You could say Duane Ozaki was born with a wrench in his hand.

The 26-year-old, who earned an automotive degree from Honolulu Community College, has been a master technician for six years, but he has been working on cars most of his life.

He grew up at his father's Texaco station in the Kamehameha Shopping Center and was helping with repairs at age 12. By 14, he was doing jobs on his own.

"He knew exactly what he wanted," says Roy Ozaki, his father and boss at Roy's Kalihi Automotive Center and Towing. "He finished school, had the work experience and became a master technician at age 20."

The Texaco station closed 11 years ago, and the family opened a repair shop on Hau Street. Today, Duane spends six days a week, eight to 12 hours a day, repairing cars. He does every type of repair, from tune-ups to brake jobs, and he road-tests the finished work.

What can be difficult, he says, is explaining the work to customers.

"Money is a big issue, so sometimes they take it too personal," says Duane.

Customers like to be able to talk to a technician, and if they don't understand what is wrong they can easily get upset, he says.

"Something instilled by my father is the commitment to your customer," says Duane. "To help educate them. They need to know what they are spending their hard-earned dollars for."

Duane says the image of a mechanic as a "grease monkey" is long gone. Today, the field requires highly trained professionals. Technicians must continually take classes to keep up with the ongoing evolution of automobile technology.

"The most important things for a mechanic are tools and training," Duane says.

Duane is proud of the work he does and expects someday to take over the family business.