- Oct 27, 2014
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AFL superstar Dustin Martin has opened up about his life and career in a tell-all theatre show detailing his road to success. The show, An Evening With Dustin Martin, hosted by broadcaster and comedian Dave Hughes, showed a lighter and livelier side to the humble Tigers champion, Brownlow Medallist and Norm Smith Medallist.
This was not the Dustin Martin defined by recent headlines. Instead, the format was a celebration of his past, and highly-acclaimed present, in front of a capacity crowd at Palms At Crown on Friday night.
It covered everything, from the time his parents Shane and Kathy lied about his age so he could do Auskick (“another mum dobbed us in, and I had to watch from the sidelines”) to the teachers who told him he wouldn’t amount to much (“I don’t remember their names, but they know who they are”).
Martin left school at 14, and had various jobs, including retail assistant at a clothing store. But his chronic shyness wasn’t a selling point with customers.
“People would come in to buy something, and I wouldn’t talk to them,” Martin said. “Sales went down.” Then there was the time he “left two arms off the mannequin.” He laughed: “That was the end of that.”
The night of the AFL draft, Martin disapproved of Kathy’s outfit and told her to go home and change. He recalled: “She rocks up in this dress, with full make up, and full hair. I was like: ‘Mum, we’re going to the draft, not a bloody wedding!’
He was drafted to the big league, of course. To cope with the stresses of football, and life, Martin says meditation has been invaluable. “You usually get a bit of road rage when someone cuts in front of you,” he said. “After a nice hour of meditation, I’m like: ‘Yep you can merge …’”
His stellar 2017 was filled with surreal moments. Martin said hype from commentators that he would win the Brownlow Medal caused unwanted distractions. “You’d go into games thinking about it,” he said. “And you’re only thinking about it because people are talking about it. “Then (Tigers player) Jacob Townsend came in and kicked six (goals), and I was like, ‘Don’t steal any of my votes!’
Martin said he asked a friend to hand write his Brownlow acceptance speech on a piece of paper, but later discovered: “Her (hand) writing was ridiculous. I couldn’t read it properly.”
He said winning the flag was “the best thing I’ve done in my life, a great feeling that’s indescribable, that you can’t put it into words.”
Asked to recall any stirring or inspirational words proffered by coach Damien Hardwick during the big dance, Martin said Dimma’s three-quarter time message was: “I effin’ love you guys.”
Martin also revealed he got an unexpected call of support — from jailed former AFL superstar Ben Cousins — before the Grand Final. “I had this unknown number come up on my phone, and for some weird reason I answered it. It was from prison. It was Cuzzy,” Martin said.
“We had a little chat. He wanted to wish me well, and wish the boys well.”
Martin said his contract negotiation, with a big push from North Melbourne, was stressful. He credited Shane, Kathy, and his manager Ralph Carr for their support.
“Our hearts were always with Richmond. We wanted to stay at Richmond, and the main focus was to win a flag,” Carr said. “ But the reality was, the North Melbourne deal was so big, we would have been silly not to entertain it. “We looked at it seriously. It was a big decision for Dustin.”
Martin agreed. “It was very stressful … and challenging at times,” he said. “Most games, there was pressure to perform, with the contract on my mind. I was so drained mentally from it all.”
A reflective and introspective Martin quickly warmed to the spirit of his conversational tell-all with good-natured interrogator Hughes.
But special guest extrovert, former Collingwood star Dane Swan, almost stole the show with stories about their bromance. “We met on Grindr,” Swan joked, referencing the gay hook-up app. “We matched and away we went. Funnily enough, we didn’t meet in the library.”
They met — surprise, surprise — in a nightclub. “We didn’t know each other, and it was getting late in the night,” Swan said.
“Sunday night?” Hughes asked. “Probably Monday night,” Swan replied.
Indeed, the two have been inseparable, and their post-season trips to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and beyond, are now routine.
Martin revealed one party they hosted in the Hollywood Hills that left a lasting impression on everybody. “We had security guards, DJs and chefs,” Martin said. “A tattooist ended up at the house.”
Martin, Swan and three other friends staying at the house got ink of each other’s names on their bodies. Swan has it on his hip, Martin on his backside.
“I hate to make it about me, but we’ve (Swan and Martin) been away (on end of season trips) the last four or five years, and you look at a graph of his form,” Swan said. “It’s gone directly up!”
Martin will host another ‘in conversation’ show at Palms At Crown on March 3. Tickets are on sale now at www.ticketmaster.com.au
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