Most people don’t expect an 18-year-old to be running one of Fort Wayne’s most talked-about detailing businesses, but Austin Handel isn’t waiting for permission.
He started Handel Car Detailing in 2023, offering interior deep cleans, exterior washes, and paint protection on a mobile and drop-off basis, meeting customers wherever it’s most convenient for them. In just a couple of years, Austin has grown a following of over 4,000 on Instagram and placed 10th out of 2,300 student-run businesses in Indiana’s high school business competition. That mix of hustle and real results is exactly what caught our attention.
With support from the Fortitude Fund, Austin is outfitting his detailing van so it no longer depends on a client’s water or power. That upgrade lets him take on more jobs, work more efficiently, and increase production as demand grows. His goal is to keep building a trusted, high-quality detailing brand across Northeast Indiana, one spotless car at a time.
