Martin’s tale of dusty mattresses, soft landings and golden highs
LONG before Logan Martin became an Olympic gold medallist or had 100,000 viewers on YouTube, the BMX freestyle star sat in the front seat of his dad’s ute.
As a 15-year old, Martin would bounce his backside to lean over the dash and scan the kerb-side in Brisbane for old mattresses.
“Dad (Sean) would drive around the streets and pick up mattresses to take to the local skate park to have a softer landing when we practised new tricks,’’ Martin said.
“His support and Mum’s also, was unreal when I was growing up.’’
From falling on to dusty mattresses, Martin’s sorcery on two wheels took him to the holy grail of sport, a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics last year.
BMX freestyle joined the Olympic party for the first time in Tokyo and Martin became its first champion. More than two million viewers watched day nine of the Games when Martin delivered gold, making it the ninth-highest rating program on freeto-air TV for 2021.
When Martin returned home, Lego, asked if he’d front their Lego City Stuntz range, and Koala Mattress, having heard of his father’s exploits, had Martin front a TikTok campaign.
And now Martin has written an enthralling book, Journey to Gold, with journalist Scott Gullan, about his rise from obscurity to the world’s best.
The Paris 2024 Olympics are just under 600 days away, yet Martin is already devising his plan to go back to back.
“I want to see how far I can push myself and what I can reach,’’ Martin says.
Asked if he feels like he is being hunted, Martin replied: “Yes”.