you
if there was going to be a dream team of
aquascape birds coming out of the United
States we've got some guys from the Aqua
campers collective that would be on that
team but if I had that grab two captains
for that team you're staying at them
right here we've got Jeff and Mike Cenci
from the aquarium design group I'm sure
many of you have heard of it if you have
it in about 2008 I went to the aquatic
Gardeners convention and I saw these
guys aquariums and it kind of changed my
game and they both have studied under
the late takashi amano and have been
instrumental in the aquarium just design
game here in the US you can see some of
the stuff coming on behind here I am
super excited to have it they have an
amazing gallery down in Houston then
I've had people that have nothing to do
with playing aquariums or design stay
it's simply remarkable
just like pioneers these guys do
background designs for some of the like
ready-made designs it's a great honor to
introduce Mike and Jeff's desk in the
aquarium design group thank you so much
thank you desk
I'm babysitting introduction there
that's how it is really awesome thank
you so much
so yeah it's real honor to be here this
shows been absolutely just exceeding all
expectations so yeah I guess we're just
gonna maybe talk a little bit about our
philosophy kind of what our perspective
is on aquarium hobby and maybe a little
bit about the industry in general our
approach and a lot of what we do with
the designs we create and a lot of the
sort of aquascaping philosophy that we
employ is geared towards attracting or
or showing somebody something I think
most of us would agree is a is a fairly
sophisticated expression inside the
aquarium right this is a this is not
blue gravel and a bubbling sea chest not
that there's anything wrong with that
but it's showing something that's
sophisticated or has an eye for
aesthetics or design or composition or
kind of leading with design I'd love to
see just a cultural shift where it was
just more common for people to have
aquariums in their spaces and we're
always looking to ways
to do that you know and just on the
subject of resources with the fantastic
you know Aquos capers collector here and
you guys as you know hip with the fourth
place award in the ia plc this year
number one of just a massive
accomplishment for any an Aquos caper to
an even more significant accomplishment
for a for somebody who aquascape twith
in the u.s. there's a couple of other
guys that put us a but they you know if
you're putting USA as your entry is fine
but you live in Japan and this is a
different thing and by that I mean the
resources available this ties into kinda
what I'm talking about as far as our
philosophy but to achieve a high level
work in the United States today we talk
about the world stage of aquascaping
this is a much much much bigger feat
that the rest of the world I don't think
has any idea because the guys
aquascaping in that Asian and European
markets unless you've been there you
cannot begin to fathom the depth and
vastness of the resources there so to
pull together something what if did
takes a lair of a vision and
determination and creativity that I I'm
gonna make it my a little personal
campaign maybe here in the social media
everything else over the next year to
really kind of draw a little attention
to the significance of that given the
bordering on scarcity of the types of
resources specifically for aquascaping
that they have in the rest of the world
that I think we're all really really
passionate about building here obviously
guys like Dustin to just just really
doing the work to try and bring these
things to everybody and even at that I'm
sure knowing that the struggles and
obviously increased demand just fuels
all of this and so while sometimes in
our work you might see a plastic plant
you may see you know a lot of our
hardscape only designs are very minimal
you know that I know isn't necessarily
to the tastes of everybody's particular
niche perhaps but just always know that
that's what what I when I put a plastic
plant in the tank it's really only
trying to open the door it's trying to
show greater opportunity to people as an
entry point because as all our
high-level Aquos papers here know do
that is not an easy thing to do and
there's a body of mod knowledge a lot of
experience if you just set up a plan of
tank with co2 bright light and soil
don't don't have travel plans for at
least the next 30 to 60 days I mean it's
just it would be a mistake you're not
going on vacation for a week because
you're gonna be needing to keep an eye
on this thing you're going to be doing
the water changes all the rest of it
this is my brother Mike first of all
thank you Destin I always enjoy talking
on the phone thanks for having us over
here and sharing the love brother and
staying diligent and doing the work and
boots on the ground and making it happen
and awesome to see the like debacle
escapers here as well keeping the
movement going aquascaping the live
aquascaping demos over there and working
with people i think is amazing gives
people a first animist initial
experience of putting it together and
how cool it can be meant all that for
both speaking for Jeff also it's been a
it's the whole Aqua Shella thing we
haven't done any things like this we
haven't he just been to the aquatic
experience and stuff but I haven't been
out to things that these things in a
while so it's always nice and refreshing
to get away from a DG and just the
inspiration and meeting and seeing you
guys and just getting all the positive
feedback and all the love and everything
and taking all that that back with us as
well but I think what Jeff said you know
he's better wording it properly to just
overall philosophy and
with aquascaping in the design and just
the initial inspiration and getting
getting those people you know there's
all the hobbyists that are into relevant
you know do it but getting those those
people into at the aquarium lover that
that love and acorrea been approaching
it where it's just not so intimidating
you know with the right plants maybe
just kind of developed a style in the
gallery just using you know you know
anubius mosses the cardia you know
lucifer Landrieu's and things like that
that are just we're not committed to a
soil you're not necessarily committed to
daily water changes but yet it's
extremely beautiful and I think getting
people into that success early on is
important and we kind of continuing on
as well and then a bracing aquascaping
everything like you know I hate to use
like a term but like they're like oh
geez right like a good gangster so I
want to kind of take that term and
somehow tie it to a motto but I think
that I think there's they wanted to talk
about it and I think it's worth kind of
pointing out King Mike can you kind of
talk about your origins with this like
did you guys have been doing this for a
while can you kind of talk about how you
all got into it I did a kid doctor
