Born in Ann Arbor, Pollack had a single sibling, a sister named Sara. He had an early interest in boats; at age six he built his first boat, an attempt which was unsuccessful. He started collecting corks soon after so he could create a boat that would be unsinkable. After a few years of collecting, Pollack went on a trip with his parents and sister to the Himalayas. While crossing a river on horseback, his sister's horse slipped and she fell into the rushing water. Two days of searching were unsuccessful — Pollack lost his sister. Though devastated, Pollack continued to collect corks. After high school, he took a summer job as a hotel groundskeeper on Mackinac Island. Soon, he convinced the owner of the hotel to let him play violin in the hotel's restaurant rather than do janitorial work. He was happy for the change; and, by the end of the summer, he had collected several hundred corks from the restaurant.

In his childhood, Pollack's mother was involved in political campaigns. Pollack went to law school and soon became a speechwriter for a United States Congressman. After a few years, in 1999, Pollack became "frustrated by the cynicism and hypocrisy on Capitol Hill" Cork Boat and quit his job to work on the cork boat project with his friend Garth Goldstein.

It was autumn of 1999, so Pollack knew that there would be cork-collecting opportunities at the new millennium. Despite his efforts to have bars save their corks at the new year, Pollack was disappointed with the turnout. He began finding ways to attach the corks; however, he knew he wouldn't be able to build a boat without many more. Pollack soon contacted companies to donate materials; also, he acquired the help of a growing number of volunteers. He and his team of over 100 volunteers received donations of materials by Alliance Rubber Company and Cork Supply USA throughout the construction process. During one summer, Pollack received a call from Capitol Hill: he was wanted as a speech writer for U.S. President Bill Clinton. He accepted the job and had to learn to balance the boat project and his new job. Still, though, Pollack collected corks for the boat. His Viking ship-like vessel, deemed Cork Boat, was completed in 2002. Although a large celebration was expected at the completion, the team was forced to have a dry launch since there were complications with the transportation of the boat.

In 2002, Pollack and his partner Garth Goldstein traveled with the boat down the Douro River in Portugal as a celebration of completion — his trip received a large amount of media attention. In 2004, Pollack wrote a memoir of the experience entitled Cork Boat. Amazon.com: Cork Boat: Books: John Pollack