Talking Pools Podcast
If you’ve ever stared at a test kit like it personally insulted your family… welcome home. Talking Pools Podcast is the pool industry’s “pull up a chair” show—part shop talk, part field manual, part therapy session—built for people who actually live on pool decks: commercial operators, service techs, builders, facility managers, and anyone responsible for water that can’t afford to go sideways. The network was created to level up the pool industry with real-world conversations on water chemistry, filtration, troubleshooting, construction, safety, and the business side of keeping pools open and budgets intact. Here’s the hook: it’s not theory-first. It’s experience-first—a roster of seasoned pros (with 250+ years of combined “been there, fixed that” wisdom) turning complicated problems into practical moves you can use the same day. And it’s not one voice, one vibe, one corner of the industry: it’s a network of shows designed to reflect how diverse this work really is—different regions, different specialties, different personalities. Also worth saying out loud: women aren’t “special guests” here—they’re on the mic as hosts, from the beginning, with an intentionally balanced roster. That matters, because the best ideas in this industry don’t come from one lane—they come from the whole road. If you want a podcast that can make you laugh and make you better at what you do—without pretending the job is easier than it is—Talking Pools is the one you queue up before the first stop, and keep on when the day starts getting weird.
Episodes
WARNING: INTENTIONALLY ABRASIVE
If you want to know what pool professionals need, ask the person in the fucking truck.
This week on Floc-It Fridays, Rudy Stankowitz takes on the gossip, gatekeeping, and behind-the-scenes politics that make an already demanding trade harder than it needs to be.
From manufacturers’ reps badmouthing pool professionals to private calls about who should appear on a podcast or r...
A truck, a pole, and a Facebook opinion: is that enough to call yourself a pool professional?
This Thursday on Talking Pools, Steve Sherwood and Wayne Ivusich tackle a question guaranteed to get somebody typing in all caps: Does the pool industry need more regulation? Steve makes the case for continuing education, stronger professional standards, and a system that makes more sense than a patchwork of requirements ...
Talking Pools Podcast | Mythbusting Wednesday with Natalie Hood
What do you do when heavy rain turns a vinyl liner into a waterbed? Chris Cavanaugh has a clear first instruction: do not drain the pool. In this episode, Natalie talks with the 2026 Talking Pools TOP TEN Mentor about floating liners, groundwater, salt systems on steel-wall pools, and the mistakes that can turn a repairable problem into an expensive o...
What does freshwater mean when a pool system has a chlorinating cell? On Mondays Down Under, Lee Salisbury, Nick and Shane welcome Ben Makepeace, SPASA’s policy manager, to unpack SPASA’s new guide to swimming pool and spa sanitisation marketing claims.
Ben explains why the industry developed the voluntary guide and how pool retailers, service technicians and builders can use it to question product lab...
A one-star review can damage a reputation built over decades. Rudy breaks down how pool pros can respond without turning a bad review into a public cage match: cool off, check the service records, own genuine mistakes, correct false claims with facts, and know when to stop replying.
Then court is in session for the One-Star Tribunal. On the docket: a contractor blamed for a Category 5 hurricane, a complaint aimed ...
A storm strips sand from Steve’s Long Beach neighborhood, tears up the boardwalk, and forces nearby residents to evacuate. That leads Steve and Wayne into a pool professional’s nightmare: a hose left running at a hillside pool, followed by evacuations and damage below the property.
They discuss the risks of draining pools, what hydrostatic relief valves do, and why suspected structural problems call fo...
Natalie Hood continues her conversations with the 2026 Talking Pools Podcast Top Ten Mentors with John Poma—the “Ancient Pool Warrior” and a two-time Top Ten honoree.
John shares how a summer job pouring precast main drains became a decades-long career spanning commercial pool construction, service, plumbing, equipment installation and heavy machinery. He explains why the best field professionals...
Workplace health and safety is not optional—especially when your team handles hazardous pool chemicals, works outdoors in extreme heat and enters unfamiliar equipment rooms every day.
On this episode of Mondays Down Under, Lee Salisbury is joined by Shane Sneddon and Nick Day to discuss the safety practices every pool and spa business should have in place. From PPE, chemical segregation and spill containment...
