At Last — The Fun Issue Is Here

Likely coming in the mail today is an historic issue of AQUA Magazine — The Fun Issue.

It is the first issue in the history of the industry to focus on the reason for its existence — the joy of pools and spas and the satisfaction of providing them to others. It's about what we really do as professionals in an enterprise built on enjoyment and leisure.

Quietly, we’ve been working on this for some time in the back room, laughing to ourselves:

“No, we can’t put that in a trade magazine!”

“Yes! Do it! Put it in there!”

Yes, this is a business — I know. And AQUA is a business magazine, and that b-word is mostly a serious word, and most of the time we talk very seriously about markets and margins and competition and strategies for getting ahead. But every once in a while you have to step back and remember at the end of the day, it's really about someone, somewhere slipping into something warm and bubbly, saying, "Ahhhhh. Yes."

It's about a 10-year-old kid cuttin’ loose with a cry of, "CANNONBALL!"

We're still talking about the business here (mostly), but our goal was to make this the most lighthearted and enjoyable pool and spa magazine since the days of Beach Blanket Bingo.

We've got pool movie scenes, edible pool toys and bikinis. We have poignant pool moments and some of the most far out and fantastic backyard poolscapes you've ever seen. There are some tips to make your spa store more fun. Our new partner APSP chimes in with an exciting new tool to help us bring the good times to new consumers. And that's just a start.

We decided to lighten up this month at AQUA, and invite you to do the same.

Next month we'll get back to the business of making money, but for now, I hope you find something here to make you reflect on the fun of working in a leisure business and the simple pleasure you've brought to many lives.

Click here to read the Fun Issue right now.