Martin has been coaching surfers since 1986 and still loves working with motivated surfers to this day. He is in fact the “coach’s coach”, having coached and mentored the majority of Australia’s premier surf coaches and wrote the International Surfing Association’s level 2 surf coaching course that is used to upskill surf coaches globally.
Martin’s vision is to help as many motivated surfers as possible better their surfing and reach their surfing goals – as the better you surf, the more fun you have on a daily basis.
Surfing and coaching have been such a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. I started surfing around 1971 as a 12 year old grommet and first started coaching in 1986, after completing a university course in sports coaching. I loved working with motivated surfers back then and I am just as enthusiastic now in helping surfers improve their surfing. It’s been a great journey, one I hope to continue for a couple more decades to come.
I had to create a career in surf coaching, as there wasn’t one when I first started. Working with surfers is such a joy though and that was the catalyst for my perseverance. Seeing a surfer pull off a new move, fix faulty ones, or help surfers win in competition – just made me want to be a part of surfer’s development even more.
The thing that all this experience gives you is a critical eye and the confidence to work with surfers of all performance levels. One where you see faults, what part of a skill that should be focused on, and how to go about improving a performance. Also of importance is the ability to see into a surfer’s future. “What is the next logical step” a surfer needs to take to further their development. It’s not rocket science – just patient development, building a performance one skill at a time.
My time coaching surfers on the internet has also been a journey. I created my first internet site – Ripstix.com – in 1995. Basically a shop window into what I did, Ripstix.com was my early attempt to spread the word of my coaching to a larger audience. I then created Surfcoach.com 10 years later, a site where I sold packages of coaching videos – much like what some surf coaching apps do now. Then in 2019 I launched Martindunn.com.au which takes online training to the next level, showing surfers how to surf better like before, but now, also providing the training surfers should do to fast-track surfing improvements.
There’s so much I could tell about my journey and that of my surfers, but suffice to say – all these years of on-the-beach experience and building instructional websites just give me the confidence to help surfers be better. No matter a surfer’s level, having a critical eye in your corner when trying to surf better, is the best gift you could give yourself.
