Rob Gronkowski traded his usual gym routine this week for one built entirely around a 13-year-old training partner. The newly inducted Patriots Hall of Famer and four-time Super Bowl champion worked out with Mason Sudnick at a gym in Boston's Back Bay, pushing through push-ups, sit-ups and battle ropes alongside a teenager who lives with a chronic pain syndrome.
The session happened thanks to a donation from Gronkowski to the Mason Thomas Project, according to WHDH. Sudnick said Gronkowski adjusted every exercise so he could take part, a detail that mattered given his diagnosis. Sudnick was diagnosed with a chronic pain syndrome when he was 9 years old, and he described Gronkowski as kind, gracious, caring, funny, and better in person than on television.
The invitation to train with Gronkowski came through an auction. Sal and Sabrina Napoli won the bidding and brought Mason along, according to Fun 107, which reported that push-ups, sit-ups and battle ropes filled out the workout. Mason missed school to attend, and Gronkowski made sure that wasn't a problem — he filmed a video for Mason's teacher to excuse the absence for the day.
A Workout That Ran Long
Gronkowski didn't stick to a tight schedule once the reps were done. He stayed longer than originally planned to hang out with everyone, sign autographs and take pictures, the station's report notes. For Mason's mother, Jamie Sudnick, the scene left her without words — she said watching her son with Gronkowski left her speechless, and she described Gronkowski as down to earth and authentic.
Jamie Sudnick also spoke to what the day meant beyond the workout itself. She said she was proud of Mason and his mission to help people despite his own difficulties, a mission that has taken shape through an organization Mason himself started.
The Project Mason Built
Mason founded the Mason Thomas Project, which works to provide safe, comfortable housing near vital medical care for families facing critical medical crises, according to its website as cited in the same account. The nonprofit partners with Ronald McDonald House New England, an organization where Mason and his family themselves spent a significant amount of time. That experience shaped the project's focus: it has since provided more than 9,000 nights of housing and nearly 20,000 meals to families, saving them $2.7 million in 2025.
Gronkowski's gesture in Back Bay fits a pattern of community involvement he's built since retiring from football. He previously surprised 7-year-old Patriots fan Ryan Feeney at his Melrose home after Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island granted the boy's wish for a Patriots-themed football field in his backyard. Gronkowski has also put his name behind larger public projects, including a $1.2 million donation toward renovating the former Charlesbank Playground in May 2021, part of a $2 million overhaul of the space in the Charles River Reservation Esplanade that now bears his name, according to WCVB.
For Mason, though, this week's workout was personal in a different way — a chance to train, laugh and swap stories with a Patriots legend who refused to let a chronic illness keep him on the sidelines.
