TK DESIGN: Tom Kinney, founder of TK Star Exercise Equipment was an industry icon in the late 1970s until other interests lured him from the exercise equipment industry in the early 1990s. TK Star equipment was innovative, exciting, and set a new standard in what had become a stagnant industry. "Someone has to do the inventing and innovating from the sophisticated to the mundane" said Arthur Jones, founder and developer of Nautilus Sports/Medical Industries and Tom Kinney did his share of inventing and developing that has since become industry standards. Lat machine and low cable pulley handles with rotating handles; standard now, bu
t not before TK developed the first ones. Selectorized chin and dip units; standard now, but not before TK developed the first ones. Leg Extension and Leg Curl units with leg length adjustments; standard now, but not before TK developed the first ones.
Counter-balanced Smith Machine bars to allow for a zero weight starting increment and use by women and adolescents; standard now, but not before TK developed the first one. Yes, the "someone" who invented and innovated was Tom Kinney and HE IS BACK IN THE EXERCISE EQUIPMENT BUSINESS.
THE VISION AND THE SHOP: TK Design began in a small, under equipped shop where Tom's visionary zeal catapulted him to the top of the industry. As the industry grew, so did his design and manufacturing facility. Fed up with the hustle of the corporate world, he voluntarily walked away from what he saw as an impersonal and profit driven business. His return is marked by his desire to provide personalized custom made equipment for a discerning clientele who want the best and is symbolized by 
his manufacturing facility. Set in the picturesque depths of New York State's Hudson Valley, the shop is small yet state-of-the-art. Meticulous fixtures provide exacting manufacturing accuracy while Tom's imagination and creativity allow for the expression of the perfect piece of equipment that each customer requests. The shop is set up for Tom's long experience, innovative design approach, and the customer's desires to come together in a manner which will result in perfect exercise equipment, perfect relative to each individual's request.
MODERN AND RETRO: Being appreciative of the Golden Age Of Bodybuilding, Tom has made a study of the equipment used by the greats of the 1960s and 70s. He has the capability of providing unique pieces that brought the historical icons of the sport their fantastic results, yet designed and manufactured with the best of today's techniques. Think of the arms of the great Larry Scott and picture the famous SPIDER BENCH which helped to develop those prodigious biceps. Now picture that same SPIDER BENCH in your commercial facility or home gym, created by TK! Have you always wanted to use a biomechanically correct INVERTED LEG PRESS to develop the thighs of those 1960s greats? TK has one waiting to be built just for you. From benches that allow unique angles of muscular attack to rotating handles that place the wrist and hand in the most effective position for growth stimulation, Tom Kinney combines the best features of "then" and "now" in all of his equipment.
CUSTOM MADE TRULY MEANS CUSTOM MADE: Having been through the rat race of the weight training and bodybuilding industry, TK has done it all. The expansive football weightroom at Florida State University that contributed to their unparalleled success in the 1980s and 90s, the biggest and best of the bodybuilding gyms in New York City, and the home gyms of some of Hollywood's most discerning performers have all come as a result of his creative imagination and dedication. He provided the biggest and best with equipment that is in use twenty years or more after it was delivered from his shop. Now, TK is interested in providing custom made equipment that means custom made; tailored to the individual needs and desires of customers. The stock items are enough to provide effective and varied training in any serious environment but for those who always wanted a particular piece that was otherwise unavailable, the equipment that suited their specific arm or leg length requirements, having a small yet modernly equipped manufacturing facility allows for the diversity and flexibility that large suppliers cannot provide.
SOME OF THE HISTORY: He was there when the seminal movie PUMPING IRON was
filmed, helping out behind the scenes. His rendition of the famous Vince Gironda SPIDER BENCH, the most effective biceps stimulating movement ever, comes from conversations with and drawings supplied by LARRY SCOTT, the man that made Gironda's theories famous as the very first MR. OLYMPIA. The first CHIN/DIP ASSISTED machine? The first SELECTORIZED DIP? The revival of the VERTICAL/INVERTED LEG PRESS? The first of a series of SEATED CALF units complete with ANTERIOR TIBIALIS capability? TOM KINNEY was the one equipment manufacturer on a first name basis with all of the greats of the 1970s and 1980s because he is the man they came to when it was time to build their home gyms or their commercial gym facilities. The FLORIDA STATE FOOTBALL PROGRAM came to him for what turned out to be the very first benches and racks with weight storage ability, something that is now a standard feature for all manufacturers. TK has always been "the first" and the best!
His series of SMOOTH FLOW HANDLES demonstrate his unique perspective on getting the most out of one's training. "Of course I spend a lot of time on handle design. The correct hand and wrist position is not only an orthopedic concern, but any exercise, no matter how much muscle it works, should be done as correctly, efficiently, and safely as possible. That's why the correct handle is a must." The first in the industry to supply rotating handles for high and low pulley units, TK SMOOTH FLOW HANDLES are by far the best and engineered with the strongest and best parts available.
TK's long range and unique perspective of the muscle building field,has led him to locate, purchase, and then dissect and study old Vic Tanny multiple pulley units, original Nautilus machines, and bearing components from equipment not related to the bodybuilding field. This has given him insights that have resulted in cutting-edge high performance equipment that can take the beating of hard training while maintaining the beauty of a work of art.