skating contest because I want to poison
the young kids but can you talk about
like you know when you were younger how
that started and how you guys got to
become a tease you can give you a quick
cliff notes of it so aquariums go back
in our family cut but go back in our
family a couple of generations our
father was born in Germany our
grandfather kept aquariums in Germany
and had me at a young age and their
aquariums are always in the house
he's a veterinarian and even when he was
in veterinary school he had a small
aquarium store in Oklahoma so the first
time I had my five gallon aquarium and
Guppies with some floating hornwort and
the Guppies had babies that was it was
that was on from there Jeff would kind
of follow into the Hobby a little bit
later and embrace it early on in the 90s
we did have kind of I myself when both
of us have kind of work full circle in
industry as young young guys worked from
our experience in retail shops in the
early 90s we had a small retail aquarium
store took on a lot of learning lessons
at that time went on to start aquarium
design group in 99 2000 which was a
challenging year but had the opportunity
to meet a mano at this first trip here
for the aga convention at that time Jeff
who's handles all the corn design group
the social media all the photography all
the video they're all familiar with his
self talk so he has no formal training
in photography or video so we hired you
know you see our contextual
photographers shoot a picture of an
aquarium in a room you'd see the room
not the aquarium and Jeff really found a
way to bring the eternium into the space
so we travel to the first AGA and I
remember sitting in the lobby both Jeff
and I we hand Amano our pictures that
Jeff had taken of our early on
aquascapes this is 2000 2000 2001 and
that these words is still stick with us
today I'm honest said you you have
beautiful aquariums you take nice
pictures but your aquariums lack
philosophy and we kind of knew what that
has like obi-wan cannot be kind of
telling like look
no you're just putting some stuff
together there's not a philosophy or a
vision behind that so and we had the
opportunity to also become an ad a
distributor for many years that allowed
us the opportunity to go to Japan for
nature cornering parties Jeff actually
stayed there longer on one visit and did
the whole nature aquarium certification
program as well and had a two to two or
three two or three opportunities I guess
that every time I wanted would come here
for the AJ we would have him back in our
hotel room with a half gallon of Jack
Daniel's and you know through a
translator but we're able to ask a lot
of questions on it also as a business as
well you know like hey did you know did
you have that account or somebody
sitting over you when you want to go to
this Knox escape you're in the business
you know what it's like when you want to
expand or do something that inspires
people you got to think about the
dollars you put behind it and it
resonated with us as well as like now I
just I did it for the passion I did I
did it and to inspire and then the rest
would follow to follow behind that you
know so we're going on our 18th year in
business it's not said it's a chance of
challenging business a lot a lot of what
you see that we do covers everything
from you know decorative fresh water
with plastic plants to live Reed's got a
great staff or a staff of about 20 in
Houston staff marine biologists as well
we don't do a lot of live planted tanks
we actually don't do any live planet
tanks for our service and maintenance
clientele because that commitment when
they see a you know a high tech high
level they see in a mono picture in the
mirror your own personal work that
you've done you win an award with we all
know what that commitment is and so they
in the quarry maintenance service
business that's not a scalable model
would we love to do that what I love to
have a to meet you guys in Houston doing
nothing but aquascaping high level plant
tanks sure that that's in that we're not
there yet you know but that is still
Jeff and
our true core passion is definitely if
to see if he ever had to we weren't in
the business he had to take it take away
at all and say okay you guys get to
choose one style of aquarium to do and
that's it it would be the plan in the
corner for sure you have Jeff you want
to add anything to that I'm just on the
note of mr. Mona because it's I can't
stress enough and I maybe got caught up
in a little bit of a spiel yesterday
with the Aqua skaters collective guys
just about the importance and the
influence and kind of just a certain
reverence for for him that is it's just
personally I guess sort of important to
me because when we say aquascaping that
he we can trace that still to one man
and the man just passed three years ago
this isn't like a hundred and fifty
years ago there was this guy doing this
thing and it's not even like it was a
movement or there was you know a group
of 10 or 20 or it we literally can trace
the vastness of this influence to one
human being who was only just so
recently with us you know so anytime we
see a rocks and a planted tank does not
sticking up like this but tipping over
just a little like this in creating a
certain indescribable tension or a
certain feeling that if I move the rock
up two more degrees would change like
that perspective that approach that
thing that's giving us access to a
greater sense of design or composition
or almost sort of a sort of a cosmic
formula of sorts playing out inside the
aquarium you know we really can't erase
that too one man and so getting to know
him personally so early in our careers
was just me I can't I could not stay
strongly enough how influential that was
to the point that literally everything
that we've done since is informed by our
inspiration from him and I Satan know
Amano
no no Amano no aquascaping really we
would still just be kind of keeping fish
tanks all of which is fine and beautiful
but I think most of us would agree that
when we say aquascaping this thing has
been something new in the in the hobby
in the industry this this has created a
whole new dimension and brought new
people in a new resources and expanded
what the accordant is and you know any
time we're doing this sort of derivative
work you know that's really and because
if you got it from somebody else they
probably got it from him you know and so
we can really trace that back so I like
to be very careful not to take I don't
wanna I don't claim too much of this
work as I have some unique special
vision that someone else doesn't because
the very vast majority of kind of the
essence of what we do if not the actual
lay out that the essence or the
inspiration of the philosophy of that
lay out is rooted in the teachings of
mr. Amano and that's just a really big
big thing to me to always make sure that
we kind of keep that fresh on our minds
at least through this generation so yeah
absolutely big deal just really
appreciate it thanks so much for
listening