Talking Pools Podcast
by Rudy Stankowitz
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
Episodes
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Same Pool, Different Math: Rudy & Eric Knight, Part 2
Ask a question here Rudy Stankowitz and Eric Knight of Pool Brain continue their three-part crossover conversation with a question that gets uncomfortable fast: How can the same water readings look balanced in one calculation and aggressive in another? They compare the PHTA/NPC calculation Rudy...
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Know Your Numbers, Protect Your Business
Ask a question here Are you making money on every pool, or just staying busy? This week on Thursdays with Wayne & Steve, the guys get back to business basics for pool professionals. Steve explains why knowing your costs, understanding your pricing, and building relationships with reliable...
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Hot Tubs, Germs & the Microbial Badass - Dr. Roy Vore
Ask a question here Hot tubs may be small, but the problems hiding in them can be anything but. In this episode of the Talking Pools Podcast, Natalie Hood sits down with microbiologist Dr. Roy Vore to tackle hot tub chemistry, sanitation, and the misconceptions that can leave bathers soaking in...
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Standalone Spas, Lost Accounts & Hiring the Right People
Ask a question here A clean pool wasn’t enough to keep the customer. In this episode of Tru in the Loop, Pool Boy True shares a hard lesson he learned when a customer asked for service documentation, and he took too long to provide it. Her request was about more than paperwork: she wanted peace…
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Your Pool Business Has Procedures. Does Anyone Actually Follow Them?
Ask a question here When the schedule fills up, shortcuts start looking pretty reasonable. A missing job note here, a skipped photo there. Then a customer calls, a pump won’t start, and suddenly that five-second video becomes the most valuable thing your technician recorded all week. On this...
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Fear of Facebook, Part 2: Less Bloodsport, More Pool Knowledge
Ask a question here Can a Facebook group keep its edge without making every question a public execution? Rudy Stankowitz rejoins 14 PSI’s Shawn Davis and Dan Chiles for the conclusion of their conversation about toxicity, accountability, and changing the culture of an online pool-professional...
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Stop Feeding the Skimmer: Wayne’s Pool Service Pet Peeves
Ask a question here Talking Pools Podcast | Thursdays with Wayne & Steve Wayne Ivusich is flying solo, and he’s brought a list. Welcome to “Pissed-Off Wayne Thursdays,” where questionable pool service habits earn a finger wag and a reminder that saving a few minutes can create expensive problems....
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From Malibu Pools to Ocean Solutions: Terry Tamminen on Mentorship
Ask a question here Before he worked with Arnold Schwarzenegger or led ocean innovation initiatives, Terry Tamminen was servicing swimming pools in Malibu. And when he couldn’t find the comprehensive maintenance reference he wanted, he wrote one. This week on Talking Pools Podcast’s Wednesday...
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Stop Collecting Pools. Start Making Money. With Pineapple Pool Boyz
Ask a question here Tru in the Loop | Talking Pools Podcast Host: Truman Guest: Zach of Pineapple Pool Boyz, Arizona Truman bids a one-day cleanup that turns into a four-day construction-debris nightmare, complete with a long commute and a well-water refill that adds another headache. Then he...
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Busy Doesn’t Mean Profitable: Put Down the Price Gun and Know Your Numbers
Ask a question here Link to The Pool Shop Coach’s ‘KNOW YOUR NUMBERS’ CALCULATOR : www.thepoolshopcoach.com.au/knowyournumbers Your shop is packed, the service trucks are rolling, and bags of salt are flying out the door. So why does the profit disappear? On this episode of Mondays Down Under on...
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Fear of Facebook, Part 1: 14 PSI Says Enough Is Enough. Lincoln Reflecting Pool Failure Analysis
Ask a question here On this Floc It Friday episode of the Talking Pools Podcast, Rudy Stankowitz sits down with Shawn Davis and Dan Chiles, two former admins of 14 PSI Industry Lounge, for a candid conversation about toxic Facebook groups—and the responsibility that comes with helping shape their...
