Rance Schindler, 26

Sitting in a cubicle 40 hours a week at an engineering firm quickly lost its appeal for Rance Schindler. He saw his brother, Reid Schindler, find success in the pool industry and work on exciting projects, and thought he could potentially do the same. In 2018, he found a sales/design job at an established Dallas/Fort Worth company.

“As any design/salesman in the industry knows, at first it’s not easy,” Schindler says. “It’s one thing to design something that looks cool using a rendering software, but it’s a whole different story designing something that is actually buildable and done to match a client’s budget.”

Though there were times Schindler wondered if he was cut out for the pool industry, he immersed himself in the free trials for many kinds of software. “Countless hours of practice led me to expertise in not only Pool Studio but now Sketch-Up, TwinMotion, Revit and Lumion,” he says. “With a glance at my work now, I can hold my own as one of the best in the industry when it comes to realistic graphic design. It certainly hasn’t been the easiest path, but when I look back at where I was two years ago, I remind myself that I’m just getting started.”

Schindler now works at Bowen Pools, where he helped launch its construction division. Right now, he is focused on improving customer experience over merely building and selling a high quantity of pools. The entire build process should be a full and fun experience for clients, he says. He recently started a side company, Rance Schindler Design, so he can do additional design work for other area builders. “I want to keep pushing the innovation, customer experience and build quality we’re providing at Bowen Pools,” he says, “but I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t love to travel the world and design some of the coolest waterscapes imaginable.”