Meet the Man Behind Some of the World's Most Famous Water Fountains From his backyard to the opening ceremony at the Olympics, Mark Fuller's water works have made a big splash.

If Mark Fuller's parents hadn't already realized their son's engineering and creative potential, his waterfall and fish pond project—which he worked on through high school and college with his grandfather—would have been a dead giveaway. Rather than install standard fish ponds in his family's backyard, Fuller connected them by an underground tunnel managed via a secret control panel.

"We used the pumps and guts of old washers," says Fuller, who went on to start WET, which designs large-scale, tech-driven water features, including the iconic dancing fountains at the Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The creations—there are more than 300 in 20-plus countries—feature water, lights, music, fog and even fire, cavorting in awe-inspiring permutations.

Fuller founded WET in 1983 with two other former Walt Disney Imagineers, Melanie Simon and Alan Robinson, using funds pulled together from 13 credit cards. Fuller's small condo was the company's first office, and Robinson's backyard was used for experimenting.