My Journey

I did not become a pond builder by following a straight line.

My story started in Mexico City, then took me to the cold winters of New York, and later to California, where water, stone, plants, and nature became a big part of my life.

I came to the United States when I was 19 years old. My plan was simple: work hard, save money, and one day go back to school. Like many immigrants, I started from the bottom. I washed dishes, cleaned floors, shoveled snow, and took whatever job I could find.

It was not easy, but I was raised to work hard and not give up too fast.

When spring came, I found a job in landscaping. At first, I thought maybe I had made a mistake coming to this country. The work was very hard, and my body was not used to it. But little by little, I got stronger, learned the trade, and started to enjoy the work.

I also knew I had to learn English if I wanted better opportunities. At night, I used music, headphones, and a dictionary to teach myself. I wish YouTube was around back then. It would have saved me a lot of headaches.

Over time, my boss, Walter Dyer, started to trust me more. I never asked to be in charge, but with hard work, I earned the chance to lead a crew. Walter became more than just a boss. He was one of the first people who believed in me and pushed me to see more in myself.

In 2001, my wife Carmen became pregnant with our first son, Atzin. That changed everything for me.

Before that, I was thinking about going back to Mexico. But when I knew I was going to be a father, my priorities changed. I was not only working for myself anymore. I was working to build a better future for my family.

Around that time, Walter retired and sold his company. Things did not work out with the new owner, and I had to move on. But before that, Walter encouraged me to start my own business and helped me with some equipment.

That is how I started my first company, Aztlan Outdoor Living.

What started as one man with tools became a real business with employees, crews, and equipment. We grew faster than I expected. But business is not always pretty. During the bad economy, work slowed down, and we had to make some hard decisions. We cut back, sold equipment, and rebuilt again little by little.

Those years were hard, but they taught me a lot.

Around 2012, I discovered Aquascape Inc., and that changed the way I saw landscaping. I started seeing ponds and waterfalls not just as another project, but as living art.

Water, stone, plants, fish, and sound all working together can create something very special. Something that feels natural. Something that makes people stop, relax, and enjoy their own home in a different way.

I traveled to Cabo San Lucas to learn from some of the best people in the water feature industry. What I found was more than just training. I found people who loved what they did and were willing to share their knowledge. That experience helped me become a better pond builder and also a better business person.

At that time, most people knew me for patios, landscaping, and outdoor design. But water features gave me a different feeling. Every pond and waterfall felt more personal to me. Every project had more meaning.

That is when I knew I had found my passion.

The only problem was the New York winters. The season was short, and every year we had to work hard during the good months and save for the winter. After talking for a couple of years with a good friend in the industry, I had the opportunity to come to California.

In 2018, I sold my business in New York and moved west with my family.

Working in California gave me the chance to be part of amazing projects. I learned more, designed more, managed bigger jobs, and kept growing. But deep inside, I knew the entrepreneur in me was still there.

I wanted to build something of my own again.

So after leaving on good terms, I got my license and started Aquascape Creations.

For me, learning has always been very important. I did not follow the traditional school path I once planned, but business became my school. Every class, every project, every mistake, every challenge, and every client has taught me something.

Today, after completing water feature projects in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, I still feel there is always something new to learn. Every property is different. Every client has a different dream. Every pond has its own personality.

At Aquascape Creations, our goal is not only to build beautiful ponds and waterfalls. Our goal is to create water features that look natural, work properly, and bring joy to the people who live around them.

To me, building a pond is like creating a living painting. It takes patience, creativity, skill, and respect for nature. But the best part is not only the rocks, the water, the plants, or the fish.

The best part is seeing how much happiness it brings to people.

My work today comes from every shovel, every cold winter, every risk, every hard lesson, and every person who believed in me along the way.

Aquascape Creations is more than a business to me.

It is part of my journey.

And if you made it all the way to the end, thank you. I know this story took a little while to read. I probably could have built a small pond in the same amount of time.