The Rin Robyn Story
Rin Robyn Pools® has been building swimming pools and backyard experiences throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regions for over 60 years.
Beginnings
Rin Robyn grew up on a farm in Bergen County, NJ. His first name was actually Marinus, which is an old Dutch name that the nickname for is Rin.
During World War II, Staff Sergeant Robyn was wounded by a Bouncing Betty mine in Germany while capturing a hydroelectric power plant on the Ruhr River. He was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with an Oak Leaf Cluster for heroism. When he was wounded, he had been continuously in combat in Germany for 3 months and had survived the Battle of the Bulge.
After the war, Rin married Betty McGowan of Hawthorne, NJ and attended Montclair State Teachers College, becoming an Industrial Arts and Mechanical Drawing Teacher at East Side High School in Paterson.
Building Swimming Pools
While still a teacher in 1958, Rin was approached by a friend who asked him to build a swimming pool. Buster Crabbe Swimming Pools were a new kind of pool, using a vinyl liner, and Rin eagerly tackled the job.
He continued to build pools every summer for the next few years but then quit teaching and went into the pool business full time in 1962.
In 1969 Rin left Buster Crabbe pools and became a dealer for Fox Pools, because of the strength of the patented X-Brace steel structure.
Rin and Betty’s son James worked for Rin building vinyl liner pools beginning in high school and then for four summers in college.
Pool Store in Butler, NJ
In 1970, Rin's wife Betty opened a pool store in Butler, NJ. Betty soon had Rin Robyn Pools® become a dealer with BioGuard Pool Chemicals. And today, Fox Pools, BioGuard Pool Chemicals and Jacuzzi® Hot Tubs are still foundations of the Rin Robyn Pools business.
Throughout the 1970’s, Rin built scores of Fox Pools with his foreman, Rich Wunder. Rich was a backhoe operator and all around handyman who was instrumental in the success of the business during the 1970’s and 1980’s.
James and Hae-Sun Join Rin Robyn Pools®
In 1972, James graduated from Colgate University, with a degree in Astrogeophysics. He subsequently earned an MBA with Hae-Sun supporting the young couple by working as a Radiation Therapy Technician and Radiation Dosimetrist treating cancer patients with a medical linear accelerator. James subsequently joined UNIVAC® Computer Systems as a Systems Analyst. In 1979 they bought the home in Chester where they still live today.
New Store in Hackettstown
In 1980, Rin and Betty's son James and his wife Hae-Sun decided to join the business and in 1982 they opened the Hackettstown Store, continuing in the tradition that had been started by Rin and Betty.
Busy Busy Busy
The Rin Robyn Pools Hackettstown store was immediately successful adding scores of pool installations, a service department and hot tubs to the company’s capabilities.
Rin Robyn Pools® Early Years
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Rin and Betty Retire
In 1988 Rin and Betty retired and built a home in Cape May. James and Hae-Sun continued to operate both retail stores and started building concrete pools in addition to the Fox Pools that James had grown up building.
Beginning in 2003, James became a member of the Genesis Design Group and attended classes on elements of pool design, architecture and construction.
James and Hae-Sun designed many pools for clients and began a legacy of signature design elements for swimming pools that continues on in designs done by Rin Robyn Pools®.
Today, James is a member of the faculty of Genesis University and an instructor on Natural Swimming Pools for the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Innovation Continues with BioNova®
In 2007, after many years of building both concrete and Fox Pools, James and Hae-Sun traveled to Europe in order to introduce BioNova® Natural Pools to North America.
First BioNova® Dealer in North America
Being the first BioNova® Dealer in North America they began the movement to providing chemical-free swimming pools that use natural, organic, biological filtration technology to clarify and purify pool water.
Interestingly, James and Hae-Sun signed the deal to bring BioNova® Natural Pools to North America while in a German town approximately a 30 minute drive away from where Rin had been wounded during Word War II 62 years earlier.
James Elected to IOB Board
With Rin Robyn Pools® as its founding dealer, BioNova® Natural Pools is today the largest Natural Swimming Pool company in North America. Since 2007, the Robyn’s have made over 25 trips to Europe bringing Natural Swimming Pool technology to North America.
In 2017, James was elected to the Board of Directors of the International Organization for natural Bathing water (the IOB), which is the global trade organization for Natural Swimming Pools and is based out of Bremen, Germany.
Innovation Continues with PoolHide®
Rin Robyn Pools® - Today
Rin Robyn Pools continues to design/build of high-end residential swimming pools and outdoor living spaces, outdoor kitchens, firepits, pergolas, etc., we have a full Service Department that provides service on everything that we sell, we renovate pools and we operate two retail locations.
Today, Rin Robyn Pools® still operates from the Hackettstown Store and in 2019 moved from the Bernardsville location to the Chester Store. Fox Pools, BioGuard Pool Chemicals and Jacuzzi® Hot Tubs remain foundations of the business.
Most of the BioNova® Natural Pools that we build are constructed using Fox Pools steel wall and bracing technology and a PVC waterproofing technology (PoolHide®) that originated in Germany.
James and Hae-Sun
James and Hae-Sun are now retired from the day-to-day operations of Rin Robyn Pools, however James still enjoys working with clients at the beginning of the design and planning for their pool. Hae-Sun enjoys playing tennis. And they both enjoy their Border Collie/Poodle puppy, Pixel.