Moving from construction to hot tub sales, the Downs family's business journey evolved naturally.
2023
Jay Broyer and Brandon Jones, second cousins who co-own St. Cyr Pool & Spa in Middleton, Massachusetts, are a pair of entrepreneurs who take an aggressive approach to business.
Vince Wuebker is a man on a mission — delivering wellness to his customers through the benefits of a hot tub.
Established in 1968 by John and Diane Bassemier, Bassemier’s Fireplace, Patio & Spa is now led by their sons, Jeff and James, who took over as president and vice president in 2018.
In Northern California, the idea of transforming wine barrels into hot tubs struck Rolf Engelhard and Denis Kasten in 1976.
While Mike Isley didn't foresee a career in the hot tub industry, he always desired to work for a small business. His path led him from the retail department at Paradise LeisureScapes to becoming a partner around 15 years ago, and it's been a thrilling journey.
2022
Jim Graven took a decades-old billiard manufacturer and retailer and with the...
There may be some aspects to living and running a business in...
It wasn’t until January 2021, during a worldwide pandemic, that Patio Galaxy decided to add hot tubs and swim spas to its inventory.
When Larry and Erma Pettis founded Pettis Pools and Patio in 1962 in East Rochester, New York, they established a philosophy of providing quality products at a fair price and offering the best, most professional service in a timely manner.
There aren’t many in the hot tub industry who can attribute their...
2021
When Donny Stiver told his wife, Melissa, that he wanted to open...
Stroll into CK Spas in Quebec, Canada, on a weekend, and 8-year-old...
Opening a hot tub store in August 2020 looked nothing like Phoebe...
Scott Call has been in the hot tub industry since the early...
Backyard Leisure opened in 2006, not long before the recession of 2008...
2020
Eric Cassidy’s heart dropped when the Pennsylvania governor told businesses to go...
Finding out that your child has a life-threatening health condition is every...
When shutdowns began, seasonal business was already slow for Litehouse Pools &...
Reno, Nevada, shut down completely for two weeks in March, as a...
When the pandemic hit and cities began to shut down, the executive...
When Fred Bachmann’s store won the Locksin-Thompson Dealer of the Year Award at the annual Watkins Wellness conference, he was stunned. The honor recognizes dealers who have shown excellence, leadership and pretty darn good sales.
When the founders of Great Bay Spas & Sauna approached Jamie Burson in late 2019 about buying the company, he was caught off guard. He’d been with the New England retailer since he was 20, working his way up from the warehouse to sales and management, and had always dreamed of owning the business. But when the opportunity came, it suddenly felt real.
When Fiesta Pools & Spas opened in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1956, backyard pools were still a novelty, and the hot tub industry as we know it hadn’t even been born. Nearly 70 years later, the company has become a community fixture — a legacy Travis Hogan stepped into when he purchased Fiesta in 2004 at just 28 years old.
Family has always been at the heart of Cada Pools and Spas. For brothers Tom and Brian Cada, carrying forward the business their father started has been as much about honoring tradition as it has been about adapting to change — and now the next generation is finding its place.
In 2011, Jacuzzi Hot Tubs of Ontario was born.
Now, 13 years and a pandemic later, Wasney’s business is undergoing another rebrand after more than a yearslong process. The Wellness Shop officially launched in February of 2022.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Water by Design, a family-owned business with four locations across Virginia, including Roanoke, Lynchburg and Christiansburg. The company has evolved into one of the region’s most respected hot tub retailers, thanks to the vision and entrepreneurial spirit of Paul Madden Sr. and his son, Paul Madden Jr.
When former owner Craig Ecelbarger thinks of the success The Recreational Warehouse has had, he simply smiles.
“It’s hard not to smile,” says Ecelbarger, who is now the director of Florida operations after the company was purchased by Watson’s. “It’s like, ‘Wow, we’re good at this.’
Adrianne Morgan, vice president of retail operations of the Wisconsin-based pool and spa company, says watching the relationships between customers and her staff develop is the best part of the business.
You could say Rita Rowlen grew up in the hot tub industry.
When Rowlen’s father, Cecil Schniepp, started his swimming pool construction and retail business in 1954, he had high hopes his seven kids would work in the family business.
If all had gone according to plan, Ron Perkins would have bought Seven Seas Pools & Spas at the end of 2024.
But like most well-laid plans, things didn’t happen that way.
Moving from construction to hot tub sales, the Downs family's business journey evolved naturally.