Tommy was born Tomakita Prozachovich in Vladivostok, Russia. His parents, Ronald and Shannon O’Herron, immigrated to Russia from Ireland in 1948 to join the Communist Party and promote world socialism. Soon after arriving in Russia, Ronald and Shannon officially changed their names to Boris and Olga Prozachovich and began Tomakita’s socialist upbringing.
In his early years, Tommy and his brother Ivan formed “The Sputniks”, a revolutionary Rock and Roll band that created a sensation throughout the Soviet Union. The Soviet’s honored the band by naming the first man-made object to orbit earth after the group.
From 1968 to 1974, Tommy attended the University of California at Berkeley where he became immersed in the counter culture and wrote his first book, “Common Abnormality”. During this period, Tommy’s creative genius took hold and he designed and invented the tie-dyed shirt. He is also responsible for transforming the logo of Mercedes Benz into the Peace Symbol by adding a simple vertical line. Tommy refers to this period in his life as “The Enlightenment”. This is when he learned that 50% of the world’s population was below average and he set off on a lifelong mission to correct that problem.
Tommy has always been at the forefront of social and political change. In 1985, President Ronald Reagan appointed Tommy as a special advisor on the Soviet Union. In early 1987, Tommy suggested that President Reagan invite Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to Washington, to “walk down the mall”, a reference to the beautiful park located in the heart of our Capitol. In a classic example of the party game “Telephone”, Tommy’s suggestion to “walk down the mall”, was relayed as “knock down the wall” and eventually led to the famous words, “Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall“, which President Reagan spoke at the Berlin wall in June of 1987.
From 1990 to 1994, Tommy spent most of his time in his Ozark mountain cabin where he wrote his second and third books, “Intense Apathy”, and “Conceptual Pragmatism”.
Tommy now tours the world bringing his wisdom and inspiration to millions of people.