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Popped Pools, Leaking Profits & the Commercial Account From Hell
Ask a question here Talking Pools Podcast | Thursdays with Steve & Wayne Hosts: Steve Sherwood and Wayne Ivusich Insurance Interlude Guest: Pat Grignon That commercial pool account looks impressive on your client list—but is it making you money, or slowly eating your business alive? Steve and…
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Stop Blaming the Pool Guy! Plaster Myths & Industry BS with Greg Beard — Part 2
Ask a question here The plaster looks like hell, and somehow the guy holding the net is already the prime suspect. Case closed? Natalie Hood and Greg Beard have a few follow-up questions. On this Wednesday Mythbusting Session of the Talking Pools Podcast, Natalie welcomes Greg back for part two…
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Tru in the Loop Premiere: Stop Eating Repair Costs, Charge Your Worth & Hire with Purpose
Ask a question here Meet Truman, “Pool Boy Tru,” the newest voice on the Talking Pools Podcast. An Air Force veteran, former basketball coach, and Tampa-area pool business owner, Tru grew from a purchased route of 17 pools to 60 pools and an employee in two years. Now he’s bringing his lessons,...
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Forgot the Hose? Water Damage, Floating Pools & the Chlorine Merry-Go-Round
Ask a question here A hose left running. A pool that drains overnight. A concrete shell pushed out of the ground. Water has plenty of ways to turn an ordinary service visit into somebody’s very expensive problem. On this episode of Mondays Down Under, Lee, Shane, and Nick share firsthand stories...
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You never know what someone is carrying when they show up to work
Ask a question here This trailer offers a glimpse into “You Are the Storm—and You Are Allowed to Have Help: Mental Health in the Pool Industry,” released Friday, October 9, 2026, on the Talking Pools Podcast. Join Rudy Stankowitz, Jacobi Truman, Chris Felmer, and Zarah Littlejohn for honest,...
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You Are the Storm - and You Are Allowed to Have Help: Mental Health in the Pool Industry
Ask a question here Content note: This episode includes discussions of PTSD, suicide, grief, childhood bullying, and strong language. Listen at your own pace and take a break whenever you need one. We spend a hell of a lot of time talking about what goes into the water. Today, we’re talking about...
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Leslie’s Restructuring: What It Could Mean for the Pool Industry
Ask a question here Talking Pools Podcast | Thursdays with Steve & Wayne Hosts: Steve Sherwood and Wayne Ivusich Insurance Interlude Guest: Pat Grignon, California Pool Association Leslie’s restructuring has the pool industry talking—and Steve and Wayne have plenty to say. From store closures and...
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Answer the Damn Phone: Greg “Beard Man” Beard on Real Mentorship | Part 1
Ask a question here What does mentorship look like when you’re standing in a customer’s backyard, staring at equipment you can’t figure out, and someone answers your call? Natalie Hood sits down with Greg “Beard Man” Beard, a two-time Talking Pools Podcast Top Ten Pool Industry Mentor honoree, to...
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“I Just Test the Water” Won’t Cut It: Entrapment, Bad Plumbing & Professional Responsibility
Ask a question here A pool can look immaculate and still have a dangerous suction system. A renovation can deliver a beautiful finish while leaving the same hazardous plumbing underneath. And a bigger pump can create problems that another bag of chemicals will never fix. This week on Mondays Down...
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Pool Pros Deserve Better: Industry Politics, Product Claims & Corporate Bullshit
Ask a question here 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…
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Pool Pros Need More Regulation - and Fewer Facebook Assholes
Ask a question here 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...
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A Floating Liner, a Family Business, and the Advice Chris Cavanaugh Wishes He Took Sooner
Ask a question here 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...
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“Chlorine-Free” With a Chlorinator? SPASA Takes on Pool Sanitizer Claims
Ask a question here 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...
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One-Star Tribunal: Pool Pros vs. People Who Shouldn’t Have Wi-Fi
Ask a question here 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...
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When Water Goes Where it Shouldn't
Ask a question here 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...
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Ancient Pool Warrior: John Poma on Mentorship, Machinery and Alum
Ask a question here 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...
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Workplace Safety: It’s Not a Problem Until It’s a Problem
Ask a question here 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…
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Cancel Me: Gen X, Cancel Culture and Knowing When to Shut the F*** Up
Ask a question here 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...
