Martin Krieg is a man who died in his early 20s. This was the result of what Martin calls a “car wreck” – not an “accident” because he says there are no accidents. Martins story and life lessons are insightful yet entertaining, and shine a message of love and positivity. I met Martin at a gym in Davis, California called Davis Swim and Fitness. Martin is a confident care free person with a solid and consistent smile. He attracted my attention with his bold style. What I saw was an older guy in his 50s with a shorter stature and long wild hair. He wore a tiny tank top and short shorts, and did nothing but 300 pound deadlifts followed by compromising floor stretches. After working out he likes to hang out in the sauna which he refers to as the “orgazmatron”. Martins personality is rich in humor.
The first time I talked to Martin was in the locker room and he was talking trash about Donald Trump. I soon found out that Martin is a “bike guy” as he says. This is what brought him to Davis – the bike capital of America. The guy is obsessed with bicycles; they are his life. He told me that he had ridden a bicycle across the entire country twice and enjoys riding penny farthing bikes as well, which are the vintage bicycles with one giant wheel and one very tiny wheel. I really had no idea how unique and interesting Martins life truly was until he let me interview him.
Martin grew up in Hayward, California. He attended an all-boys catholic high school where he excelled academically but faced adversity from his peers. He was picked on for his size and for riding a bicycle, a substandard alternative for a car according to them. Martin persevered and used his paper-route money to buy a motorcycle and a small sports car; a way to impress his peers and fit in. Martin also soon adopted reckless behaviors such as fast driving and dangerous motorcycle stunts which increased his popularity. He was one of the guys.
Martin wasted no time in graduating college after high school and acquired a prosperous job as an accountant. In his early twenties, Martin seemed to be thriving. He had friends, girlfriends, money, a nice car, and a career. However, Martin refers to himself during this period as unhappy with a “grrr” attitude. Martin also says that he had no filter in or out. He enjoyed “raunchy” material such as controversial music and readings like “Helter Skelter”, a book about the disturbing Charles Manson murders. He says the energy he took in and let out was negative and this is what brought on his “car wreck”, which in his words was not an “accident”.
The car wreck happened when his brother ran a stop sign and a large truck hit the passenger side where Martin was sitting. The wreck took place late at night while they were traveling to Idaho for a whitewater rafting trip. Martin was 23. Martin had suffered a major head injury and a punctured lung. He had clinically died and a priest had said last rites over him.
He was brought back to life but into a comatose state. The hospital he was at wanted to remove his leg due to an arterial bleed but his mother wouldn’t allow it, and so he was taken to another hospital where his leg was saved. Martin was in a coma for seven weeks. When he awoke, his right side was paralyzed and his speech was severely impaired, along with his cognitive abilities.
Martin spent the next several weeks in the hospital re-learning all basic abilities such as speech, eating, tooth brushing, and not to mention walking and other motor skills. After the hospital, Martins rehabilitation was long, difficult, and painful. It took the better part of a year of physical therapy just to be proficient enough to do basic task without the assistance of others.
Martins old career as an accountant was done for, never would he be able to return to this profession which was previously the foundation of his well-being. Martin would soon find himself repeatedly fired from jobs because he was just too “weird” to be competent. Among many negatives were some positives. Martin was now humbled. Martin could now see the unimportance of material things in life, and was removed from the rat race of life – ground up on the side lines, observing the fast moving world around him, trying to imagine how to reintegrate himself and be normal again.
Martin picked back up his childhood hobby of cycling by riding constantly. Martin had developed a plan. He wanted to plan a solo bicycle trip across the United States. The time was now the late 70s. This would be his rehabilitation. Despite the doubt and discouragement from his family Martin accomplished the trip and proved his ability.
Martin loved every aspect of the trip. The planning, the packing, the improvisation, the map reading, the pedaling, the camping, and all the people he met. He said that in many places he went he was treated like a celebrity, and his bike was like his business card. Martin has been addicted to bicycles ever since, even accomplishing a second cross country trip.
Bicycles had made Martin strong and normal again. Martin decided to dedicate his life to cycling and would eventually become the executive director of a nonprofit organization called The National Bicycle Greenway. Martins goal is to not only push bicycles as a legitimate form of transportation, but also to create a national bicycle highway which spans from coast to coast.
Martin has also found direction through writing, which he says has helped him rebuild his speech. He has since published several books and publicly spoken at many events. You can learn more about Martins organization and writings at his website: www.bikeroute.com.
Martin truly believes that he brought on the car wreck with his personality and intentions at the time. He explains this with the idea that his negative vibration at the time had attracted such a negative event. After the crash, Martin was socially dysfunctional due to his physical impairments and slow stuttered speech. He now is passionately committed to bringing something that himself and many others believe to be an incredibly positive and beneficial addition to the world.
He also is very careful of what he brings into his life. For example, he does not watch television or any sorts of negative material in the way of music and other entertainment. Martin explains, “What happens to a glass of dirty water if you keep adding clean water? It turns into clean water!” Martin is adamant in believing the idea that your vibration defines and creates your life, and he is now trying to live on a positive higher vibration.
He has written several inspirational books, two of which are “Awake Again”, and “How to Move Mountains with Love”. Martin told me that you are your own worst enemy. He also said that life can be amazingly beautiful just as easily as it can be a nightmare, both options are up to you.
As I interviewed Martin at the Nugget supermarket0 here in Davis his presence attracted several people, some he knew from bicycling and others just strangers that felt compelled to small talk. It is Martins peaceful relaxing aura, and the strong blend of kind humor his personality is composed of that creates his magnetic personality. Martin brings out the best in people. There’s no bull shit with Martin, just an honest person who is caring and sincere. I’ll never know Martin as he was before his “wreck”, but knowing him now I take every opportunity to talk with him. I guess you could say I feel that Martins presence adds clean water to my glass.
Edward Peterson
UWP 104C Journalism
Profile Feature Article
May 1st, 2017