6.9 min readBy Published On: July 7th, 2014Categories: Features2 Comments on Thomas Regan – The Motivated Type

July 2014

Photgraphy by Joel Benjamin

Thomas Regan is motivated every day of his life.  From teaching countless spinning classes, to leading grueling bootcamps, he’s a combination of motivated and motivation all at once.  Whether he’s inspiring Southie teens to live healthy lives, personally training dozens, or biking almost 300 miles in one weekend for ALS, Regan does more in one week than most do in a year.  Why?  Because it’s who he is.
 
A Day in the Life:
As the manager of Motivated Fitness, a compact but fully equipped workout facility located on West Broadway, one of Regan’s jobs is to motive people as soon as they come through the door.  “We don’t just sign you up on day one and never see you again.  We try to get to know each and every one of our members as best we can. We like to convey a positive and welcoming atmosphere right off the bat,” says Regan.  His wake-up alarm on his phone rings daily to the the 1960’s band The Rascals “It’s a Beautiful Morning” and sets the tone for his day.  He heads to Moakley Park by 6am to teach a high energy bootcamp class.  From there he takes his car “fully loaded with gym equipment”  to the Curley Rec. Center for Ripped by Regan – a program funded by the South Boston Leadership Initiative and the Boston Centers for Youth and Families Curley Community Center that uses fitness and nutrition as a means of instilling healthy lifestyles to the kids of South Boston.  “We hope the kids in the program learn something. Whether it’s a purely fitness based realization, or some discipline picked up along the way, we hope that something positive sticks with these kids for longer than summer,” says Regan.

Some former Ripped by Regan graduates have gone on to play hockey, basketball, football and baseball at college level.  Others have achieved high ranking military titles.  Just last month, Southie kid and BU Terrier Liam Coughlin was drafted in this year’s NHL draft by the Edmonton Oilers.  Coughlin still continues to train with Regan.  “I like to think that Liam’s hard work in the gym over the past few years had a little to do with his current success.  Hard work pays off! Don’t forget your old trainer when you make it big time kiddo,” Regan says laughing.

After Ripped, Regan spends the rest of the day at Motivated Fitness from 11:00am to 6:30pm depending on spin classes and personal training sessions.  One of those sessions is with Mark Delamere from West Roxbury.  Delamere was a passenger in a devastating car accident that left him  paralyzed from the waist down this past September when he was just 15.  The accident happened when an SUV carrying four Boston Latin Academy students crossed the center line, rolled over, and collided with an oncoming pickup truck. The driver of the pickup,  Kevin Cellucci of Dorchester, a 33-year-old carpenter and father of three boys, was also critically injured and still remains in the hospital. 

Regan and Delamere work together on core and upper body strength training two days a week together. “Travis Roy said,  ‘We can’t always choose the biggest challenges in life, sometimes our biggest challenges choose us.’  This challenge definitely chose Mark, but Mark has risen, and continues to rise to his challenge.  He’s one of the strongest people I know,” says Regan.   Last month, Delamere and his friends organized a street hockey tournament, The Cellucci Classic, to raise money for the wife and children of Cellucci.  “Mark could easily dwell on the tough situation that he’s been put in, but instead he takes charge and continuously tries to better himself and those around him. That positivity was at the forefront with the Kevin Cellucci Classic.  When he was asked by a reporter why he was hosting this tournament, he said, ‘My recovery is fine, all I have left to do is walk. Kevin, and his family, are the ones who need the help.’ That sticks with me. Mark is as generous and as giving as he is strong and motivated!” 

As for what it’s like to train with Regan, Delamere says, “I could go to the gym in an awful mood because of my situation but I don’t because of Thomas.  He’s a great guy who motivates me to work hard.  Thomas helps me both physically and mentally.  He’s not only a great trainer but a great friend too.”

Most would collapse in a heap after a typical day in Regan’s life but he takes it in stride and is energized by it. “When your job is to make people feel better and to help them live healthy happy lives, it’s not work,” says Regan with a smile. 

The scoop on Thomas:

  • Lifelong Southie resident
  • Attended St. Peter School, Attended Boston Latin School,  Graduated High School from The Berkshire School (’08), Graduated College from The University of Rhode Island (’12)
  • Certified Personal Trainer
  • Certified Spinning Instructor
  • Began playing hockey at age 5 from Arnie’s Army at the Murphy Rink through college. “I played two years at Division 3-NESCAC school, Connecticut College.  I was also on a Boston Latin School hockey team that won the Division 2 State Championship in 2004! First and only time that the Latin boys team has won the championship in the history of the hockey program.”

Q&A:
Favorite restaurant? Does Sully’s count? Cafe Porto Bello otherwise.
Favorite bar? Any good night out in Southie starts off with a few beers at The L St. Tavern. I’ve been known to show face at the Boston Beer Garden and do some appearances at Lincoln too.
Favorite old school place that doesn’t exist any more? Frosty’s Ice Cream on Marine Road! Nothing better than coming home from a dominant little league game with a face full of dirt and a belly full of ice cream..
Your twitter handle is @NotFarSouthBoston – is it  a reference to Good Will Hunting? “So you grew up around here, did you?”-Skylar
“Not far, South Boston”-Sean Regan, I mean Matt Damon.

Best childhood memory? Family boat trips from the Boson Harbor Yacht Club, running out of gas more times than not, but that stuff that builds character.
What have you learned from your father (Tom Regan owner of Motivated Fitness)? ‘Know what you want, and go out there and get it!’ That’s what I take from Big Tom Regan on a daily basis. He did an Iron Man triathlon at age 56 and just smoked me in a 300 mile charity bike ride. The guy just doesn’t stop.”
What have you learned from your mother (Karen (Coughlin) Regan)? Karen is the ideal “Southie” mother!   She likes her walks, or bike rides around the Island.  She lets her dog (what up Sunny) sit out front with no leash and chair dances at formal events.  Anyone who knows me knows I’m a momma’s boy and proud of it. But what sticks with me is that my mother is a caretaker at heart.  She showed that when she took such great care of her parents (my grandparents – Peg and Fran Coughlin) during their last years when I was growing up. I love and respect her for that!  She one of the most amazing women I know.

Shout-outs:
I want to mention my girlfriend Mollie is on the “All Star Team” of nurses working on the cardiac floor at Children’s Hospital. Tough work that I definitely couldn’t do.  I’m a puddle when she tells me some stories each night after work. 

Also that I want to congratulate my sister Brittany and her boyfriend Paul Walsh, on their new home down the lower end – I mean cityside… whatever you want to call it!  I’m just glad they were able to stay within the city limits – especially in Southie!

For more information about Motivated Fitness visit: http://www.regansmotivatedfitness.com/
 

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