In the chlorine-scented world of pool service, where long days blur into hot afternoons and precision matters down to the decimal, a few names carry real weight. One of them is Greg Beard, known to friends, colleagues, and thousands of pool pros simply as “The Beardman.”
From backyards in Garden Grove, California, to troubleshooting calls that come in at all hours, Beard has spent 35 summers building a reputation not just for fixing pools—but for mentoring people. Now, as one of the Top 10 Finalists for the 2025 Talking Pools Podcast Mentor of the Year Award, he’s quick to point out that the honor isn’t really about him.
“I can’t even tell you how many guys put me in for this,” he says, shaking his head. “When I got the email, it was pretty humbling. It’s not about me—it’s about the idea that mentorship matters in this industry.”
The Grind That Built Him
Beard has spent most of his career as a single-pole operator—an industry term for someone who runs their business solo, without a crew. His current route? 175 pools a week, with tile-blasting jobs squeezed in on weekends.
“It’s nonstop grinding,” he admits. “For a single-pole, you’re the manager, the tech, the accountant—all of it.”
That workload has taken a toll. Seven years ago, at just 50, Beard had a heart attack. He’s tried to slow down since—but in an industry built on deadlines and scorching summers, slowing down isn’t always an option.
And yet, he says the burnout never fully takes hold. “It’s the families,” he explains. “The little kids who grow up around a pool, the parents telling you it’s never looked better—that keeps you going.”
Listen to Greg Beard on the Talking Pools Podcast:
Safety First, Always
One story has stayed with him for decades. Early in his career, he warned a homeowner about the risk of a child climbing a fence to chase a ball. Weeks later, it happened—and the child drowned.
“If you’ve ever pulled up on one of those situations, you never forget it,” Beard says quietly.
That tragedy reshaped his approach. Today, he’s relentless about safety, from making sure pools are properly bonded and grounded to double-checking that fences and gates are secure. “Water is joy, but it’s also danger,” he says. “My job is to protect both sides of that truth.”
Mentorship Roots
Beard’s gift for mentorship didn’t start with pools. It started in Scouting, where he guided a troop that produced 12 Eagle Scouts.
“That’s where I learned the importance of giving back,” he says. “Mentorship isn’t about giving answers—it’s about letting people struggle a little, but being there so they know they won’t fall.”
Today, he brings that same philosophy to pool pros. His phone is rarely silent; someone is always calling with a question about a pump, an electrical panel, or a suction line. He’ll walk them through it, but never spoon-feeds the fix. “If they do it themselves, it sticks,” he says.
The Fight for the Industry
Ask Beard what keeps him up at night, and he won’t hesitate: online pricing.
“I quoted a customer $2,800 for a salt cell, and he tells me he can get it online for $1,600. How does that happen? How can he buy it cheaper than I can at wholesale?”
For him, the issue isn’t just dollars. It’s survival. If pros can’t make a living, the trade risks losing its future. He applauds companies like Jandy for pulling products from the internet to protect professionals, but he knows it’s only a start. “Eventually, if we don’t fix this, people will just do it themselves.”
A Legacy of Mentors, A Legacy of Service
Beard is quick to point to those who shaped him: Alan Smith, a pioneer in plastering, and Greg Garrett, an industry legend who passed away before Beard got to thank him properly. “Alan taught me how to be me,” he says. “Greg—man, I wish I could have one more conversation with him.”
Those lessons drive his approach today: blunt, honest, never sugarcoated. Whether he’s talking hydraulics, chemistry, or the need for industry-wide lobbying, his voice carries a mix of grit and gratitude.
The Human Side of the Hustle
Behind the reputation, Beard is the first to admit he couldn’t do it alone. “Without my wife behind the scenes, I wouldn’t have anything,” he says. “She’s the business. She’s the brains and the money.”
And despite the relentless pace, Beard’s gratitude runs deep—for the industry that gave him a career, for the colleagues who call him at midnight, for the chance to be part of something bigger than himself.
“The higher you climb, the bigger the target on your back,” he says with a grin. “You’ll get haters. You just put them behind you and keep going.”
On a typical morning in Garden Grove, Beard loads his truck before sunrise, tile-blasting gear wedged in beside skimmer nets. His phone buzzes with a text from a younger tech halfway across the country: Hey Greg, got a weird problem. Can you take a look?
He answers without hesitation, because this is what it’s all about—not just the pools he cleans, but the people he lifts along the way.
Greg Beard isn’t just a pool guy. He’s proof that in an industry where burnout is the norm, mentorship and grit can build a legacy that lasts.
And if the Mentor of the Year belt ends up around his waist in November, it won’t just be for the 175 pools he runs each week—it’ll be for the countless techs who now run theirs a little better because of him.
