From Drug Addict To Multi-Million Dollar Custom Pool Company with Darren Salt Kesler

This is the Beyond the Story podcast, a show that goes way beyond the story. And now, Sebastian Rusk Darren, welcome to the show, brother. Hey, Sebastian, what's happening with you? Hey, man, it's all good. We woke up today, we're already ahead of the game. Amen, amen. Thanks for the opportunity to talk with you. Yeah, man, it's a good opportunity to talk with you as well, too. I know you and I connected through Apex at some point last year, and it's great to connect with you again. Thanks for taking some time out of your day to hang out with me for a few minutes. On this show, I love telling people's stories, so for some context for our listeners, I always like to go back to the beginning of the story, whatever the beginning is for you, but help us better understand where the beginning of your story started and what really brought you to present day with what you're doing.

Sebastian Rusk

All right. Just, just real quick, you know, uh, grew up in a normal household, you know, and, uh, joined the Navy at 17, quit high school, um, traveled the world and got out of the Navy. And after, uh, 81 to 87, and then just kind of, uh, ran wild. Like I was still overseas. and became heavily addicted to alcohol and meth and drugs and just crazy living chaos. I had some kids in the mix of that, that I wasn't being a dad at all. And just, I couldn't get it together. I tried for many, many years, AA, NA, marriages, changing states, being locked up. I just couldn't overcome that. And I'd completely lost hope. And then, you know, my last recourse was Jesus. I wasn't raised in church. I didn't know about, I mean, I knew about him as an American, you know, you hear about it, but I was never connected with him. I just cried out one day for help. And I instantly was filled with a hope, a hope that things were going to change. And so from that moment on, that was 15 years ago, I've been clean and sober. And I started working for $11 an hour at a nursing home. And then just slowly, you know, the word says, do everything as if unto the Lord. And so I just started trying to do the best I could. And right now I'm happily married. The first friend I met coming off the streets at the nursing home, is my present wife now, Carla. And that was the, I got an application from her for that $11 an hour. She was the office manager. We became friends. She was my first Christian friend. And 10 years later, I asked her to marry me. We never talked about dating or any of that stuff in those 10 years. And it just came about, you know, five years ago, we got married and I've been in the swim pool industry for 34 years off and on. And I just started working for another company in Dallas and I just treated it like my own. And I just started working hard and learning and growing. And then we launched our own, a veterans pool company. And we started franchising to military veterans. And now we're, you know, this year we're, as a company, we've got two other territories, we're doing 4.7 million in 2024. So my life's about recovery, redemption, and hope.

Darren Salt Kesler 

Wow, that's one heck of a story. But also, you know, the true testament to the power of faith and how God can literally transform a human being. I mean, you're living proof of that. And, you know, and it's not really like a full blown, like believer at all. When that time you cried out for help, you know, it, it, it, it, um, you didn't really know what you were crying out to or how or what. But that supernatural force being able to step in and say, I got this and I got you, just let me handle it is pretty remarkable. Well, congrats on being able to radically turn your life around. um, like that. And you know, the, the, the, the business seems to be thriving. I love that. It's very much mission based in that you empower other veterans to have their own business as well. Um, and as a, you know, as a by-product of what you've actually created, how did you get into the pool industry?

Um, I lived out in California. I went out there to meet my real dad in the late eighties. Um, he was a pro baseball player. At the age of 19, he was making more money. He signed on with the Oakland A's and the Cincinnati Reds. And, um, I was born in 63 and then he went to Vietnam and then he just, uh, walked away from us and, uh, ran wild. He ended up being married seven times and, uh, he was the Marlboro man out in California for a couple of years. He was on that movie blazing saddles and, um, and, uh, I never met him. And so I went out to California and met him. And then came back to Oklahoma and I just got hired on as a grunt at a pool company for $5 an hour back then, maybe $4 an hour back in 90. Um, I thought, you know, beer and women and, you know, uh, that lifestyle wearing shorts and no shirt, just living the pool guy lifestyle and, you know, work my way up. So that's how I got started into it. And I really liked the industry. the attitude of it and stuff. We believe we're improving people's quality of life. I only do renovations and construction. I don't do weekly maintenance or any of that kind of stuff. We stick to the construction side of it. We believe that if we provide you a good quality job and the process is smooth, that we're helping improve your quality of life for you and your family, for generational memories to be had. We get to have a little part of that. So we enjoy it.

