Time Frames with Sven Martin

If you follow World Cup mountain biking, you are sure to know Sven Martin's name. If you don't, you've still seen his work in other places. Together with his partner, Anka, Sven has lived in many different countries (never far from world class riding) and forged an adventurous, beautiful life. Now parents to Ziggy, they have settled in Molini, Italy. This video is not the story of Sven's life, however it is an intimate look at two distinct chapters: Sven the veteran photojournalist and Sven the family man. It is well worth 11 minutes of your time.

From Santa Cruz: Sven Martin is a renaissance man of aggroism. He is probably the most widely published journalist of mountain biking in recent times. Arguably Sven has done more to expose the wildlife in the zoo of World Cup racing than anyone else. He freezes the world's fastest racers in extraordinary and historical moments. The effort Sven goes to in capturing and presenting these images is extraordinary and requires supreme skill and a rebellious commitment that borders on the maniacal. The World Cup week has a tortuous schedule for a photographer, and there’s no do-overs. It’s a one-shot-one-kill kind of mission every weekend, so the pressure is immense. Which is why Sven’s double exposure is his quiet, family-oriented life in Molini, Italy with his wife, Anka and his daughter Ziggy. At the races he’s fully in the moment, at home he’s fully engaged in being present. This film attempts to expose the work of a World Cup photographer but also goes deeper to show what’s on the other side of the lens. This time the camera is flipped onto one of the most interesting, driven, serious and hilarious characters in mountain biking.