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Jeff Hampe: Mentorship, Mosaic Mastery and Pool-Tile Myths
Ask a question here 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...
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Can Your Pool Business Survive Without You?
Ask a question here 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...
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Reflecting Absence: The Engineering Behind the 9/11 Memorial Pools
Ask a question here 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…
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Chemicals in the Skimmer, Insurance Gaps & the Pool Guy Who “Feels” the Water
Ask a question here 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...
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Mentorship, AI, and Common Sense with Peter Wiedermann
Ask a question here 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...
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Training Today Builds a Stronger Pool Industry Tomorrow
Ask a question here 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…
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Pool Remodels: What Lies Beneath the Plaster
Ask a question here 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...
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Ten Things Wrong with the Pool Industry
Ask a question here 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...
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Selling Your Pool Business? Protect Yourself Before You Sign
Ask a question here 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...
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Calcium Nodules, Mentorship, and 50 Years of Pool Industry Wisdom with Jerry Wallace
Ask a question here 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...
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The Biggest Pool Technology from Down Under
Ask a question here 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...
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Rudy asks Education or Sales Pitch? Know Who’s Teaching You
Ask a question here WARNING: This episode is intentionally abrasive. It contains strong language, blunt opinions, and an alarming lack of patience for sales pitches disguised as education. If professional disagreement offends you, consider this your continuing education credit in hurt feelings.…
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1099 or W-2? The Expensive Difference Pool Companies Cannot Ignore
Ask a question here Calling someone an independent contractor does not automatically make them one. In this Insurance Interlude, Steve Sherwood and Pat Grignon of the California Pool Association examine the complicated line between 1099 subcontractors and W-2 employees. They discuss what may help...
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Is There Too Much Pool Industry Education?
Ask a question here In the conclusion of this two-part Mythbusting Wednesday conversation, Natalie Hood sits down with Erik Knight to discuss his move from Watershape University to Pool Brain—and the bigger problems he hopes to help solve. The pool industry has more education available than ever,...
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Is Your Pool Business Balanced—or Are You Just Putting Out Fires?
Ask a question here This week on Mondays Down Under, Lee Salisbury—the Pool Shop Coach—and Nick tackle a question every pool business owner should ask: Are you actually running your business, or are you simply reacting to whichever fire is burning hottest today? Lee introduces her new Business...
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If You’re the Local Expert, Stop Charging Like the Local Idiot
Ask a question here WARNING: Intentionally Abrasive Language - Every service business wants to be the company everyone recommends—the local expert called after three other contractors have replaced the wrong parts, collected their checks, and left the customer with the same damn problem. But...
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Stop Guessing, Start Charging—and Learn When to Say No
Ask a question here Steve Sherwood and Wayne Ivusich discuss one of the hardest lessons for pool service professionals: you cannot solve every problem, satisfy every prospect, or repeatedly rescue neglected pools for free. Steve explains why customers must keep an eye on their pools between…
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Cold Plunge Myths: Short Exposure Does Not Mean Low Risk — Part 2
Ask a question here Natalie Hood continues her conversation with Dewey Case of the Council for the Model Aquatic Health Code, separating cold-plunge science from wellness-industry hype. Cold plunges may be popular, but cold water changes chemical reaction rates, sanitizer performance, testing...
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SPLASH
Ask a question here SPLASH 2026: Why Pool Professionals—and Their Teams—Need to Be There SPLASH isn’t just another excuse to escape the office, collect two years’ worth of free pens, and start asking suspicious questions about when the complimentary slushy machine becomes a margarita machine. For...
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Your Pool Guy Isn’t the Problem—You Are
Ask a question here 🚨 Warning: This episode contains intentionally abrasive commentary and strong language. Most Talking Pools questions come from pool service professionals. This week, Rudy clears the inbox of questions submitted by pool owners—and provides pool pros with a little emotional...
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When Corporate Buyouts Kill Technical Support
Ask a question here What happens when the people who actually know the product disappear—and customer service becomes a phone tree, a 90-minute hold, or an ordering department that cannot answer a technical question? This week, Steve Sherwood and Wayne Ivusich examine the decline of accessible...
About this show
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
Hosted by
Rudy Stankowitz