BMX Street

On paper, Corey Martinez doesn’t sound very "street." He lives with his wife and two dogs in a small, northern Alabama town, he likes to hunt deer and work on home remodeling projects, and he's a respected member of his church. When it comes to riding BMX, however, Martinez is as streetwise as anybody on the planet. Thanks to his ground-breaking video segments and down-to-earth, approachable personality, the three-time winner of the NORA Cup “Street Rider of the Year” award is known from Moscow, Idaho to Moscow, Russia, for making unbelievable moves look ridiculously easy. He is undoubtedly one of the most talented riders to ever touch a BMX bike.

Turning Heads

Born in Texas in 1983, “T-Nez” grew up in Decatur, Alabama, where his first obstacles were not so much urban as suburban: driveway curbs. With his friend Seth Kimbrough (now also a BMX pro), Martinez got into racing, and both picked up a modest sponsorship from High Wheels, the local bike shop. As Kimbrough and Martinez showed an increased interest in freestyle, the shop owner even built a mini ramp, which evolved into a skatepark. Martinez’s skills improved quickly, but in a relatively small southern town, there were few people to notice. “There’s not a big BMX street scene here,” he acknowledges. “I started going to contests with Seth, and through traveling, I got a foot in the door.”

The teenager’s talent turned heads wherever he went. Not only did Martinez have a smooth, confident style beyond his years; but in any given spot, he seemed to find possibilities that no one else had even thought of, yet alone attempted. Suddenly, instead of taking road trips to local competitions, he was taking plane trips to Europe. Sponsorship deals started coming in, and Martinez's pro career was underway.

Breaking the Mold

Martinez belies the hard-partying BMX stereotype. Although he often travels with a rowdy crew of riders who get wild when the sun goes down, T-Nez takes advantage of the nighttime calm to knock out complex video lines rather than toss back cold ones. He's also an active member of his church, having served as a youth sponsor before his increasingly hectic travel schedule started taking shape.

Martinez is completely devoted to his wife, Rachelle (and only slightly less so to their dogs, Mocha and Chino). The young family owns a home in Decatur, which Martinez is gradually remodeling. “I love doing fixer-uppers!” he says, although these days his passport is getting a lot more attention than his miter saw. And, since traveling with a compound bow can be a little off-putting, he's had to put deer hunting on hold in favor of photography, which he practices on his friends as they travel the world on filming missions.

Building a Legacy

Video is, of course, the medium of choice for artists like Martinez. Although the still photos he's featured in – including the covers he's scored on Ride BMX, Dig, TransWorld BMX, and BMX Plus magazines – are awe-inspiring, this rider’s skills have to be seen in motion to be fully appreciated. Fortunately, where Martinez goes, a videographer is sure to follow, and his segments in releases like Drop the Hammer and countless clips circulated online are available to wow all of us. In fact, some of Martinez’s biggest fans are his peers: they’re the ones who voted him to a 2004/2005/2006 three-peat as NORA Cup “Street Rider of the Year.”

There's an impressive quiver of products that now bear Martinez's name, from signature Orchid shoes to a full line of gear from U.K.-based United Bikes, including a frame, fork, handlebar and custom seat. His relationships with Red Bull and Levi's offer him opportunities to ride outside the box, as on Red Bull's Tabua trip to one-of-a-kind spots in Fiji in late '07. Still, despite all of the rock star treatment, T-Nez remains grounded, focusing on the simple foundations that ensure riding is always new, every day. "What I enjoy most is just hanging out with friends and having a good session," he says. "Being motivated by each other and enjoying that time is the best thing for me."

Humble but happy, Martinez is stoked on the lifestyle he's earned for himself. His home life is awesome, his sessions with friends are never-ending and reach around the globe, and even though he’s been riding street for more than a dozen years now, there are still new spots – and new tricks – left to discover.