From Idaho to Texas, from warranty work and trying remodels, from two people to 12 — Zac Nicklas’ journey in the pool industry has covered a lot of ground. When Nicklas’ best friend and now business partner, Justin Morehead, moved to Houston from Idaho and got a job working in the pool industry, Nicklas road…
When Max Brown joined the pool industry, he says he was just cleaning pools on a surface level. Thanks to getting more experience, certifications and on-the-job-training, he now feels he’s on the way to a professional career and trade. “I really enjoy being able to fix a headache for a customer and seeing them genuinely…
Leah Perry’s first experience in the pool industry was riding around with her husband on his route and helping him route his weekly accounts. But when the pair moved to Texas, she got a job at The Pool Boys answering phones and helping in-store customers. Eventually the Pool Boys started offering maintenance, and now Perry…
Life in the U.S. is still new to Alisa Gotay, a native of Puerto Rico who made the move to Texas with her husband and son five years ago. She is even newer to the pool industry, having begun working at Silver Spring Pool and Spa in El Paso, Texas, in summer 2020. Gotay remembers…
Krystal Guilhemotonia began her pool industry career the same way many get their start in a family business: She started working for her dad, Brian Goettlich, off the books when he was running Aqua Creek Products from their family’s dining room table. Aqua Creek, based in Missoula, Montana, manufactures lifts and other accessibility products for…
Ernad “Ernie” Civic was working as a personal trainer after moving to Florida when he got a message from his dad, Zlatko Civic, that changed his life. “[My dad] was ready to leave his current job in Pennsylvania but could not find work,” Ernie says. “My dad is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever…
Adam Beech has always loved tech, so in 2006 when he started his pool service company, Pool Agency, he integrated as much technology as he could. Beech says he invested heavily in a good website, Google Ad Words campaigns and review sites. In 2008, he switched all his customers to autopay with paperless billing. The…
In a male-dominated industry, Nicole Newkirk has made research and knowledge her secret weapon. She says she makes a point to be knowledgeable about construction methods and not only focus on design: “I want to be respected without changing the way I present myself,” she says, adding that she’s struggled throughout the years with people…
While attending the University of Pittsburgh, Jordan Frabasilio spent much of his time playing Division 1 college baseball. Baseball helped get him into school, thanks to an athletic scholarship, and it was a far cry from the pool industry in which Jordan had grown up watching his father, Presidential Pools & Spas president James Frabasilio….
The pool industry helped Colton Frabasilio along while he was also pursuing his dream of becoming a major league baseball player. He worked in the company warehouse stocking parts for construction crews and service techs while he was in the minors: “This helped me learn all the different manufacturers and parts that go into building…
Michael Krause may have only started his pool service company, First Response Pool Service, this year — but he’s not new to the industry. Were it not for a freak accident, he’d have an extra year of business ownership under his belt. When Krause went on a camping trip and broke both of his ankles…
For Rudy Hablewitz, owner of ELEVATEDesign, a design firm specializing in outdoor spaces, including pools, every day is an opportunity to push boundaries and to create something unique. Hablewitz studied landscape horticulture at Southern Illinois University and in 2017 began working for a pool company doing design work. “This was my first real opportunity to…