronto, Martinovich says his dream was like every other boy’s in Canada: to be a professional hockey player. 

“That didn’t work out for me,” he laughs. “So, the trades it was.” 

He was likely more naturally suited for a life of tools versus ice skates, anyway. Growing up with a father who was a master carpenter, there was always something around the house the two could fix together. As a child, whenever Martinovich’s mother bought him toys at a store, she would laugh and ask him if he was just going to take them apart (which he often did to see how they worked after only playing with them for a mere 30 minutes). When he reached adulthood, Martinovich decided to take his passion for working with his hands to heating and air conditioning — a field he felt would always remain relevant. 

In 1995, Martinovich started his HVAC training at local school Humber College. Three years later, he applied for a job with Engineered Air at a job fair and has been with the company ever since, currently working as a service tech for the manufacturer of custom-built HVACR and energy recovery equipment.

Now living in Burlington, Ontario, for the last 20 years, Martinovich’s work is a bit different from a standard service tech who focuses on preventative maintenance and repairs. He describes himself as a “startup guy.” Once the installing contractors are done with their work on a piece of equipment, Martinovich comes along and commissions the unit, making sure everything has been installed properly and is up to code.

“It can be a long day,” he says. “I’m usually up at 5 a.m., drop my daughter off at school, then get to the jobsite. But, the most fun part of the job is getting to see a lot of different buildings and applications for the equipment.” 

These include pharmaceutical, commercial, residential and even military applications. Martinovich has particularly enjoyed sharing stories to his children over the years about all of the places his company’s equipment serves, from facilities that build light armored vehicles to those that manufacture landing gears for F-16 jets. Another favorite aspect of his career? The people. 

“The HVAC community is amazing,” he says. “It’s like a family. There’s no hate between us. We’re all here to try to help each other.” 

When Martinovich received his cancer diagnosis, he learned the importance of creating an even stronger community for himself.

Martinovich’s daughter, Katerina, and son, Aleksander, at Aleksander’s Royal Canadian Navy basic training graduation.  

Battling Cancer with Community

Martinovich initially felt something was wrong when he urinated blood one day. He went to the hospital right away, where the doctor told him it was lucky he did so.

“I had an aggressive tumor on my bladder,” Martinovich says. “The funny thing is, I only urinated blood once. Over the next few weeks, I never urinated blood again.”

It would have been easy to forget about the issue and assume it was something innocuous that passed. But if Martinovich had waited much longer, the doctor said it was likely he wouldn’t have made it.

“So, the one thing I learned that I always tell others is to make sure you get your medical concerns checked out right away, especially if blood is involved,” Martinovich says. “The next thing I learned was to surround yourself with people who will help you. Who at your lowest point will be there for you and not look for anything in return.” 

In addition to his father and two brothers, Martinovich found this emotional support within his company. After having surgery to remove his tumor in December 2020, he had to endure seven straight weeks of painful medical treatments. His direct supervisor allowed him to take any time off he needed during this time. After each of these treatments, Martinovich’s office administrator, Lisa, also made sure he had a light schedule and was able to recover. 

“Every week she would go for walks, and one day I asked if I could come, too,” Martinovich says. “And so, we would end up walking and talking for kilometers and kilometers on different trails around the office. I get kind of choked up every time I think about how amazing she was. She was really someone I could lean on.”

Simultaneously dealing with his divorce around this time, another individual from upper management stopped Martinovich in the hallway one day and asked him how things were going with the proceedings. Martinovich was honest about the heavy feelings he was experiencing, and the two decided to sit in the boardroom to have a more in-depth heart-to-heart. 

“Talking and venting to people who were outside of my direct family was important,” Martinovich says. “If you are ever in a difficult situation, do not keep it inside. Talk, talk, talk. Get it all out, because you need to hear different opinions and insights.”

While these relationships greatly improved Martinovich’s mental health, social media helped take things to the next level. 

“It was somewhere where I could turn to with like-minded people — where I could share my ideas, get inspiration from them, see what they’re doing and just have someone else to talk to,” he says.

Martinovich with Josh Callaghan, who works for a contractor that installs Engineered Air equipment. The pair are very close friends and have worked together for more than 10 years.  

@the_hvac_foodie

Martinovich has amassed more than 5,000 Instagram followers under @the_hvac_foodie handle. On the HVAC side of things, he enjoys showcasing all of the different equipment out in the world that people may not be aware of.

“I’m lucky that I work for a manufacturer that doesn’t make cookie-cutter design equipment,” Martinovich says. “Units range from the size of a desk to the size of a school bus, painted with special coatings or made of materials like aluminum that glisten in the sun.”

He also tries to give advice whenever possible and enjoys starting conversations, asking others how they might approach a problem in the field.

“There are people I’ve reached out to because of my account and vice versa,” Martinovich says. “I’ve helped them directly by, say, messaging over the phone, and then maybe a week later I bump into them on a jobsite, and you know, it’s a high-five or a ‘thank you so much.’”

To this day, Martinovich still stays in touch with these individuals, going out to lunch with them and often sitting there and talking for hours. 

“One of the best things that’s ever happened to me is to meet these people and just be a part of this community,” he says. 

Others are certainly grateful Martinovich has entered the social media realm as well. @the_hvac_foodie account recently won the Lifeline Tech Award at the 2025 HVAC Tactical Awards in Orlando, which honors an individual who is always willing to help a fellow tradesperson.

