Bobby Martinez

Bobby Martinez won two events on the 2006 WCT Tour and if you find yourself thinking, “It’s about time, how old is that guy?” be amazed that Bobby Martinez is still only 24 years old. It seems like he has been around forever, because he has. As far back as 2000, Surfline was making noises about Martinez being “The next Kelly Slater” which is a heavy call. This year. Martinez was right next to Kelly Slater when the Champ clinched the title in the final at Mundaka. Martinez did not seem bummed that his second WCT victory of the year was a little overshadowed by Slater’s eighth World Title.

As far back as the turn of the century, Jason Borte wrote about Martinez for Surfline: “Martinez is the heir apparent to the vacated throne, leading to unfair comparisons with Slater’s unmatchable reign. Still a few years from ripeness at age 17, he has the foundation and talent to set him apart from the rest of Generation Y. But he doesn’t dwell on the post-Slater hype. 'I put more pressure on myself than anyone else does,' he insists. 'I don’t really care about all that stuff.'"

For many years, Martinez was the hottest young goofyfoot in Santa Barbara, a competitive animal from the same pastures as Tom Curren, who claimed seven NSSA National titles. With that momentum, Martinez jumped on the WQS Tour in 2000 at the age of 17, but injuries plagued him for half a decade. During the 2005 season Martinez won events in Brazil and Santa Cruz, and he made the WCT in 2006, a veteran at age 23.

In May of 2006, the final of the Billabong Pro Tahiti came down to two veterans of the NSSA, when Martinez and Fred Pattachia went at it head to head in perfect, four to six foot surf at Teahupoo. Of all the events on the WCT tour, Teahupoo is one of the most prestigious, and Bobby Martinez gave notice that he was serious about all this when he got repeatedly barreled off his nut, and beat Pattachia by two-tenths of a point to take his first WCT Victory: “I’m on cloud nine,” Martinez said “To have a win is… I can’t even talk… it just feels fake. I didn’t know how I was going to do this year. To have a win has taken me by surprise. It’s amazing…”

That win put Martinez second in the ratings and made him a serious contender for a World Title, but by the time the Tour got to Spain in September, it was pretty clear that it was time for yet another victory lap for Kelly Slater.

While Bobby Martinez is not afraid to admit that Kelly Slater is the surfer he looks up to most, he is also not afraid to go head to head against The Champ. At the Billabong Mundaka Pro, Martinez beat Andy Irons and Dean Morrison to meet Slater in the final, held in poor, three-foot surf at one of the best left rivermouths in the world. Martinez started with an 8.83 and Slater was playing catchup for the rest of the heat: “I don't know what to say,” Martinez said after winning his second WCT event. “It's been an amazing year for me. This year I came in just happy to be here after struggling on the World Qualifying Series for so long. I just wanted to give it my all at every contest and just try and requalify and to win two events... it's just crazy for me. I never got ahead of myself thinking I'm going to win this event. I just can't believe it!”

Martinez appears to be a lock for Rookie of the Year for 2006, and down the line he could be ready to live up to the rumble and buzz that has been around the young goofyfooter going back to the late 20th Century.