Born in 1968, Martin was your typical White River plaasjapie whose secondary school years at Woodridge College in Port Elizabeth did nothing to dampen his passion for the outdoors.  He spent more energy on hanggliding, underwater hockey, climbing, lifesaving, running and scuba diving at UTC than he did on studies.  In 1993, armed with a BCom degree, Martin took off for the West Coast of Canada and spent the next six years enduring the hardships of commercial fishing in the icy cold waters of the Pacific Ocean.  That experience taught him many new skills and life lessons, but most of all the dawning realisation that there had to be more to life!