“I’ve always been the type of person to say that if you need help, go look for it,” Martinovich says. “The big thing with me when I got into these dark days was, ‘Where can I go for help?’ I always knew when I was stuck on a job I had someone to turn to; I was able to call my co-workers and figure out the problem.

“So, I just want to be there for someone if they need help, too. If I can walk a tech through a problem on the phone and get them off a roof five minutes earlier so they can be home with their family that much sooner, I’m more than happy to do it.”

Recognized for his Instagram account, @the_hvac_foodie, Martinovich won the Lifeline Tech category at the 2025 HVAC Tactical Awards in Orlando.  

Making a Lifestyle Change  

The “foodie” portion of Martinovich’s social media presence comes into play through sharing photos of various meals he’s made to his audience. Some of his go-to “simple but good” culinary concoctions include pineapple pizza (which Martinovich wholeheartedly supports as a “Canadian invention”), barbeque, shrimp alfredo, Serbian Ćevapčići, and grilled steak on a bed of noodles — his daughter, Katerina’s favorite.

In fact, it was Katerina and his son, Aleksander, who really inspired Martinovich to take his cooking skills up a notch. 

“I’ve always liked to cook, but I mostly made basic meals, and when I was married, my wife took more charge of the kitchen,” he says. “Obviously, being single again, I had to cook for myself and make sure I provided good food for my kids. I wasn’t going to have them live off of frozen boxes or fast food.” 

Martinovich also wanted to start eating better for his own health. Although his cancer was in remission after his initial round of medical treatments, he had begun stress eating due to his ongoing divorce proceedings. By March 2023, his weight had risen to nearly 300 pounds. 

“It got to a point where I was on-site carrying a 50-pound backpack and I couldn’t make it up a flight of stairs,” Martinovich says. “So, I made the conscious decision to lose weight.” 

Beyond paying more attention to nutrition, Martinovich credits exercise in helping him reduce stress and ultimately lose 45 pounds in five months. In addition to his walks with Lisa, he began walking 5 to 8 kilometers a day at home, which his neighbor Mark took notice of. 

“One day Mark actually said, ‘Hey, can I join you?’,” Martinovich recalls. “I was this guy’s neighbor for almost 15 years, and we never exchanged anything more than pleasantries. But he just came out and said, ‘Man, I saw there was something wrong with you.’ He wanted to approach me, and that’s the type of person you need in your life. So, we just started walking and talking.”

The combination of talking to others and making better lifestyle choices has changed Martinovich’s life “amazingly” the last two years, to the point where he feels like a completely different person. Martinovich also says getting a cat, Marty, has done wonders to boost his mood. 

“Having that cat greet me at the door every time when I come home is just a great feeling,” he says. “Him lying beside me on the couch or when 10 o’clock rolls around, he kind of does this little thing that’s his way of saying, ‘Hey, it’s time for bed’ — it’s just nice to have that.” 

Grilled steak on a bed of noodles is a go-to “simple but good” meal Martinovich makes — and one of his daughter’s favorites.  

Look for Help 

Martinovich feels finding similar ways to prioritize wellness and burn off stress is important for all tradespeople. Still in remission, he will continue to receive medical treatments every other year to help keep his health in check — but he copes with other challenges on a daily basis. A self-described overthinker, sometimes Martinovich even wakes up in the middle of the night to jot down a solution he’s dreamed up for a problem that was on his mind. One of his biggest fears is failure, which is something he believes weighs heavily among many HVAC technicians. 

“You get called to a job because there’s no heating or no cooling, and they’re relying on you to get it started. If you can’t get it working, that is a lot of pressure on you,” Martinovich says. “Unfortunately, we can get a lot of verbal assault and anger thrown our way when we’re not able to fix something immediately because a compressor is not working or the motor is blown or something.”

And while Martinovich understands the risk of losing contracts and worrying about putting food on the table, he wants all tradespeople to remember that there are simply situations out of their hands that can’t be controlled. 

“If you are not able to separate work life and home life, they start to cross over, and you’re just going to be in a world of hurt and trouble,” he says. “You need to be able to close the door to work and open a new door when you get home to start with a blank slate.” 

Conversely, not properly addressing personal problems can lead to difficulties at work, too.

“Tradespeople have this idea that we’re rough and tough and nothing is supposed to hurt us,” he says. “We’re out there grinding it out under the sun, rain, wind, and snow, and if we can get through that, what’s a little drama at home? 

“That’s the biggest stigma — that we’re not supposed to complain. But, we hold things inside and carry everything with us. You’ll bring your home issues to work, and then you’re not concentrating on the job. That’s when you can make mistakes and get hurt.”

Walking has been a great source of stress relief and exercise for Martinovich and helped him lose 45 pounds when he was struggling with his weight. 

Martinovich says it all goes back to finding people who will support you. 

“I think that is the hardest part — knowing who to turn to. If someone’s going to throw your feelings back in your face or make fun of you, they are not the right person to help you,” Martinovich says. “Just put that in your head and know you’ll eventually find someone who will.

“I just want people to know that there will be days that will knock the crap out of you, and it will feel like all the walls are closing in on you,” he continues. “But, know this: there is help, and sometimes it will come to you, but most of the time you will have to go looking for it. So, be strong. There are always brighter days ahead.”