Steve Stroupe has been actively involved in the US water garden industry since 1987. His interest in all plants aquatic germinated at some point during a lengthy, but ill-fated tenure as a commercial turtle collector specializing in the genus Graptemys. His partner at the time had a penchant for collecting aquatic plants along the way to decorate his turtle ponds, so Steve eventually started "seeing" aquatic plants for the first time ever. This budding interest ultimately resulted in the start-up of Davis Creek Nursery, a wholesale aquatic plant nursery and distribution company...which managed to endure for an amazing 12 year run. Additionally, Steve designed and/or co-designed several aquatic plant containers shortly after successfully transitioning the industry from "Tucker Tubs" to professional, no-hole nursery containers, [Lerio Corporation] and subsequently developed new growing protocols around them for commercial aquatic plant growers.

He's written extensively for various periodicals in the past, and has co-authored three books on the care and cultivation of aquatic plants. His career as an independent sales representative began in 1992, when, concurrent with his aquatic nursery operation, he accepted a position with Americo Manufacturing [Poly Flo] as a national sales representative in order to assist the company in developing and marketing their filtration media ... a position he still holds today along with a similar position for Loki Nets. He also consults for various corporations within the industry and occasionally teaches aquatic plant classes at industry events. He is an infrequent contributor to industry trade publications, but often functions as a de facto industry humorist, iconoclast, satirist, and critic.