Marty Grimes is a very colorful person. Not only is he black, he is red hot and ripping. He is a man of very few words: When asked what his favorite pastime was, he replied, "Just say I go mountain climbing."

Marty is in the eleventh grade at Beverly Hills High School, where he works hard to maintain a B average in college preparatory classes. He intends to go to the University of Hawaii when he graduates from high school. "I don’t really know what my major is going to be, I’ll just take the required academic classes; and when I finally do decide, I’ll go for it-all the way. I’ll get a little surfing in there, too."

Marty goes surfing a minimum of twice a week, most frequently surfing in the area between Santa Monica and Oxnard. When he goes surfing Down South, he usually goes to Baja California. It was in those waters on a family camping trip that his father first pushed him off on a wave. "That was a lot of fun, We had this big old log and we liked it so much that my brother and I stayed in the water until we were water-logged. That gave my father a break-he got in a lot of fishing, and we got in a lot of surfing. I haven’t stopped surfing yet."

Another family member, a cousin named Rick Blocker (who is also into surfing and skateboarding), introduced Marty to skating when Marty was about ten. Enthusiastic, Marty made a board himself and equipped it with Chicago trucks and wheels; but it wasn’t until the advent of the urethane wheel that Marty became an avid skater. With his new wheels, he took to the hills and started skating on the school banks at Bellagio, Paul Revere and Kenter.

That he was turned on to his two favorite sports by family members is indicative of his entire lifestyle, as Marty comes from a family that actively practices togetherness; projects for the entire clan are not uncommon. They enjoy camping trips together, and have constructed a beautiful, and functional, deck for their home, as well as a new master bedroom. The boys have made their own skates and their own surfboards. At present, the entire family is working on the construction of a large family room to be used for parties, "Yeah, I like to party," says Marty; "I like getting mellow with all my friends; listening to good music with a nice lady is alright, too!"

Marty has a cool, even disposition; he didn’t have to say one word the night he skated after a surf movie at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Wentzle Ruml and Tom Waller were so impressed by Marty’s style that they said, "Call us tomorrow." The next day, he was a member of the E-Z Team, and a long-lasting friendship between Marty and the Dogtown crew had begun.

Wentzle Ruml: "He blew me away when I first saw him, he was the first hot Black skater I had ever seen; now he’s even hotter."

Marty likes his anonymity; he claims that it’s helpful when he practices his favorite pastime. It’s a very short trip from Beverly Hills High School to the pool-blossoming hills of Beverly, where Marty goes "mountain climbing," casually skating an area seeking new skate spots. Marty has been instrumental in uncovering several spots but asks that we not mention their names, preferring not to be associated with these specific locales – at least, that is, until the Statue of Limitations has expired. He does admit that the Alpine and Keyhole pools were his favorite skate spots.

Despite his previous lack of pictorial coverage, he has appeared in two films, "Freewheelin" and "Go For It;" but then, his skating ability is best described by his friends:

Tony Alva: "He’s one of the hottest black skaters anywhere: A radical goofy foot in the pools; a body torque specialist."

Stacy Peralta: "He’s past the stage of being a rubberman; he gets in the most radical situations and makes it. He’s hot- he’s insane."

Jay Adams: "Marty is super hot. I don’t know how he has stayed out of the public view for so long."

"I like skating with my Dogtown friends," says Marty,. . ."they’ve influenced me a lot. I’ve heard all this stuff about energy, and I know it’s not all in Dogtown now, but that’s where it all started; they’ve shown everybody how to do it. We’ve all got it now; we’re all doing it."