A show to remember

By Emma Peterson. 

How educational opportunities, expert keynotes and a new media village made the 2025 PSP Expo unforgettable. 

With the launch of OutdoorCoffeeShop™ this year, the Coffee Shops crew got the chance to go to the International Pool Spa Patio Expo (PSP) for the first time! They had a great time exploring the expo floor, making friends in the outdoor industry and attending countless events and education sessions. To learn more about the event, since it was our first year attending, we hosted Megan Magana, the show manager for the PSP Expo, for an episode of From the Ground Up!  

This year, like all the previous PSP Expos, there was a huge focus on education. Megan explained, “Education is so fun and we really made it so there’s something for everyone... We can break it down into two general categories. We have the pre-conference classes thanks to our association partners, Pool and Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA) and Genesis. Those were intense, high-level two- and three-day classes that you get certifications. And then we also had our core conference pass sessions which are your usual classroom-style learning.”  

And beyond the education sessions, both during and before the conference, the PSP Expo also always features new speakers for keynote presentations every year! This year the keynote speakers were Scott Hackworth (president of Industry Insights for PHTA), Darren Woodson (five-time Pro Bowl safety and three-time NFL Super Bowl Champion) and Heather Whelpley (award-winning author and coach).  

In addition to welcoming new speakers, the 2026 PSP Expo had a new section this year – the media village! Megan shared her thoughts about it, saying, “It was a really cool feature that we were excited to see come to life this year. It’s an example of what makes this show so cool. Not only do we have the education, but you get this opportunity to have organic experiences meeting up with fellow professionals and seeing the newest products on the market.” That’s where our crew was, hosting a soundstage and interviewing professionals live. If you’re interested in catching up on what happened at the show, we have an on-demand version of all those videos!  

To get more behind the scenes insights on the 2025 PSP Expo, listen to the whole conversation between Karol and Megan.