Justin’s Pool Service

Had it not been for his daughter, Sophia, or son, Justin, pool owners in Upland, California, might never have met Gilbert Campos.

After a 35-year career in law enforcement, including time as a helicopter pilot with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Air Support Division, Campos retired in 2015 and began working as a private bodyguard for Hollywood royalty such as Kate Hudson, Ryan Gosling and Kevin Costner.

But it was his desire to spend more time with his daughter that led him to reconsider his path.

“My daughter was going into middle school, and she had just started getting into theater and picked volleyball as her sport,” Campos says. “And I didn’t want to miss any of that, so I stepped away.”

After a brief stint as a driving instructor, which turned out to be more physically taxing than flying helicopters, Campos was still searching for the right balance between work and life. Even in retirement, his “worker bee” nature meant he needed to stay busy.

“One day, I was feeding my Chihuahuas treats and watching a technician service my pool and I thought, ‘What’s wrong with this picture?’ ”

Hatching a new company

That moment inspired Campos to meet his pool man, Sean Patton, in the driveway. Patton offered to take him along on his pool route the following week. One day turned into three months and before he knew it, Campos was researching and readying to launch his new venture. He just needed a name.

He tried several, but none of them seemed to fit until he locked eyes with a photo of his son, Justin, who died in a car accident when he was 5 years old.

“When I decided to name the business Justin’s Pool Service, it was almost like this pressure off my heart because I allowed him to come back to life again,” Campos says. “When you take somebody’s name and use it for your business, you want to honor that name. And what’s the best way to do it than to make sure you do everything right? And that’s pretty much the model — to honor him by doing everything right to the best of my abilities.”

Finding founding principles

In 2022, Campos began servicing 15 pools as a graduate of YouTube University, he quips, researching everything he could from what makes pool technicians successful to clients’ biggest complaints. As the company celebrates its third anniversary in 2025, Campos proudly boasts more than 60 pools on his route — 45 of which came from word of mouth.

He explains that throughout his research, customers complained that pool service technicians did not show up, didn’t perform certain services they claimed to or tried to sell them equipment they didn’t need. 

“I thought this was going to be a no-brainer for me because these are all things that I don’t do,” he says with a laugh. “So, I didn’t have to train myself to be an honest, hard-working guy in this business.”

Campos has one technician, Christian, who he credits with doing the heavy lifting and helping the team achieve perfect balance.

“When we walk into the backyard, we know if the look at the pool. Does the pool look like it’s distressed? Does it look murky or cloudy?”

Campos acknowledges that creating his checklist took a lot of trial and error, with valuable help from his friend Patton, who was always willing to assist. Over time, Campos has grown more confident with his troubleshooting skills and realized that diagnosing problems is a crucial part of the job.

He adds that humility, owning up to mistakes and doing your best to correct them are mandatory traits when running a successful pool service company.

“The model I built my whole business on is customer satisfaction,” he says. “You have to be willing to do your best to mitigate and validate customer concerns to be successful because if you just ignore them, they’re going to get upset, and they will find someone else.”

Honoring a legacy

After three years, Campos remains committed to finding new ways to enhance his operations and expand his services. However, the core values that Justin’s Pool Service was built on remain unchanged.

His top priorities are doing his best in honor of his son and ensuring he has time with his daughter. As a family man, Campos takes pride in providing families with safe, well-maintained pools, giving them the opportunity to create lasting memories, knowing he put in his best effort.

“Every pool has its own personality based on the people that surround it,” he says. “It’s the family who jumps in and has fun and throws the parties. And you’re the one who comes in and basically brings it back to reality by balancing the chemicals, making sure it’s clean and most importantly, that it’s safe.”