If you attended last November’s International Pool | Spa | Patio Expo, you probably saw a new series of sessions. At the open forums, dubbed “Ask the Masters,” attendees could ask questions of the expert moderators, with topics ranging from waterproofing to forensics to automation.
These sessions represented a quick ascent for the quartet of Genesis alums after whom the sessions were named. In short order, the group has grown its profile from a single Facebook page to an established podcast and now a series of informational and educational sessions.
Quick launch
Ask the Masters was started in the hopes of filling some gaps in the industry.
It was established in early 2019 when its founders realized their input was frequently requested in many of the conversations taking place on other industry web forums. The four — Paolo Benedetti of Aquatic Technology Pool & Spa in Morgan Hill, Calif.; Rick Chafey of Red Rock Pools & Spas in Mesa, Ariz.; David Penton of Fluid Dynamics Pool and Spa in Fullerton, Calif.; and Grant Smith of Aqua-Link Pools & Spas in Carlsbad, Calif. — figured it was time to start a forum of their own. They started the Facebook page and registered as a limited liability company.
“[We wanted] a place where you can come and ask difficult questions of some of the experts in their field,” Penton says.
But the team had a goal at least as important as answering industry questions — reaching out to backyard-design professionals from other industries, such as architects and landscape architects, to further educate them on water elements and the importance of pool/spa designers and builders to the process.
“When you start dealing at the higher level of design, most people don’t even know there are pool builders and designers with similar capacities and education as architects and landscape architects,” Chafey says. “They don’t know that there’s a team player to bring in early and start [including] on the design team.”
The industry reinforced the group’s instincts, with 100 members signing up the first day, and 250 registered by the second. “It just exploded right out of the bat,” Penton says. With about 1,600 now registered, the pace has “slowed down” to about 100 per month, he says.
Face to Face
The technical aspect of the podcasts, along with images and videos, are created by former pool builder Randy Beard and his Costa Mesa, Calif.-based media company VARX Marketing. He recently became the fifth partner in Ask the Masters.
The group also offers hands-on educational sessions, along with tours directly and indirectly related to pools and spas. In addition to various manufacturer facilities, it recently took behind-the-scenes tours of SeaWorld in San Diego and a pump station built after Hurricane Katrina to clear the city of flood waters.
“It’s water-related, but just in a different format that we’re not used to seeing within the pool industry,” Penton says.
In the near future, the group plans to expand information to include backyard elements that don’t include water.
Ask the Masters is slated for the Western Pool & Spa Show and will conduct other classes and tours around the country. But it isn’t looking to specialize in the type of classroom education currently provided by other industry associations.
“There’s enough of that, and they’re good quality,” Chafey says. “We want to offer what’s not available — the more hands-on approach to these subjects.”