October 7, 2026 — ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI  — James Pritchard, founder of Integrity Poolscapes, is the featured guest on the latest episode of Humans That Build, hosted by Adam Marburger. Pritchard tells how he went from addiction and repeated incarceration to leading a fast-growing, multimillion-dollar company in the St. Louis and Metro East area. His forthcoming book, Lost Cause, is due out in the first quarter of 2027.

“I was a lost cause junkie. I’ve been to prison seven times, rehab seven times. I was supposed to be dead. I was supposed to be in prison for life. And here I am building a multi million dollar company,” Pritchard says in the episode.

Pritchard describes how his life went off course in high school. He had hoped to play in the NBA, but by his freshman year he was using drugs, getting arrested, and going to rehab. He says the cost of that life was real. “I’m lucky to be alive,” he says. When asked about the odds of recovery, he points to the statistic he heard in prison, that 91 percent of people there will return, and notes that falling off is easier than succeeding.

Starting with trust

Before launching Integrity Poolscapes, Pritchard worked for another landscaping company, and he says he never planned to start his own. His wife, Kayci, kept encouraging him. “She put so much faith and trust in me to run this that it was just like, we got to trust God,” he says.

Now in its third year, the company has grown quickly. Pritchard says Integrity Poolscapes was doing two-thousand-dollar jobs just two years ago and now regularly takes on projects between $500,000 and $750,000. The company builds gunite, fiberglass, and vinyl liner pools, along with pool houses, pavilions, decks, retaining walls, and paver patios, using two pool crews, two carpentry crews, and two hardscape crews. It recently held a free grand opening for its new facility that drew about 500 people.

Asked how he does it, Pritchard keeps the answer short. “I took the risk, I trusted God and I put in the work. That’s it.”

Culture as a daily practice

Pritchard says the company’s culture is the reason it can scale without losing quality. Practices he describes include:

• A team meeting every morning, where a team member recites the company’s core values in front of the group
• Hiring for attitude over experience: “A bad attitude cannot be taught,” he says
• Health care benefits and employee events, because the company wants to show that it cares
• Weekly, and sometimes daily, coaching for him and Kayci, who he says admit “we can’t run the company by ourselves”

“What we don’t want is to scale the company and people be miserable,” Pritchard says. “We want to be able to scale this company productively, efficiently.”

Marketing and the competition

Pritchard credits much of the company’s lead flow to consistent social media. Integrity Poolscapes posts regularly on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram, and it hired a full-time videographer to keep content current. “Marketing is everything,” he says.

He also describes winning a bid by speaking well of the other companies competing for it. The customer told him they chose Integrity because he “stood on integrity” while other bidders criticized each other. “When I see a company doing better than me, I’m like, how can I get like them,” Pritchard says.

What comes next

Pritchard says the company recently bought a tandem dump truck, added a project manager for its pool division, and offers 3D design services so clients can see a project before construction starts. It is preparing to launch Integrity Pool and Landscape Supply, which will sell rock, blocks, pavers, and pool chemicals, with hot tubs under consideration. His stated goal is to expand across the Midwest.

In late 2026, Pritchard’s story will reach readers in full with the release of his book, Lost Cause.

A message for listeners

Pritchard closes with a message aimed at anyone who feels stuck. “Don’t let any statistic, any stat tell you that you are against the odds. Don’t let any addiction, anything stop you. There is hope, there is restoration, there is redemption. Take the risk, put in the work and give it your all.”

About the episode

Humans That Build: James Pritchard, Founder of Integrity Poolscapes is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Listeners can follow Integrity Poolscapes on Facebook, and those interested in a consultation or 3D design services can call 618-444-7988.

About Humans That Build

Humans That Build features real conversations with real people about what they have built in the world and what had to be built inside them first.

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