Here's another edition of our team feature.

This month we'd like to introduce you to Richard Martens, our go-to guy at Spartan Spark!

Name

Richard Martens

Tell us something about yourself. Brag a little!

Father of 3. Daughter 11, Son 7, Son 3. I lived in Alberta until I was 24, then moved to Quebec.

Been into sci-fi and comics as a kid, and I'm still really into superhero movies and the sci-fi genre.

I didn't get into sports until I was 12 when I started Karate. I did that till Brown Belt, then discovered the UFC (It was new at the time). I moved to Calgary at 18 and started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at what is now Champion's Creed. I taught there as well. I started my own team Nomad BJJ in Sherbrooke, Quebec in 2004. I'm still running it to this day. I now have a 3rd Degree Black Belt, and I've promoted 4 students to Black Belt myself.

I was always into art as a kid. I liked to draw a lot. Loved movies and special effects. For a while, I thought about getting into stage effects for plays as I loved to build props. Eventually, I decided I would like to get into Computer Animation. I went to a school in Calgary called Applied Multimedia and eventually moved into Web Design and Graphic Design.

I've worked for several companies in Calgary, and I've worked remotely for Calgary companies while living in Quebec. I've been at this since 2000.

What do you do at Spartan Spark?

Account Manager is my job title. I manage communications between clients and our team. They tell me what they need, and I tell them what we need from them to continuously move forward.

I translate stats into something easier for each client to understand. I provide them with the metrics so they see the dollar value they get from their investment in Spartan Spark marketing.

Since I have a background in several roles in web design, I can usually understand what the programmers, graphic designers, and writers are looking for and help facilitate that through the client.

I also manage the Facebook Ad accounts for our clients. I find the right audience, create ads, and then monitor them to ensure that they are getting the leads they are looking for.

Tell us about a project you enjoyed working on.

Champion's Creed Martial Arts. My background in martial arts makes this a lot of fun. It's helped with all aspects of this project.

Communicating content to the writers. Building Ad Campaigns. Scheduling content to social media. Communicating stats and metrics to the client.

Think of someone you love. What's your favourite thing about him or her?

My wife. She is great at setting goals and breaking them into manageable pieces. Life is a lot easier because of everything she does to keep the chaos of 3 kids manageable.

Name a role model who best exemplifies integrity?

My Jiu-Jitsu Coach Brian Bird and his wife Sheila Bird. Being the oldest in my family, they've felt like older siblings to me at times.

They are always there for me, and I've seen them take on the role of standing up for others, including myself, over the years of training with them.

Let's have some fun. What makes you laugh?

Mostly comedy. Don't go to many live shows, but I love chilling with my wife and listening to jokes.

Which fictional character do you wish you could meet?

Easy, Batman, although I don't think we would have much to talk about :P

Let's talk about hobbies. When you're not working, what do you do for fun?

Mainly teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, reading comic books or watching movies.

Tell us an example of how you've supported the community. Pro bono work or volunteer, etc.

Helping my daughter's Girl Guide group. They are really short-handed on volunteers. So I created a Facebook Campaign and netted them 4 people that were interested in becoming volunteers. Only took a week.

It's innovation time! Tell us of a time you did something unique to solve a problem.

I used to work for another company that was predominantly programmers. It was one of those "a Hammer sees the world as a bunch of nails" situation. They wanted to build everything from scratch.

We had a client that needed a site, and the software we were using was untested and didn't end up working well.

I tend to do well with integrating existing solutions. I found a CMS that was tested and rebuilt the site in a week. It definitely saved our skin that time.

If we took your coffee or tea order, what would it be?

Earl Grey. If I drank tea.

Which is your favourite place to travel and/or your best travel memory?

Tofino B.C. 2017. Took my family there for my brother's wedding. It was beautiful, and it was great hitting various trails in the woods with everyone. Plus the wedding was a small event on the beach—it was amazing.