Alex Martinez
Alex grew up on the Caribbean coast of Colombia in the small town Puerte Colombia. The sea was right on his doorstep and was not only a place of freedom and joy, it was also part of his livelihood. ‘I alwayse spent a lot of time in the ocean because I did a lot of free diving and spear fishing to catch fish to eat.’
Surfing didn't play a role for a long time, other things were more important, but then it all happened very suddenly. ‘I started surfing in 2019 by borrowing a board from my friend, it was love and I never returned the board haha.’
From then on, it was impossible to imagine his life without surfing, not only because of the fun factor, but also because it helped him to stay on course in his difficult life at the time. He is still at the beginning of his career, gaining his first experience at national competitions and already collecting his first successes.
It speaks to his strong social streak that he wants to pass on these positive life experiences through surfing and help other young people out of their difficult situation.
‘Now I hope to integrate more people into surfing, especially young people in my community because it gives them a focus and a passion to help them avoid getting into trouble.’
Alex is part of PADDLE PADDLE, a NOGO that makes surfing accessible for socially-disadvantaged groups worldwide, giving them new perspective on themselves and their possibilities. He helps to organise and distribute the donated surf equipment to the communities in need.
Alex is not only an enthusiastic and aspiring surfer, he definitely has his heart in the right place. We are more than stoked to welcome such an energetic and dedicated young surfer to our Ambassador team and can't wait to hear more from him.
All photos @lara.waves
