DENVER — Gymnasts are nothing short of superhuman. So it only makes sense that the men behind the squad are draped in capes.
"Just power, energy and excitement."
"When these capes come on, that means it's business and we're just trying to get this crowd to be as loud as possible and the athletes get the best experience."
Tom Parrott is a Denver native who's been mat side with the Pios his whole life. He and his fiancé Taylor Green made the switch from fans to official hype men on one fateful day.
"I've been coming to Denver meets my whole life," he explained. "I'm a Denver native. Taylor is newer to Colorado in the last decade or so. When they made nationals in 2019, we went down to Texas to support for the first time and we just realized the fans didn't know how to be crazy. We kind of took the reins a little bit and it was born from that meet originally and it evolved from there."
"We used to just do it from out seats. We used to just lead the cheers and get the crowd going from our seats, and it just evolved from there in terms of us being like we could do more if we were down on the floor with you guys and if you give us a microphone we could do more and every year we just added more to it and it was just something really amazing for us."
It's also amazing to have something so meaningful to share as a couple.
"We've always done everything as a team, so this is just another step in our journey and it just helps us grow closer together in another way."
In addition to pumping up the Pios faithful, Tom, who works in music production, helps pair the athletes with their perfect tunes for their floor routines.
"This was a way for me to actually meet the athletes, get their personalities, and find something that they loved, so that their floor routine showed. You saw it today, it's a floor party because they love what they're doing."
The passion is palpable. And the hype men are purely in this volunteer position for benevolent reasons.
"We just want to keep elevating the experience because this team deserves it. That's why we do what we do, because this team deserves it. They deserve recognition, they deserve to be acknowledged, they deserve to be celebrated, and that's why we do what we do in the first place. I hope that more people continue to see this and continue to come to meets and support this team, because it's what they deserve."
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