by: James Panter

In the early 1970s, as Dr. Thomas J. Marinaro, Sr., used his skilled hands to deliver adjustments in a villa on the outskirts of Palermo, Sicily, he was making an impression not only on his patients, but also on his two young sons.

They marveled at the power of his healing touch and the respect he received from the suffering people – including government officials and royalty – with whom he had established a bond of trust, and they eventually decided to pursue careers in chiropractic.

Decades later, the sons, Dr. Thomas Marinaro, 43, and Dr. Ronald Marinaro, 41, now apply the art with such skill that they enjoy the same level of trust and respect among the CEOs, directors, producers, actors, actresses, singers and studio workers of the glamorous Hollywood entertainment industry.

Managing two clinics in the Los Angeles area, they have built successful referral practices, as their father had done in Italy, through their proficiency and their devoted service to their patients.

Their inspiration came from their father, a New York City native and a Columbia Chiropractic Institute graduate, now 74, who had moved his family to Italy to help take care of members of his wife’s family.

"Our father was the reason we both got into chiropractic," Dr. Thomas points out, "and that’s how we were introduced to it. It was in the family, and we pursued it as a philosophy and a lifestyle. He inspired us more so in Italy than here in New York, where we were from. We moved to Italy, and it was more of a celebrity-type status for chiropractic there. It was something new."

For about 11 years, the Marinaros lived in Italy, and Dr. Thomas Sr. became a celebrated practitioner through his work in his Palermo and Rome clinics.

"Chiropractic wasn’t known, but it spread pretty fast from patient to patient, and that’s how it built up," he recalled. "People used to come from all the different towns, and it was really great having the opportunity to practice a profession that nobody had there.

"They turn you into a celebrity. You get to know the whole town, and I used to go the airport to get the American paper and you could not buy coffee, because everybody would offer you coffee and cakes. I really was known, and that aspect was great."

His son, Dr. Thomas, described the style of practice in Italy, "Dad had a Gonstead and Diversified practice, and the same routine is there. The X-rays are performed, but you do work in a center where there’s an M.D., a radiologist and a physical therapist. But instead of the practice being centered around the M.D., it’s centered around the chiropractor."

Dr. Thomas Sr. received referrals from other doctors, and even pharmacists, and patients came from distant cities to receive care from him.

"I took care of all ages, from all different social classes," he said. "One of my patients was contessa, and I took care of government officials, including the head of the Roman carbineri, who used to chauffeur me around. It was quite an experience."

He was "seeing well over 200 people a day there in his office, including people who had never been adjusted before, ranging from babies to patients who were 70 or 80 years old," according to Dr. Ronald.

Seeing how chiropractic restored patients’ health made such an impact on his sons that they began imitating their father’s adjusting procedures.

"I used to tell them about the really big cases and the fact that people were looking for healing and they got it through chiropractic, and I think that is what inspired them," Dr. Thomas Sr. recalls. "They saw the professionalism and how chiropractic really took care of people without medicine. Many rejects from the medical profession used to come over for care. They saw the beauty of the profession, and then they chose it on that basis."

Their upbringing and admiration for their father led the Marinaro brothers toward the profession.

"He didn’t push us into chiropractic," Dr. Ronald recalled. "As we got along in college, we decided to go with it. We’ve always been around chiropractic. My dad taught us moves, so that was almost second nature to us. My parents were never pill-poppers for symptoms, so to just think of another kind of treatment was not an option. We liked the fact that you’re your own boss, and you run a business that’s helping others. There was no other option that we wanted to be."

Dr. Thomas added, "My father has been the big inspiration here, otherwise I don’t know if I would have been introduced to it. We would get adjusted when we were younger, and in the beginning we took it for granted, but we saw the results we would get and said, ‘Wow, this stuff really works.’ And that’s how we pursued it, plus fact that we were in another country and we saw the results everyone else was getting. That inspired us.

"You don’t really need to know the language. Your adjustment speaks for itself, as long as you deliver it properly. Of course, my father, being a smart man, learned the language pretty quickly and he communicated with his patients."

Dr. Thomas Sr. noticed his sons’ growing interest.

"They used to see these patients come in and they would see the adjustments," he noted. "Sometimes, I would give an HIO and they were just amazed at how that pressure could not hurt the patient and how it would heal them. Little by little, they were building up the idea, in their own minds, that this was the profession they were going to follow."

After returning to the United States from Italy, Dr. Ronald and Dr. Thomas resumed their undergraduate studies at Rockland College and then earned their doctorates from Life Chiropractic College in 1984 and 1986, respectively. Dr. Thomas met his wife Tracy, who is now an actress/model in Hollywood, while he was a Life College student.

After graduation, the Marinaro brothers set up an office together in Los Angeles, and eventually established two additional clinics, in Redondo Beach (which was eventually sold to another D.C.) and Studio City.

Dr. Thomas manages the main clinic in Los Angeles, providing care to athletes, actors, actresses, singers, and the top executives of Paramount Studios and Walt Disney. Dr. Ronald also takes care of a clientele filled with Hollywood stars and studio personnel in the Studio City center.

Their success has led to ambitious expansion plans.

Dr. Thomas has just opened an office in Beverly Hills and is planning to hire chiropractic college graduates to work with him to receive training.

The tradition of service may continue in a third generation of D.C.s in the Marinaro family through the brothers’ children.

"I’ve already seen my 4-year-old trying to adjust my 3-year-old," Dr. Ronald said. "Or she would have the housekeeper lie down and push on her back. You have people coming in who are hurting, but they get better, so if you’re around that environment, it’s not a hard sell to your kids for them to try the profession."

About the author: James Panter is editor of Today’s Chiropractic. Inquiries should be addressed to him at 1425 Franklin Rd., Marietta, GA 30067; or E-mail jpanter@life.edu.

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