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academia and surfing

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advertising and surfing

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air-drop

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alaia board

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alcohol and surfing

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angle

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Bennett, Barry

Benson, Becky

Benson, Blanche

Benson, Linda

Bermuda

Immensely talented pro surfer from Santa Barbara, California; world-ranked #5 in 2006; the first Mexican-American to qualify for the pro tour; known as much for his colorful anti-surf industry rants as for his powerful, stylish turns. "He's gotten where he is with blue-collar values," surf writer Brad Melekian said in 2007. "Honesty, humility, hard work. He's not at all a believer in bullshit—his own or anyone else's."

Martinez was born (1982) and raised on Santa Barbara’s west side, the working-class and sometimes rough-edged neighborhood of the otherwise placid coastal hamlet. He learned to ride waves on a bodyboard, got his first surfboard at age six, and soon began competing in junior events. In 1994, the young goofyfooter won the first of seven National Scholastic Surfing Association titles, a record at the time; at 17 he turned pro.

Dragging behind him the heavy burden of expectations—Martinez was often called “the next Kelly Slater,” a comparison that always puzzled the heavily-tattooed, hip-hop loving goofyfooter—he struggled in the pro surfing minors for five years, meanwhile developing a two-ounce-a-week pot habit. In 2005, Martinez quit smoking weed, devoted himself to competition, and qualified easily for the championship tour. Still on a roll, in 2006 he won two major events (at Mundaka and Teahupoo), finished 5th in the year-end rankings, and was named Rookie of the Year. Contests aside, the solidly-built Martinez (5' 6", 160 pounds) was lauded for his near-flawless body mechanics, and his heavy back foot; riding backside, his rail-burying turns reminded many of Australian powerhouse Mark Occhilupo.

At the same time, Martinez seemed to take pro surfing's often-shallow inner workings as a personal affront, to a degree that soon began to affect his competitive drive. He held onto a top 10 position, but 2009, the career complaints that he'd so far kept mostly among friends—about judging, contest formatting, venues—began showing up in public forums. In 2011, Martinez skipped two contests during the middle of the season, then rejoined the tour in August for the Quiksilver Pro in New York, where he pulled the plug on his world tour career in spectacular fashion. After defeating Aussie Bede Durbidge in their Round Two heat, Martinez stepped to the microphone for a post-match webcast interview, grinned, and said "I don’t want to be a part of this dumb fucking wannabe tennis tour anymore." 

 magazine called it "televised career suicide," and sure enough, Martinez was thrown out of both the event and tour. He was 28 years old, with four WCT career wins; it was reported that he also lost sponsorship contracts worth over a half-million dollars per year.

In years to come, while living in Santa Barbara as a paid "free surfer," Martinez continued to ride waves at a world-class level, and continued, when the mood struck, to berate professional surfing. In 2013, however, he told surf writer Derek Rielly, that he missed "having a goal to work towards . . . having something in life to chase. Like, what do I do with myself now?"

Martinez has been featured in dozens of surf videos including 

Martinez, Bobby

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Encyclopedia of Surfing

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Encyclopedia of Surfing

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