.png)
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
1081 episodes
Workplace Safety: It’s Not a Problem Until It’s a Problem
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 Sa...
Cancel Me: Gen X, Cancel Culture and Knowing When to Shut the F*** Up
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 t...
Jeff Hampe: Mentorship, Mosaic Mastery and Pool-Tile Myths
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 deta...
.png)
Can Your Pool Business Survive Without You?
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 ...
.png)
Reflecting Absence: The Engineering Behind the 9/11 Memorial Pools
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 cr...
Chemicals in the Skimmer, Insurance Gaps & the Pool Guy Who “Feels” the Water
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 th...
Mentorship, AI, and Common Sense with Peter Wiedermann
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 exp...
.png)
Training Today Builds a Stronger Pool Industry Tomorrow
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.<...
.png)
Pool Remodels: What Lies Beneath the Plaster
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, unsaf...
.png)
Ten Things Wrong with the Pool Industry
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...
Selling Your Pool Business? Protect Yourself Before You Sign
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 I...
Calcium Nodules, Mentorship, and 50 Years of Pool Industry Wisdom with Jerry Wallace
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...
The Biggest Pool Technology from Down Under
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 ...
.png)
Rudy asks Education or Sales Pitch? Know Who’s Teaching You
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 edu...
1099 or W-2? The Expensive Difference Pool Companies Cannot Ignore
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-...
Is There Too Much Pool Industry Education?
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.Th...
.png)
Is Your Pool Business Balanced—or Are You Just Putting Out Fires?
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...
.png)
If You’re the Local Expert, Stop Charging Like the Local Idiot
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 ...
Stop Guessing, Start Charging—and Learn When to Say No
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 k...
Cold Plunge Myths: Short Exposure Does Not Mean Low Risk — Part 2
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 ra...
.png)
SPLASH
SPLASH 2026: Why Pool Professionals—and Their Teams—Need to Be ThereSPLASH 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 m...
Your Pool Guy Isn’t the Problem—You Are
🚨 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 ...
When Corporate Buyouts Kill Technical Support
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 Ivusi...
Eric Knight Joins Pool Brain
Natalie Hood welcomes Eric Knight back to the Talking Pools Podcast to discuss his move from Watershape University to Pool Brain—and what this new role could mean for pool service professionals.Eric explains how a conversation that began...
.png)
.png)