Nearly six decades ago, long before backyard pools became synonymous with Arizona living, a quiet vision was taking shape. In 1966, Bob Ast saw more than concrete and water; he saw the potential for connection, retreat, and family life unfolding under the desert sun. That vision became Shasta Pools, a company now approaching its 60th year with the same curiosity, craftsmanship, and care that defined its earliest days.
From the beginning, Shasta Pools was shaped by partnership. Bob Ast focused on sales and dreaming forward, while his brother, Skip Ast Sr., brought those ideas to life through construction. “That spirit of family partnership and innovation, one brother focused on vision, the other on craftsmanship, still guides us,” says Skip Ast III, Director of Sales and a third-generation member of the Ast family.
Today, Skip Sr. serves as CEO, his son Skip Jr. as president, and Skip Ast III oversees sales strategy and customer experience, each generation building upon the last, not by mandate, but by shared values.
For Skip Ast III, joining the family business was never assumed. Summers spent on job sites as a teenager were less about career planning and more about learning humility from the ground up. “Those off-the-record experiences, tying rebar and cleaning job sites, taught me the business from the inside of the excavated hole up,” he reflects. Officially joining the company in 2005, he arrived through the same training process as any other new hire. “Joining Shasta was never my plan,” he admits. “In fact, a non-family member recruited me for the design team. Ultimately, I couldn’t resist the values my family lives by.”
Those values, faith, integrity, and care for people, are not slogans at Shasta Pools; they are daily practices. Skip credits his grandfather and father with shaping his understanding of leadership. “They taught me that there are only two eternal things, God and people, and both are worthy of all our energy,” he says. That belief shows up in small, often unseen ways: a president who still visits job sites to thank crews, or a leader quietly wiping down a bathroom counter to make a space more welcoming. “His example of servant leadership isn’t just talk, it’s how he lives.”
Keeping pace with that standard is no small task. “My grandfather, at 88, and my dad still work Monday through Saturday,” Skip shares. “Their energy and dedication set a high bar that almost feels supernatural.” Yet it’s precisely that example, steady, disciplined, and rooted in service, that continues to inspire the next generation.
Ask Skip which project stands out most over nearly two decades, and he won’t point to a single design or innovation. Instead, he talks about moments. “There’s nothing like hearing the laughter of kids when they fill their pool for the first time,” he says. “Seeing their faces light up because they now have a little slice of vacation in their backyard, that’s why we do what we do.”
Innovation, however, has always been part of Shasta’s DNA. One lesser-known story begins on a family road trip to Disneyland, when Skip Sr. noticed a rancher spraying concrete to form a cattle trough. “He pulled over to learn more,” Skip recalls, while the rest of the family waited roadside. That moment led to the first use of shotcrete pool shells in Arizona, now an industry standard, and reflects the same curiosity driving Shasta’s modern advancements today.
Beyond backyards, Shasta’s mission of “Enhancing Lives” extends into the community through partnerships with local nonprofits, youth mentorship programs, and outreach initiatives. “To us, enhancing lives doesn’t stop at the backyard,” Skip says.
As Shasta Pools looks toward the future, growth is measured not in size, but in trust. “We aren’t motivated by being the biggest,” Skip explains. “We want every pool owner to feel like part of our extended family and to know they can trust us for generations.”
That commitment to people, to purpose, and to doing what’s right remains the true foundation beneath every Shasta pool, quietly shaping Arizona backyards into places where life happens, memories are made, and legacies endure.
“There’s nothing like hearing the laughter of kids when they fill their pool for the first time.”