Along with Casey Barrett, Lars is the co-founder of Imagine Swimming. He was a member of the German National Swim Team for eight years and on the first unified German national team, following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990. A University of California at Berkeley graduate, he was an NCAA Champion and Academic All-American, and Captain of the Cal Swimming & Diving Team. Throughout his competitive career, Lars counted multiple Olympic champions as training partners and absorbed the wisdom of the very best at each stage.

Lars has over two decades of experience as both a teacher and coach. Prior to Imagine, he worked with programs in southern Germany and northern California. He came up with the company name after watching the movie A Beautiful Mind and seeing Imagine Entertainment's brilliant watery logo in the opening credits. Away from the pool, Lars brings the Imagine spirit to the surf and stage. He's a regular on the waves in Montauk and plays the drums. His son Oskar learned to swim at our Tribeca Flagship.