I love that. Love that. So, um, how did you find your dad in California in the eighties? Cause it's not like we had technology then.

No, he reached out to me when I was in the Navy. I was stationed in Hawaii. I got a letter from me, I guess him and my mom made an agreement that he would stay out of our lives until I was 18. And so I joined the Navy at 17. And then at 18, I got a letter from me, And I wrote him back and cussed him like a dog. But then there's always that yearning, you know, you want to know who your parents are. You know, I was raised by a good guy, Bill Kessler, whose name I have. And so I didn't want to alienate him and make him feel less than. And so I kind of thought I had to act tough to my real blood father. And then in 24, at the age of 24, I went out to California to meet him. and after my first marriage. And it was pretty interesting. He was a nice guy, but he was just full of, you know, he liked the money, he liked the women, he liked the fame and that kind of stuff. And that's how I met him. And we ended up having a relationship till he died in 2017.

And wow, that's incredible. I mean, at least you got the opportunity to, to, you know, to reconnect with him. Did you, did you see a lot of, um, traits in yourself you saw in him?

Yeah. Um, I did. Um, I didn't until after, but I look back now and, and I've been, I've been married a few times, not that many, but a few times. And, um, And I chased after value through women that I couldn't be so bad if I could get a woman to like me. And so and then I liked the wildlife and I liked the party scene and all that kind of stuff the same way with Ian. And so it made it easier to forgive him. And then he left his kids and I left my kids. And the blessing is though, Sebastian is my daughter. They live up in Oklahoma and I'm in Texas, just south of the border. And she moved out here with her family, two babies in June. Last 15 years, I've been trying to get her trust back. and answering her phone calls, sending money, and just being there consistently for 15 years since I came to Christ. And then she moved down with her family, her husband and two babies, I think six months old and three years old. And then my son just moved down January, he's 33, she's 30. Hope I got that right. And he moved down in January 1st with his two babies, a three-year-old Four month old, something like that. And he went to work for me last Monday. And so he's learning the business. He's been a plumber. And so the Lord has restored that. Those people out there who have dealt with recovery and stuff, listen, there is hope. And that's what you need for change is at least hope. And I didn't have hope. When I received Christ, that's the first thing he gave me, that things were gonna change. But you can't lay on the couch hungry and expect a hot dog to come through the keyhole. You gotta get up to the refrigerator and make you a sandwich. So you have to do some stuff. You gotta follow your teachings and stuff like that. But his word is true. And he promises, and I've gone through some hard times during these 15 years. I've lost people that I loved. I went through another divorce. during this time and all kinds of things, but it's been, I've handled it different. Instead of running to the needle or to the pipe, I had a foundation that held me up and kept me going forward. And so, but he's restored my kids back to me. I've got a good job. I own a home for the first time. Never thought I'd be able to buy a home. Um, I've got a great life better than what I ever dreamed of. So I'm a blessed man.

Amazing. I love that. Wow. Yeah. We, uh, definitely serve a God of restoration. And, um, I always, I always joke that, uh, God's in the business of blowing mines and, uh, he does daily. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. You got to believe it's possible. You have to be able to see that as an actual reality. Um, are you still active in the, in the recovery community?

I am. We belong to in Arkansas. A guy saw me on Facebook. I go on our local street corner here by Walmart, Highway 82 and 75. And I've got a sign that says, I love that neighbor. Jesus loves you. And I was seven months into this and the Lord said, Darren, you remember sitting in the backseat of your mom's car in Oklahoma City. And they used to stand on the corners. I don't know if you remember this, Sebastian, with the Bible and the suit and just give it to you. And he was out there just giving it to everybody. We didn't have AC in the cars back then. And I remember being in the backseat. The Lord brought it to memory. And I thought, you know, people were honking at him and yelling at him and stuff. And I thought to myself, if I really believed what he believes, why wouldn't you be doing that? You know, if your life is this much on earth and then it's forever in eternity, why wouldn't you be out there telling people? And so the Lord brought that to memory and said, Darren, do you believe I am who I say I am? And I said, you know, he spoke to my heart, you know, I said, yes, Lord, I do. He said, what are you going to do about it? I said, what do you want me to do about it? And nothing. And so the only thing I knew to do, I didn't know enough to go out there and preach, but I got a sign and I just stood out there and I'm known in this town for doing drugs and run wild. And next thing you know, I'm on the corner with a sign that says, love thy neighbor and Jesus loves you. And all my old people would drive by and I had people yelling at me, cussing at me and throwing things at me, flicking cigarettes. And I wanted to chase him when the red light caught him. I wanted to beat him with my side, but you know, um, uh, and that's, that's what I've been doing for, for 15 years is still going out there and getting recharged. Um, and I lost my focus on what brought me to that. But, um, I love that.

