Tuning my voice up and looking for a mullet wig! MC Kevin Martin plans his trip.

Jul 08, 2009

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 8098 times

Now, how long has it been since your last BMX Freestyle world's?
-Kevin: I think it was 1991 or 92, in Denmark

Two bags of T-shirts to sell, right?
-Kevin: I had way more than two bags of t shirts I had all the videos from trend and I think I also had some parts. Two FULL bike bags of gear, I left with a small pack pack loaded with Kroners.

So how does it feel to come over as an announcer for the HARO show?

-Kevin: It's a dream come true! I did a lot of announcing after 85 and even did several Haro tours, but I never did a full tour with Ron Wilkerson, Brian Blyther, and Dave Nourie.

Do you remember all the names of the tricks?
-Kevin: They are imprinted on my brain FOREVER!

They are riding old equipment too, how hard will that be for them?
-Kevin: I spoke with Ron yesterday, he said he has been riding a Sport and it's very strange to him to ride it again.

Sounds like sketchiness
-Kevin: I am sure all those guys will be dialed. I know Ron has been riding and he said Brian is also riding, and somehow Dave is just always ready to bust his old tricks out.

Good thing they've got a well trained Paramedic on the microphone...
-Kevin: Yes. My paramedic skills are very sharp right now. I have been a medic for 14 years now. Only one time while announcing did I have to jump into action, actually, twice. Once for Ron

Do you have any regrets steering away from BMX a bit over the last years?
-Kevin: When I was fully into BMX I never could imagine my life without it. Once I shifted gears to becoming a Paramedic, I moved from Austin back to Connecticut and imersed myself in fully into it for two years. I was living on an ambulance and in a classroom for 2 years. I ended up in

my hometown with all of my original BMX pals from when I was a kid and we started mountain biking.

Mountain biking came naturally to me and q

uite frankly I always wanted to be a fire/fighter medic, and at the time BMX was getting kind of nasty. Everyone I was friends with started to fight and hate each other so it wasn't hard to walk away.

Now that I am older I reflect very happily about my BMX youth and all the interest in the sport. Now that the sport is so big, it's nice to see all the enthusiasm in the sport's history and re-connect with everyone from back in the day.

Who are you expecting to see from "the good old days" in Germany at the World's?
-Kevin: I just caught up with Simon Tabron a few months ago and I had not seen him since the last World's I went to in Denmark. I can't wait to see all the 80s European riders I met in all my trips to Europe back then. I hate when I don't recocnize people though, it's been so long, I just can't wait to re-co

nnect to all the people I had fun with back then. I spent a fair bit of time in Germany, primarily Koln, so this contest will be fun for a lot of reasons.

For when exactly is the HARO show planned?
-Kevin: I think the show is Saturday but I'll have to check. Looks like the weather should co-operate, which will be awesome!

Okay Kevin, have a safe trip over and we'll hear you on the microphone during the HARO show!
-Kevin: I can't wait to catch up, and I am always amazed when I pop into a contest to see how far the sport has come. As always I am sure Europe and the worlds won't let me down. See you Friday!