Most people do not expect a former hockey player to become a leader in longevity medicine.

Dr. Robert McGrath’s path did not follow a straight line. It started on the ice, not in a clinic. But the mindset that carried him through athletics is the same one that defines his work today.

“I’ll never claim to be the most intelligent person in the room,” McGrath says. “But I refuse to be outworked.”

That mindset shows up in every stage of his career.

McGrath grew up in Southern New Jersey as an only child. Sports became his main focus early on, especially ice hockey.

He attended Trinity Pawling Preparatory School in New York, where he became captain of the hockey team. His performance earned him time at the Olympic Training Center in Michigan.

He later attended training camps with the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins as an undrafted free agent.

His path to that level was not easy.

“I was born with two clubbed feet,” he explains. “Doctors questioned how well I would ever be able to walk.”