LA Tri Club founder Paul Hekimian was first introduced to triathlon when his good friend and pro triathlete Glynde Magnum invited him to watch the Triathlon World Championship in Kona back in 1992. Despite the fact that his friend was 3rd out of the water and 115th overall, Paul was not inspired. He was more interested in scuba diving than swimming, biking and running.

It wasn't until 1995 when his friends Larry Turkheimer and Michael Schienberg invited Paul to train with them for a sprint triathlon in Carlsbad that he got a first-hand taste of the sport. He barely made it to the finish, but he did, and was hooked.

Soon after, Paul became the President of the Triathlete Zombies triathlon club, which formed as part of the Triathlete Zombies triathlon store in Santa Monica. Ownership of Triathlete Zombies eventually changed hands. After growing that club to 250 people, Paul realized that, in order for a club to grow and best serve the interest of triathletes, it needed to operate independently.

The LA Tri Club was founded in August 2000 after Paul Hekimian presented Larry Turkheimer and Nick Gardner with his vision of a triathlon club that could exist independently and which could benefit the triathlon community in and around Los Angeles. Paul, Larry, and Nick enlisted the help of a few others, including Holger Beckmann, Ian Murray, Lloyd Taylor, Jerry Enriquez, and Julie Oh, all who helped launch the early LA Tri Club.

The Club has since grown to roughly 1,000 members by providing a strong community of triathletes linked together by a robust website and email network.

Above: Founding members of LA Tri Club circa. 2001

Above: LA Tri Club circa. 2005 - Below: circa. 2008 at USAT National Club Championships where over 250 members raced and we placed FIRST in the Country!