Pool Pros in Your Pocket

For many pool pros, podcasts have emerged as a popular way to keep up with best practices and industry trends while driving from customer to customer. 

While it’s not a replacement for trade shows or conferences, it’s a valuable method for gaining free industry knowledge from your colleagues and experts. These audio talk shows are perfect to listen to while driving, working out or even while you service a pool.

Below, three podcast hosts discuss their contributions to the industry they love.

The Chlorine King Podcast

Erik Taylor, host of The Chlorine King Podcast, loves podcasting perhaps almost as much as he loves pool service.

The Chlorine King covers topics such as how to run your business and deal with clients, troubleshooting, new industry technology and more. “I want to educate and empower people to be the best they can be so one-by-one we can lift the industry as a whole,” Taylor says. “My goal is for all of us to be seen on the same level as an electrician or plumber. I love education and sharing knowledge; I feel my episodes do just that.”

 This year, his episodes will focus on the financial side of the pool industry. He plans to interview experts on how to help pool professionals make better business decisions.

 As for starting the podcast, he saw a gap in industry content he wanted to fill. His friend David Van Brunt of the Pool Guy Podcast Show started his podcast right around the same time. Taylor was Van Brunt’s first guest.

 “I really enjoyed answering his questions and sharing knowledge,” Taylor says. “So, I decided to start mine to help my own followers, but also to complement his show and followers.”

 Another favorite industry podcast? The Pool Chasers. “Their podcast has taken off and is making a huge impact in our industry,” Taylor says. “It was a privilege to be asked onto their show, and I was very excited when they agreed to be on my show.”

 In the end, Taylor hopes his podcasting efforts showcase him as a true pro. “I feel that I am making the industry a more professional ‘career’ versus just a job or being known as ‘the pool guy,’ ” he says. “I love helping the pool professional succeed.”

The Pool Guy Podcast Show

To say David Van Brunt is passionate about the pool industry may be an understatement. Almost daily, he shares his 25-plus years of pool experience on the Pool Guy Podcast Show.

As of March 2020, he has more than 300 podcasts posted.

“I really like touching on things that affect the service pro,” he says, “from those real tough service accounts, troubleshooting, vacation time, business management and just about everything that the average service pro will encounter on their pool route and in their pool business.”

 Before he ventured into podcasting, YouTube took up a lot of his time. Since 2012, he’s been sharing how-to videos and tips. He thought videos were good but that podcasts would work better for techs in the field. One of his frequent guests is Fred Schweer of PoolRx.

 “These are my favorite interviews because Fred knows what he’s talking about… knows his product like the back of his hand,” Van Brunt says, “and it is always refreshing to talk to someone who actually knows their product.”

 In the coming months, listeners can expect to hear a lot about pool chemistry. He also plans to continue with the popular Buying a Pool Route and Pool Service Business 101 series.

 Van Brunt aims to banish the stereotype of a typical pool servicer and instead focuses on building confidence. “Gone will be the image of a guy in a tank top and flip flops, a beat-up old truck with a pole and net in the back,” he says. “The podcast allows me to help the service pro by imparting the 25 years of industry knowledge I have accumulated in a concise, easy-to-understand format.”

Ask The Masters Podcast

When Grant Smith considers the Ask The Masters podcast, he says, “We’re mentoring people who are building pools.”

 Smith, along with three other pool pros — Paolo Benedetti, Rick Chafey and David Penton — use the podcast for open discussion on pool industry design and construction challenges. Their show guests share expertise in hardscape, plaster and tile application, among other topics.

In February 2018, the podcast was created on a “whim” and posted online. After being so well-received, the quad got bit by the podcast bug. Since then, they’ve released 38 podcasts with another 22 planned.

“The knowledge we’re sharing is out there already. It’s just that nobody looks it up,” Smith says. “We’re saying, ‘This is the proper way to build a pool.’ ”

“We want to educate people and spread the word of doing things correctly,” he adds.  “A lot of these guys we interview are people who move the dial in the pool industry.”

Need a new podcast? Check out these offerings from fellow pool pros:

Pool Guy Podcast Show
Host: David Van Brunt
Content releases: Monday through Friday
Episodes to date: 300+

“David’s podcast was actually one of the first podcasts for the pool industry. It carried over from his knowledge on his YouTube channel, so it only made sense to listen. It was something I could listen to while I was cleaning pools and increase my knowledge base at the same time.” Erik Taylor
Pool Guy Podcast Show listener
Owner, Chlorine King Pool Service
Seminole, Florida

Ask The Masters Podcast
Hosts: Rick Chafey, David Penton, Paolo Benedetti, Grant Smith
Content releases: Weekly
Episodes to date: 60

“As a design, construction management and building contractor, the podcast has been a real pleasure and I consider it an asset. I enjoy the straight talk by business peers who are in the field, real time, constructing projects. The insights are so very appreciated and valuable. It has been nice to utilize what would normally be down time, such as a long commute, and tune in.” Kenneth Mullins
Ask The Masters podcast listener
Owner, Pro Tech Pools
Los Altos, California

The Chlorine King Pool Service Show
Host: Erik Taylor
Content releases: Varies
Episodes to date: 28

“The Chlorine King podcast covers a vast array of topics, benefiting pool professionals of all levels, from a novice just getting started to a seasoned business owner. I most enjoy Erik’s genuine willingness to share his knowledge in a selfless effort to raise the industry standard.” Derek Kuda
The Chlorine King podcast listener
Owner, Poolseye
Lake Mary, Florida

Other industry podcasts to check out:

Pool Chasers Podcast
Hosts: Greg Villafana and Tyler Rasmussen
Content releases: Weekly
Episodes to date: over 75
This interview-style podcast invites guests from the field to discuss business building, success and failures, along with specialty services topics.

United Pool Association Podcast
Host: Steve Homer
Content releases: Varies
Episodes to date: 18
This podcast connects with an audience of swimming pool professionals to inspire and create dialogue to encourage industry best practices.

The Aquanut Podcast
Hosts: Derrick Todd and Rudy Stankowitz
Content releases: Weekly
Launched January 2020
Geared toward homeowners and new service pros with unique insight into the world of swimming pools.