EP# 212: Diving into Excellence: Zack Derienzo's Wicked Clean Pools and His Entrepreneurial Journey

What makes Zack Derienzo with Wicked Clean Pools a good neighbor?

Curiosity piqued by those lush, pristine pools that seem to whisper luxury in sunny Florida? Prepare to be immersed in the story of Zack Derienzo, the entrepreneurial spirit behind Wicked Clean Pools, as he joins us on the Good Neighbor podcast to reveal the depths of launching a top-tier pool cleaning service. With a swan dive into his six-year industry tenure, Zack washes away the chlorine-tinged misconceptions about the pool service world, particularly the myth that youth equates to unreliability. His passion for perfection in every ripple of his business is not just refreshing—it's downright invigorating.

When the pool cover is on, and the skimmer nets are away, Zack trades the sun's reflection on water for the glow of a screen, indulging in his love for video games and content creation. He opens up about the transformation from an agile skateboarder to a contented homebody, drawing parallels between the precise art of a kickflip and the meticulous nature of pool maintenance. And then, there’s the dive into something deeper: the life challenges that have fortified Zack's resilience, shaping him into the steadfast entrepreneur we chat with today. Tune in for an episode that's more than just a splash—it's a cannonball of inspiration and real talk with a man who's making waves in the Florida sun.

To learn more about Wicked Clean Pools call:
772-353-0074

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Garfield Bowen.

Speaker 2: 0:15

Welcome to the Good Neighbor podcast. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your neighbor, Zach DiRenzo, with Wicked Pool, Wicked Clean Pool. Zach, how you doing today.

Speaker 3: 0:26

I'm doing well, garfield, how are you?

Speaker 2: 0:29

I am well. We're excited to learn all about you and your business. Tell us about your company.

Speaker 3: 0:33

So my company just started out. I offer a monthly pool cleaning service. I like to call it a luxury service, but really all I mean by that is full everything and just take care of it all. You don't have to worry. I've been doing it for about six years in total, but I just now decided to branch out on my own and yeah, I'd love to get the word out there. Let people know what I do.

Speaker 2: 1:01

Wicked Clean Pools. Okay, so you told us a little bit about your background, but what led you to branch out on your own.

Speaker 3: 1:12

I've been working doing pools, like I said, for about six years and throughout that time, most of that time, I was working for other companies, working off of their licensing and off of their accounts, and in Florida the cut that the company would take is just far too much for me to be doing all the work. No shame on them, you know more power to them. But it was just time for me to, you know, put some skin in the game and get out there on my own so I can make a little bit more money. You know I still have the goal of owning a house in Florida. So to do that, to reach that goal, you know had to start branching out on my own.

Speaker 2: 1:53

That's your high, or why huh?

Speaker 3: 1:56

Yes.

Speaker 2: 1:57

So what are some of the myths and misconceptions of being a pool? You know, like you got to be a chemist.

Speaker 3: 2:07

I mean, to a certain extent I feel like a witch and with a big old cauldron, you know, but it's not too complex. I would say one of the biggest misconceptions is that the younger guys are the lazier guys. I don't think that's the case. You know, I've had people have me service their pool for months without seeing me and then they see that I'm a younger guy and then the trust is just gone. So I think that's a misconception. You know, I got it in me. I want to work, want to get your pool clean.

Speaker 2: 2:42

Well, you got the beard and mustache covering a lot up, so you might be able to hide a little bit, you know a little bit, I'm mask. I know I don't own a pool. My mother has a pool and she's always saying the pump is running too long. You know this is not, it's not part of the question, but how long should the pump run?

Speaker 3: 3:06

I would say about eight hours. That's on average. You know, here in Florida we don't have much cool weather, but when it does cool down you can lower that to about six. And then if you have a variable speed pump you can have that thing running 12 hours. But such a low speed that it's not going to, you know, cost you much on your electric bill.

Speaker 2: 3:27

So, zach, tell me, when you're not busy running your business, what do you like to do for fun?

Speaker 3: 3:35

Up until recently it would. It would be skateboarding, you know, going to the beach, all that. But I'm realizing now I'm a homebody. You know, when I get home is when I really have the fun. I like to play video games, I like to make video game videos and put them online. I make a lot of artwork, that kind of thing, but the skateboarding is a little bit. I'm putting that on the back burner, you know, I don't want to get injured.

Speaker 2: 4:02

Okay. So you're, you're, you're gamer, yes, sir, okay. So let's change gears a little bit. Um, life often throws us curve balls. Let's talk about a hardship, one life challenge, something that you look back to dance, or you're better and stronger because of it. What comes to mind?

Speaker 3: 4:20

Um, I'm gonna preference it with. It's not the easiest thing to talk about for me or whoever I'm talking to, but when I was 10 years old, I lost both of my parents on the same day and, um, you know, I spent a lot of years looking for silver linings in that. So you lose who you look up to and who you get all your information from and who you try to morph yourself into. So losing them. You might think that I lost, you know, my ability to gain off of my parents or whatever, but in reality I would say it opened my eyes to the idea of having I like to call it a thousand fathers. You know, I take bits and pieces off of people around me, the good and then I leave the bad, and then I try to, you know, base it off a moral standing on how to better myself, not just from one father figure, but To whoever I can look up to and whoever I think is doing well and doing, you know, the right thing.

Speaker 2: 5:21

And that that that's powerful. I mean, I lost my father a few years ago and that was tough. I couldn't imagine losing both parents. You know and, and, and, and. Still having the ability to Use that to you know, empower yourself to, you know, instead of just, you know, going into a shell and and, and, and striving on. And now you know wicked clean pools. You know that's yeah, that's thick. So I want you to tell our listeners today one thing they should remember about wicked clean pools.

Speaker 3: 5:59

One thing you should remember and I don't mean any negativity by this, but I want your pool clean more than you do, because when I slack, if I were ever to slack, that's going to be my job next week to take care of, so I don't want that. I want that pool to stay sparkling clean. I want those filters clean, and most of the time, I'm there more than the people who I'm taking care of, I'm taking care of, so I got to throw this in.

Speaker 2: 6:25

What? What about the cobwebs? My mother's always complaining. The cobwebs. That's not part of the pool, you know. It has the mesh, so spiders just attract. I don't know if they lay eggs or that's their house up there on the on the screen.

Speaker 3: 6:38

Yeah, those are especially those little crab spiders with, like, the spikes on the back. They love screening closures. If it's, if it's on the handle going down into the pool, I'll take care of it with the tile brush but the ones up above. I just walk through their net, I walk through the web and you know that's the extent of how I take care of those.

Speaker 2: 6:58

So listeners are probably looking at the pool and probably complaining about the, the, the guy that's doing it now, and they want to know how can they get more information on wicked clean pools.

Speaker 3: 7:13

For now, you can contact me and we can set up, you know, a visit to where I can quote. You know, take a look at all your equipment and stuff like that. And you can reach me by cell phone at 772 353 0074. You can call or text, doesn't matter to me, and then if you're on your computer, you can email me at w clean pools at gmailcom.

Speaker 2: 7:42

Listen, zach. It's been a pleasure having you on the show. I wish you and your business the very best moving forward. Thank you, garfield.

Speaker 3: 7:47

It's been a pleasure.

Speaker 1: 7:50

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast Port St Lucy. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpportstlucycom. That's gnpportstlucycom, or call 772 362 3840.