'People love sludgy pools,' says TikTok winner

People's fascination with watching private swimming pools being transformed from green ponds into inviting blue water has helped a content creator clinch a national award.

Miles Laflin, better known as The Pool Guy, won the high-quality content creator of the year title at the first UK and Ireland TikTok awards.

The 34-year-old from Bedfordshire has 15 million followers on the platform who watch his makeovers at some of the plushest houses in the area, but Laflin said it was the dirt and grime that people seemed to lap up.

"It's mostly all the sludgy pools - the ones that have been left for 20 years - that people love watching the most," he said.

"People don't really think what goes into cleaning pools and looking after them -when they see a green pool, they think where the hell do you start.

"Most people think they'll empty it and refill it with new water, but it's a lot of water and it can easily be done with chemicals."

Laflin, who has been restoring pools for about 15 years, said viewers seemed to appreciate the quick turnarounds of the pools, which perfectly suited the nature of his short-form videos.

It also gave his audience a glimpse into the lives of some of his wealthy customers as he made their indoor and outdoor pools gleam.

However, Laflin said he was always careful never to film anything other than the actual pool or reference locations.

He said he first became aware of how his work could pique interest when he posted his turnaround of an old green pool on his personal account about four years ago.

The Pool Guy account was then subsequently launched with views "going crazy" within an hour of posting.

He found out he had been nominated for the TikTok award three weeks before the ceremony on 3 December - and said while he still carried out necessary maintenance such as plumbing and tiling, he now enjoyed the quick transformations in the same way as his followers.

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