Jonny Nalepa

Jonny Nalepa

30
Senior designer
Aquatic Consultants, Inc
Miami, Florida
AquaticConsultantsInc.com

Jonathan Nalepa is a second-generation pool professional. Over 35 years ago, his father started Miami-based Pool Rangers, Inc., a service company that has turned into a family business. Nalepa started riding in his dad’s work truck, and as he got older became an official employee of the company. From there, he mostly worked on service and repair, ranging from 800-gallon spas to 200,000-gallon pools for both commercial and residential clients.

Nalepa eventually found his industry niche, discovering that he was most passionate about design. In 2014, he earned an associates of arts degree and a CAD drafting certificate from Miami Dade College and an associates of science in aquatic engineering from Keiser University in 2016. For the last five years, he’s been at Aquatic Consultants, Inc. During that time, he’s also taken an online course with architect Frank Gehry and multiple Genesis University courses.

Nalepa says he’s seen how far the industry has come but feels few others have had the same opportunity. “The vast majority of people are still unaware of how much quality and substance there really is in the industry,” he says. That’s why he also started PoolInsider.net, a website that highlights some of the best pools and pool products in the industry. “I want to attract anyone and everyone to the industry,” he says, “by showing them how cool pools and pool products have become — and how much cooler they can continue to be.”

He hopes to attract those outside the industry as well. “So much of the industry has a ‘for us, by us’ culture that rarely extends past our line of sight,” he says. “I want to help change the perception of what a pool is so when someone thinks of a pool, they think of something closer to art and architecture.”