Van Nuys, California — The pool industry stopped in its tracks on November 11th as Pure Swim’s Rich Gallo was blindsided in Van Nuys with an honor decades in the making: the 2025 Talking Pools Podcast Pool Industry Mentor of the Year, becoming the first-ever recipient of the swimming pool industry’s official Mentor Championship belt, custom-manufactured by Wildcat Belts, makers of belts for WWE and UFC.
The recognition—conceived and created by Rudy Stankowitz of the Talking Pools Podcast, a top 1.5% global podcast with listeners in over 100 countries—celebrates the swimming pool industry’s most impactful mentors worldwide. This year’s recognition drew 70 nominees from across the globe. Finalists were determined through a multi-stage, completely anonymous evaluation process. All identifying information was stripped from the nominations, and each nominee was assigned a unique number for the finalist round.
The Talking Pools Podcast hosts and three industry sponsors—Blueray XL, LaMotte Company, and Revdup Apparel—were provided only with the merit summaries associated with each anonymous finalist and scored them without any knowledge of their identities. This ensured a 100% merit-based and unbiased selection process.
“With the industry battling workforce shortages and an urgent need for better training pipelines, mentors like Gallo play a crucial role in shaping the technicians who will sustain the trade.” – Stankowitz.
Each of the Top 10 finalists received a premium recognition package celebrating their leadership, including a custom Revdup Apparel Mentor Jersey, a commemorative challenge coin, symbolic “Elevator Key,” Talking Pools gear, and gifts from title sponsor Blueray XL—created to honor the mentors’ impact on the swimming pool service community. The surprise presentation in Van Nuys was attended by:
- Rudy Stankowitz, Talking Pools Podcast
- Chris Galvin, President/CEO of Blueray XL
- Steve Sherwood, Talking Pools Podcast
- Dean Oullette, President/CEO of Big Family Pools (Scottsdale, AZ)
- Abbey and Adam, Pure Swim
- Alexa Jade, Photographer
Gallo was visibly moved as the Championship Belt presentation team burst through his office door. In an emotional moment captured in video, Stankowitz told him:
“We have somebody here who doesn’t do something to get recognition. He did it purely to help people get ahead and for the betterment of the industry. That’s the person who deserves this recognition the most. I wanted to come here in person, shake your hand, and say thank you for what you do for the pool industry.”
Gallo, overwhelmed, expressed deep appreciation:
“Thank you so much — this means a lot. The way you crafted this, the time and dedication you spent, and how you personally came in from Florida… that makes it special. I’m as honored to meet you as you are to meet me. I can’t thank you enough for doing this.”
The Pool Industry Mentor Championship belt, explicitly designed for this recognition, symbolizes the highest standard of mentorship in the pool industry. Manufactured by Wildcat Belts, known worldwide for designing belts for WWE and UFC, it represents the industry’s first-ever mentor recognition and Championship title.
“Rich Gallo is our first-ever champion in a movement that’s long overdue,” Stankowitz said. “This acknowledgement recognizes the folks who lift others up and set them loose to lead—people who pay it forward because that’s who they are. Rich doesn’t just mentor. He builds future leaders, and that’s exactly what this industry needs.”
About Rich Gallo
Rich Gallo leads Pure Swim in Van Nuys, California, a company renowned for its concierge-level service and the kind of responsiveness that customers don’t forget. He grew up around the trade—his father was a pool builder—and stepped into the industry early, spending more than thirty years earning a reputation built on integrity, professionalism, and a steady, people-first leadership style. Rich has long been regarded as a go-to mentor in the pool world, someone who lifts others and believes that sharing knowledge is part of the job. Away from the business, he’s a family man through and through, having become a father at a young age and now a proud grandfather, carrying those values of responsibility and heart into everything he does.
About the Talking Pools Podcast
Talking Pools is one of the most widely listened-to podcasts in the swimming pool industry, ranking in the top 1.5% of shows worldwide and reaching audiences in over 100 countries. Led by top industry educators and veteran pool professionals, the show delivers straight-talking training, real-world insights, and a strong voice for pool professionals everywhere.
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