There's an endless stockpile of privateers with stories that haven't been heard by the majority of supercross fans. Vann Martin is one of them. He’s loaded with talent, personality, and a drive to make an impact on the sport, but fans may not be widely aware of him. Those who know Martin know a guy who almost always has a smile on his face, feels blessed to be racing dirt bikes, and just wants to give back to the moto community. Hailing from Houston, Texas, Martin has been challenged time and time again with struggles and injuries but refuses to stop fighting to live his dream.
Racer X: Give us a little history of your introduction to riding.
Vann Martin: My dad got me into riding when I was three years old. I never really had a desire to race at first. My dad was racing a bunch of local stuff until I turned eight. Then I started racing a little bit. And of course, I was going to all the amateur nationals because my dad was there with the Honda of Houston race program. I went and I was always the kid in the back of the pack.
When did you decide to start taking it seriously?
One day it kind of clicked. I was about 13 when I started to really pick it up and do anything at amateur nationals. I think part of it had to do with me watching Josh Grant. He was the first person that I knew personally who came through HoH and went straight to a factory team. When I saw that happened, I wanted to do that. I started putting my head down. I won a Loretta's title in 2011 and turned pro in 2013.
Would you say being around the HoH [Honda of Houston] program, seeing the spotlight shine on some of the riders, and their success motivated you?
Yeah, exactly right. I saw the Hahn brothers [Tommy and Wil] and Jake Weimer, come through the HoH program. I saw a bunch of dudes getting on Moto PlaygroundMagazine covers before they turned pro. That drove me. I'd go watch them after they turned pro in supercross, and I realized it was possible if I put in some more effort. I wanted to do that.
Did it help you realize your heroes are human?
Yeah, it put it into perspective. I saw their ups and downs in the amateurs where they weren't dominating every race they went to, either. And they still were being successful pros. It was an eye opener. I knew I could do the same.
How were your early amateur races?
It started with me being a really fast kid in Texas. And then I started doing better at amateur nationals. I remember getting lapped by [Ryan] Villopoto in a heat race at Ponca City on an 85. I was nowhere even close. I had a red Kawasaki 65 under the tent of the semi. Everyone knew me as the kid that had the ride ‘cuz my dad ran the race team. They thought of me as spoiled and thought I didn't deserve to be there. That was more motivation. I wanted to prove them wrong.
You won a Loretta's championship in 2011 and in 2012 you finished fourth in the 450 A Class. What are your memories of those moments?
I went 1-7-1 for that championship. The second moto was a mudder and my rear brake went out. I salvaged that seventh. Going into the last moto I knew I had to holeshot. I did and I went on to win. All the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Then in 2012 I feel like I could have won the championship. I won the first moto which was huge. Yeah, [Joey] Savatgy and [Justin] Hill went down, but I got a good start and won the moto. I went 1-3 and then crashed in the last moto. I feel like I blew the championship. I ended up fourth.
Do you believe things in your career would have gone differently if you'd won that championship?
Yeah, it could have. We were talking to Tyler Keefe at TLD a little bit. At the time they were on Honda, which would have been a really good fit. They wanted me to stay amateur another year. I had a deal on the table from JAB Motorsports. I wanted to start making some money and I saw the offer. I wanted to go pro so I jumped on it. I think if I'd won the championship TK would have probably had more interest in me. Looking back, Shane McElrath got that ride.
You went pro in 2013 and entered your rookie season of supercross, how did that go?
It was tough. I only got to race one supercross because I broke my wrist going into the season. Then my home race of Houston was around the corner. I only had two weeks of prep and almost made the main in my first SX ever. That gave me a sense of hope.
You injured your wrist again in 2014 in Atlanta. What do you think led to these injuries? Was it lack of experience?
I really had no time as an amateur in supercross. It was like, "I'm young so I'm sending it." And I had confidence where I believed I should be a top 10 guy and prove people wrong. Kind of just being young and dumb.
When you were a rookie and watching the 'A' group out in practice, did you see the rhythms they are doing and say to yourself, "I need to try that?"
Back then I would see them do it and there was no hesitation, I'm doing that immediately. That's why I crashed in Atlanta. Literally the second lap of free practice I tried hitting a triple I saw dudes hitting in the 'A' practice and I came up short.
In 2015 you took the year off after a huge crash at Cycle Ranch in Texas. You fractured your skull. Talk about that.
Man, it was crazy. It was at a big pro-purse race around Thanksgiving. It was a night race. There was this giant dumb jump right off the start. It was two tabletops that the A class riders were jumping from the first onto the second. I thought it'd be a good idea to rip the holeshot and send them. The lights weren't very good, and I didn't see the dozer edge in the dirt and that ledge ripped my feet off the pegs. Right off the lip of this 80' jump I went straight superman to my head. I remember thinking I was gonna die. Luckily my head landed on the top of the table. That's what saved my life.
Where were you at mentally after that? What was your family's reaction?
I spent two weeks in the hospital and had a surgery on my face. My wife, Maranda, had to take two weeks off of work to stay with me. It was not a good time. It was very scary. We got through it. At the time I'm totally over it. I was fully committed to being done.
What was next?
I started working at the shop as a setup guy. Then supercross started and I'm watching dudes I was beating in outdoors make main events and get a lot of TV time. I'm over here working overtime and making $600 bucks every two weeks. It started eating at me. The first time I rode after six months off the bike it was fun again. I knew I wasn't done. “This ain’t it!”
In 2016, John McCollough with Team Allsouth reached out and helped you for a few years. How'd that come about?
I knew I needed more support and made some posts on social media. John contacted me and said he was a fan of mine. He liked my personality and attitude. He said, “Sign me up.” It worked out great.
Jumping ahead to 2022, what's your program this year?
Next Level Racing is a bike transport company helping bring the bike. They have a couple of sponsors involved to help out. I can run my own sponsors. I've been doing a sponsor package for each individual race. You can have the title spot on my shroud for a particular weekend. It's been working out like crazy. Colin Edwards [former top MotoGP racer] with his Texas Tornado MX is helping me by letting me use his bike. During the week I train kids at TTMX full time. It's a nonstop gig.
Thanks for the time and good luck this season.
Thanks for doing this. I'd like to thank Texas Tornado MX, Colin Edwards, Next Level Racing, Hitman Racing, Ronnie Prado Company, Fly Racing, Firepower, Renthal, Works Connection, Acerbis, Lit Ministries, Fitz Roofing, Panic Rev, Risk Racing, Prestige Films Graphics, Dunlop, JM Racing, Akrapovic, Ogio, EVS, Twin Air, Ryno Power, Moto Seat, Trik Motorsports, and Decompression Acres. There's a lot of people making it happen.
If you want to help Vann Martin as a sponsor for a weekend, you can DM him on IG @VannMan421