This episode is intentionally and unapologetically Gen X, slightly abrasive and definitely not safe for the easily rattled. Beneath the profanity and sarcasm is a serious discussion about accountability, professional communication and knowing the difference between telling an uncomfortable truth and simply acting like an asshole.
Rudy takes on cancel culture, trigger warnings, political correctness and the c...
Natalie Hood continues her conversations with the 2026 Talking Pools Podcast Top Ten Mentors by sitting down with Jeff Hampe, a longtime pool professional known for his all-tile pools, artistic glass mosaics and uncompromising attention to detail.
Jeff shares how he progressed from repairing hot tubs in New Jersey to cleaning pools, repairing equipment, performing leak detection and eventually becoming a licensed ...
What happens when a family emergency forces you to leave your business with almost no warning?
This week on Mondays Down Under, Lee, Nick, and Shane reunite to discuss Shane’s unexpected six-week absence and how his pool service business continued operating while he was overseas. From trusting an employee with 65 regular clients to managing emergencies across a 12-hour time difference, the conversation offer...
Twenty-five years after the attacks of September 11, 2001, this special episode of the Talking Pools Podcast is presented without commercial interruption.
Rudy Stankowitz remembers the 2,977 people murdered that day, the passengers and crews who fought back, the first responders who ran toward danger, and the survivors and recovery workers who carried the physical and emotional consequences home with them.
The epis...
This week on Thursdays with Wayne and Steve, Wayne climbs back onto his favorite soapbox: your skimmer is not a chemical-dispensing system. The guys break down the risks of feeding acid, calcium chloride, chlorine tablets, and other products through the skimmer—and discuss the limited situations where manufacturer directions may call for it.
Steve also speaks with Pat from the California Pool Association abo...
Natalie Hood welcomes 2026 Top Ten Pool Industry Mentor Peter Wiedermann for a conversation about his 31 years in the swimming pool industry, the people who shaped his career, and the technicians he helped develop along the way.
Peter explains why a mentor should build independence rather than dependence, why trust is essential, and why challenging someone’s thinking is sometimes the greatest help a mentor c...
Hiring new employees is only the beginning. If pool and spa businesses want knowledgeable technicians, loyal teams, confident customers, and fewer unqualified operators dragging down the trade, they must invest in professional development.
On this episode of Mondays Down Under, Lee Salisbury, Nick Day, and Shane Sneddon welcome Rachel, General Manager of IR Learning—soon to return to the name SPASA Training&...
A pool remodel is rarely as simple as replacing the tile and plaster. Once the old surface comes off and the ground is opened, contractors can uncover structural cracks, deteriorated rebar, undersized plumbing, missing hydrostatic relief, unsafe electrical work, and decades of questionable shortcuts.
In this bonus episode, Kelli speaks with Jose Gonzalez of Adams Pool Solutions in Pleasanton, California. Jose grew...
This episode is intentionally abrasive.
The pool industry wants the respect, credibility, and compensation of a skilled trade. But are we willing to establish, demand, demonstrate, and charge for skilled-trade standards?
Rudy asked pool professionals what they believe is wrong with the industry, and the responses came flooding in: inadequate training, nonexistent licensing, bargain-basement pricing, oversized egos,...
Private equity has entered the pool industry, and companies looking to acquire thousands of service accounts are knocking on the doors of independent pool professionals.
But what happens when they knock on yours?
In this Insurance Interlude, Steve Sherwood and Pat Grignon discuss what pool company owners need to consider before selling their business, route, or customer accounts. Steve shares his own experience wit...
What does nearly 50 years in the swimming pool industry teach you? According to Jerry Wallace, there are no shortcuts, you never stop learning, and sometimes you need to show up with a rolling suitcase full of textbooks.
Natalie Hood sits down with Jerry Wallace, president of Swim Chem and one of the 2026 Talking Pools Podcast Top Ten Pool Industry Mentors. Jerry shares how he entered the family business as a teen...
For this special Mondays Down Under episode, Lee, Shane, and Nick are finally together in the same room after two exhausting days walking the floor at SPLASH! 2026.
The team shares the products, technology, conversations, and innovations that caught their attention, including smarter chlorinators, Bluetooth pressure monitoring, automatic backwashing, direct free-chlorine testing, advanced commercial sanitation sys...
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