I mean, I'd see, you know, it takes a lot of boldness to go and do that. Um, and, and, you know, continue to stay, um, not silent. The Dave Crutter Band have a song, and part of the song is, I will not be silent. And this day and age, there's a cadence, I believe, to sharing your faith. I come from the school of thought that preach the gospel at all times, use words when necessary. and that our life becomes our testimony to others and to the lost through where we're at. When they see something different, people naturally gravitate towards that, you know?

Yeah, the Bible, you know, there's a scripture that says, to whom much is given, much is required. And Sebastian, I've been given so much. And so I feel I'm required to go out there and tell the people, because there's a lot of people out there hurting. And they don't have the hope. There's a lot of family members with people in addiction. They don't have hope. If you can give someone hope, then it's open to it. And when I married Carla, I already had the house here. And I asked her, I said, can I put a food box in our front yard? We live in the lower to medium income class here in Sherman on the east side. Can I put a food box in our front yard? And she said, I don't care. My wife before said no. And, uh, so we, we got two bookshelves, screwed them together, anchored them, and we just started putting food up there. And then we had the China cabinet. Uh, for two years, we stocked it, stocked it, stocked $400 a month would go to Sam stock up. And then the, all of a sudden the miracle happened. Community took over. It's going on its fifth year. We tore that down. We built one with a light turf in front of it and a nice solid structure. And we haven't put a thing in there in three years. The community comes by. It drops off bags of food and bags of food. And then my wife started a coat tree in her front yard. We've got a tree. For the last four years, we've been hanging coat. We buy them in the summer cheap. And in the winter, we just hang them on Out there right now, if you go look at our front tree is full of coats. We got bags of them just ready to go. We give four to 500 coats away a year. Um, that's what you're talking about, you know, uh, being the light and, uh, our neighbors love us. They know us that we're out there. They come by and I said, Oh man, thank you. And. you know, you just send them to Jesus, send them to hope, you know, so yeah, you're right. Absolutely. You know, be the light. And then every now and then use words. Love that.

Love that. Love that. Well, man, I am so encouraged by our conversation and your story too. I appreciate you take some time out of your day to, to hang out with me here. And, uh, it's been great to, to get to know you better and get to know your story. Um, and, and encouraged, um, it would be an understatement, I would say based on our conversations. Thank you for sharing that. Any final thoughts for our listeners?

If you're a military veteran and you're struggling, listen, we gave our word. There's 18 million of us in the nation. We gave our word to protect each other in and out of service. And most of us still follow that word. So if you're a military veteran and you're struggling in any areas of your life, Get back into the community. Don't be the lone sheep out there getting eaten by the wolves. Get back into those brothers and sisters that absolutely love you and would still die for you and fight for you. There's so many services out there for you. Get involved. And so I'm a mentor for the Veterans Court here in Grayson County for veterans who've gotten in trouble legally. And it's hooked me back up into that community. So if you're a veteran out there, get back involved. And if you're a person without hope, I just recommend that you at least cry out to Jesus and say, hey Jesus, I'll give you a year of my life. I'll give it all to you. If you make it better, I'll give you the rest of my life.

That's all I gotta say. Love that. Love that. Great final thoughts. Thanks again, Darren. Keep doing the work that you're doing and I appreciate you, my brother. Thank you, Sebastian. Love you, brother. I'll see you. Love you too, man. Until next time, friends. Thanks so much for tuning into this episode of the Beyond the Story podcast. We sure do appreciate it. If you haven't done so already, make sure you're subscribed to the show. This way you'll get updates as new episodes become available. If you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. We sure do appreciate it. Signing off from the podcast, launchlab.com studios. We'll talk to you next time.