The Path Finder

Tom McCook’s resume includes everything from personal training to meditation to the Franklin Method, all of which enhance his Pilates teaching and personal practice.

- Anne Marie O'Connor

PILATES STYLE

I hear you grew up in a huge family.

TOM MCCOOK Yes, I’m the youngest of 12 kids—I had eight brothers and three sisters. I grew up in Marlborough, in central Massachusetts. There were a lot of big families, with 10, 11, 12 kids in our neighborhood; on my street alone, there were over 30 kids who hung out together. Our parents would say, “Go outside and come back at dinner.” So we had to figure it out for ourselves, whereas kids today are much more monitored and spend so much more time on their phones and tablets.

Our family was very physical. I played basketball, football and hockey from the age of five. When I was 11, I began working out in a gym in our cellar and started training some of the neighborhood kids. My brother Dan has owned a karate school for over 40 years, so I got exposed to that when I was very young, too. Over my life, I have always been very curious about movement and the body, and my curiosity has only increased as I’ve learned more.

PS What did you do after high school?

TOM I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so I bought a one-way ticket to California. I moved to Mountain View, a town in Silicon Valley, where I knew exactly one person. I had $500, and I used $350 of that to buy a 10-speed bike that I used to get around. In the mornings, I took classes at Foothill community college, and then worked doing landscaping in the afternoons.