UNFILTERED Legends

Eric Herman is every bit of California 1979 in the best possible way. The preeminent pool writer of his generation, Eric has written about the backyard experience for nearly 40 years.

After a brief hiatus, he finds himself back at WaterShapes doing what he loves best - telling great stores. https://watershapes.com/

We also get into bigfoot, ukuleles, and working with your son. Life is good for rebel with a cause.

We continue our conversation with Kathi in part 2. Winnipeg is cold, but Kathi has some hot takes on the state of the pool industry. Check out the latest from our favorite Canadian cowgirl.

We travel back to Vancouver to catch up to Canada's favorite daughter- Kathi Belcourt. She's irreverent, smart, and really dedicated to helping customers. We hope you enjoy the episode.

Pranks on the elderly? Questionable parenting? Fiberglass pool market growth? This episode has everything. Pilar is back and better than ever. This is fun for the whole family. Enjoy.

Get to know Pilar Losada: sales, customer service, design, muse. Thursday Pools is an innovative Fiberglass Pool manufacturer that's seeing booming sales and tons of accolades. 

We had so much fun talking to Pilar, we ended up with sequel. We hope you enjoy.

https://thursdaypools.com/

Alan has a large family and a big heart. His family business is JED Pool Tools. 

If you're looking for great American made pool equipment, look no further than Scranton, PA- based JED Pool Tools. 

You have 1 minute to choose. Your wife is out of town. You're home with two young daughters. Your pool can be built tomorrow, or in 4 months. This is the true story of a first time pool owner's experience with pool construction, retail, and diy closing. If you've ever googled, 'how do I pool?', this episode is for you.

See how it all began. Legendary Pool Basics featuring 'The Andinator'

https://youtu.be/mZpxDJ-0ioI

Mike Shadoan will go to battle with a hitter, and he'll go to battle for customers to make pool safety a priority. Automatic Pool Covers was born in Utah, but it was raised in Indiana. When Mike began in the industry, automatic covers were a rarity. Now, auto covers are nearly standard additions to any inground pool, and many geographies are allowing covers in lieu of fencing. 

What happens when professional swimming ends, and coaching begins. Its not easy going home.. or its very easy. Take a listen.

If you haven't listened to Thomas Flake Part 1, do yourself a favor and take a listen... in fact, listening to the first 12 Unfiltered episodes might help you understand what's going on a little better. 

Thomas is an industry legend, and he's sharing his insight on the status of the pool world, and the recovery form the historic Texas Freeze.

Thomas Flake has seen it all, done that, and lived to tell the tale. This Texas boy joined The Pool Group to get back to the basics - helping customers enjoy their pools. This is the first Unfiltered two-parter. Our conversation covers it all - from horse power wars to Star Wars - pvc to clay pigeons. We also talk ProTeam Supreme Plus. 

How did the Legend become so legendary? Why is Jana in a closet? Who is the 'other' John? Mackenzie takes the wheel to ask the hard hitting questions about the making of an Unfiltered podcast. 

Someone once said the pool industry is full of survivors. John Bokor, Jana Broughton and John Bereza took different paths to get where they are today, and Haviland Pool & Spa has managed to keep them there. 

We know two things: Kathi is Canadian. Kathi is a Legend. You'll have to listen to the rest of the episode to truly appreciate this smart, funny and outgoing young lady from the north. We may have reached Unfiltered Perfection with this one.

Take a trip around the world. From eastern Washington state to New York, from Australia to Dallas, Donovan Shanahan left the pool trade show biz for Plungie Pools in 2020 as tradeshows took a plunge and pool construction soared. Donovan was also national track star and a former flight attendant with a story to tell. 

Joe Wilmot did not intend to change the way pool service folks buy, sell and trade routes, but he's up for the job. From the backwoods of Ohio to the dry heat of Arizona, Joe's journey took him from a service route to digital service innovator. Try the Pool Trader app to take your business to the next level... or just get a tighter route. 

Scott Webb is the long-time editor of AQUA Magazine. AQUA was the first to 'discover' The Legend, and the Unfiltered team has a great relationship with the AQUA family. This mini-episode kinda goes all over the place, but that's what happens when you're catching up with an old friend. 

The 2021 Pool and Spa Show in Atlantic City. How do you attend a virtual show? Listen to the episode to find out how. 

In this special mini-episode, we sit down with Megan Kendrick of Spa Retailer, Pool Pro and the Spa Retailer Podcast.

Megan turns the tables and interviews the two Johns who just attended 

Carlos is not your ordinary pool guy. He had dreams of unwinding the human genome, but he also had a love for film, video and marketing....oh and he's food enthusiast who just happens to love retail pool sales. Whew, time to take a break... oh, wait, he's got a 1 year old at home. Texsun Pools in greater Houston has a good one in their digital marketing expert, Carlos Gonzalez.