Growing up in the northern suburbs of Hobart, the ocean was the last thing on the mind of a kid who passed his days riding motorbikes and kicking soccer balls. Marti’s introduction to surfing was certainly more unorthodox than most, but it proved that the connection between Marti and the ocean was inevitable.
“There used to be a cigarette company called Long Beach, and they brought out these promotional videos with their cigarette packets. My uncle owned a grocery store that sold cigarettes, and one day he gave me one of the videos when I was really young.
“I can’t remember exactly how old I was, but I remember the video had surfing, snowboarding, and windsurfing in it. I would just watch it on repeat. I was this kid growing up in the suburbs, nowhere near the ocean, but I was hooked on something I probably shouldn’t have been.”
Photo 1: Cohen Thomas at Govs. Photo by Stu Gibson. Photo 2: by Nick Green
Marti’s family later moved to Clifton Beach, where his passion for surfing and love for adventure began to evolve. So much so that Marti attracted the interest of one of surfing’s biggest companies, Volcom.
“This bloke I would see out in the surf a bit came up and offered me a Volcom sponsorship. Turned out, he was a Volcom rep. At first, I didn’t think much of it. I was just like, ‘F%#k, I’m a lucky kid getting free clothes from the raddest company.’ I was just so happy and content with that.”
Little did Marti know, his career was about to take off, and it was amplified by the connection to a certain spot by the name of Shipstern Bluff. At just 17 years old, Marti was introduced to the then semi-secret wave that would go on to define his surfing career.
“I knew it was way out of my league [the wave] — I’d only been surfing for like three or four years before that, just stand-up surfing and all that.
“Back then, surfing waves like that was something else — no one had really seen it before. So yeah, it was something that, right from the start, I knew I wanted to keep going back for. It just lured me in.”
The excitement and pure joy that Marti gets from adventuring with mates is evident in the way he recalls stories and memories of the past. Surfing is certainly an important part of his life, but it’s the moments in between that really make it all worth it.
“I guess it all comes back to the passion for adventure. That’s really where it started for me. Going down to surf Shippies and wanting to see Shippies, it wasn’t about surfing the biggest waves; it was about the adventure.
“It was about going to this mythical place I’d only heard whispers about, then finally seeing footage, and being able to go there. It was all about the mission — the boat ride, the walk-in, all that kind of stuff.
“The forecasting wasn’t like it is today, so you were just going on what little you knew. The days when it all came together, and you scored with just you and your mates — it was like, f%#k yeah. You’d get back to the car after a big session, and you were on the biggest high. It was unreal.”
Photo 1: Early days at Shippies by Andrew Chisholm. Photo 2: by Alasdair Shurman.
Being paid to do what you love and surf the best waves around the globe can seem like a dream come true, and to Marti, it was to a certain extent. But the pressure to constantly show up and stay relevant with magazine covers and video parts began to catch up, and the many highs turned into deep lows.
“I lost my love for surfing because I started worrying more about losing my sponsorship than actually enjoying what I was doing.
“The way I used to deal with it was just to party. I ended up partying a hell of a lot; it just destroyed me. All I did was party and surf as much as I could.
“It was a poisonous lifestyle, if I look back at it now, because it was all built on chasing highs — chasing highs from partying and chasing highs from surfing.
A balance had to be found, and Marti credits his partner Jaymie for helping him realise what was important. Marti says he felt a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, helping him rediscover his love for the sport.
“I consciously made the decision to enjoy surfing again for the real reasons I started it: just being out there, immersing myself in nature, and being present in the ocean or just present at any given time.
“And also just looking around and appreciating where I was and what I was able to do. That was the biggest part of that turning point — being able to keep doing what I loved, but with a different frame of mind.”
“I also did a lot of research into how the brain works and why we think the way we do. That understanding really helped me get to know myself better and figure out where I could improve.
Photo by Nick Nairn-Smith.
“Even now, I’m still learning stuff every day. I’m open to change and to shifting my opinions, because we evolve as humans every day. And if you stop letting that happen, you stop being the best version of yourself.”
From riding motorbikes in the northern suburbs of Hobart to surfing some of the world’s heaviest waves, Marti has accumulated an endless number of tales and stories. After the many highs and lows that he has experienced throughout his career, it only made sense to create a book where he could not only share personal anecdotes, but also those of his closest friends.
“I wanted to tell the story of our crew, but not just through my eyes. I wanted it to be a group story. I wanted the story of our crew to be told by the crew themselves — to pick something pivotal or monumental to them and share that story with the world.”
When the Ocean Awakens is filled with first-hand stories from a diverse collection of characters, including photographers, filmmakers, and fellow surfers who have all played a part in Marti’s life.
“I wanted the personalities of each character in When the Ocean Awakens to really shine through — more like a pub yarn than something all polished and perfect straight out of a publishing factory.”
Photo 1: Marti and Jaymie. Photo 2: Marti and hist book When the Ocean Awakens.
Marti is constantly reinventing himself and working on new projects and ideas. He is now a father to two girls, and although life has naturally slowed down, he continues to chase huge swells that rumble through the Tasman Sea.
However, he has also been devoting more attention to another passion of his: poetry. After the success of his first book, he has been working on a children’s rhyming book titled Lenny the Shredder.
“I’ve always had a passion for writing poems ever since I was a kid. I just had this idea for a book that’s based on my childhood and the life lessons I want to pass on to my kids as they grow up.
“That’s where the idea came from, and I just turned it into a bit of a poem — a rhyming story.”
As we all know, surfing is so much more than a sport — it’s a lifestyle, a gym, a social club, and an excuse to adventure into the unknown. Marti lives for the in-between moments and, like all of us, can only thank surfing for the beat-downs and the mountainous highs it continues to provide.
Image 1: by Andrew Chisholm. Image 2: Illustration of Lenny by Nanda Ormond.
