Paul Deem
Cycle Werks
Costa Mesa, CA USA
"Many times you get older and you'd say, 'Oh, I wish I would have done this when I was younger.' But part of the challenge of youth is to learn, right? That's the puzzle, that's what makes life interesting."
Career Roadmap
Paul's work combines: Entrepreneurship, Sports, and Being Physically Active
See more careers and stories that connect to your interests.
Take Roadmap Quiz
Day In The Life
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
He'd been trying all kinds of different sports trying to find something he liked.
2.
One day, after being inspired by the Olympics, he went out for a bike ride.
3.
A neighbor who owned the local cycling store approached Paul and told him he had the skill to make an Olympic team.
4.
From that day on, he dropped everything else and set his sights on the Olympics; made it four years later, at the age of 18.
5.
Says he always had great support from his family, but the kids at school thought it was funny that he had to shave his legs for training.
6.
Kept his cycling career going for a few years after his trip to the Montreal Olympics, but quit in 1981.
7.
He'd always had an interest in the financial markets, so he got a "real job" at Merrill Lynch, but he found it hard to get the open road out of his head.
8.
Returned to the cycling business, but this time in a new way, by opening his own cycling shop in Southern California.
