“Sport is rock’n’roll just played in a stadium rather than confined to a stage. It provokes every human reaction and emotion and that’s compelling. Sport is simply entertainment – pure and compelling entertainment.”
Martin Devlin
MARTIN DEVLIN
Martin Devlin is back, back on radio doing sport. He is one of New Zealand’s top sports broadcasters and has the trophies to prove it.
The 45 year old father-of-two has won many awards over his career but the one’s he’s most proud of is Sports Broadcaster of the Year – an award he’s won 4 times.
He is also a correspondent, columnist and experienced television presenter.
Devlin did 9 years on TV One’s Game of 2 Halves with Matthew Ridge & Marc Ellis. He also produced and presented Sky TV’s House of Football for several years and Adidas 4-3-3.
His most recent television appearance was one quite outside his area of expertise. In 2008 he ventured outside of his comfort zone in a very public way on Dancing with the Stars. He never had delusions of great dancing but wanted to raise money and awareness for his chosen charity.
His only goal was not be voted off first. Thanking the ref and saluting the crowd, his exit came on episode three.
“I couldn’t begin to imagine the sheer terror of having to stand up in front of the nation in a dance competition like that but your courage and generosity makes a huge difference where it counts”. District Court Judge, Paul Geoghegan
Martin Devlin began his broadcasting career in his mid-20s after being accepted onto the 3 month course in Broadcasting at Christchurch Polytechnic, (in 1987), it was here he met the love of his life - radio.
He worked on beach and ski stations, Energy FM (Taranaki) and was the first breakfast host of both The Edge and Channel Z before making the move to the radio genre he is most identified with, sport, in 1998.
Devlin has attended, and broadcast from,several Olympic and Commonwealth Games including Sydney 2000, Manchester 2002 and Athens 2004.
What people have said about Martin
“I used to sit with David quite a few nights right through the night…come 6 o’clock in the morning, the hospital would start to wake up a bit and David’s first request was for the radio, Could I listen to Martin Devlin?, that was his first request every morning”
Peter Lange talking about his brother, former Prime Minister David Lange.
“When Devlin combined his razor-cutting scepticism with his equally sharp wit he was able to deflate the most bloated of egos and lampoon the most pompous of sport buffoons. We especially enjoyed our daily on-air verbal spats. You had to be on your game with this guy”.
“People with only a modicum of sporting interest seem to enjoy Martin’s irreverent sense of humour and irony, something that can be enjoyed even if the topic is not one of direct interest. He is emotive and creates strong relationships with listeners, much like John Laws”.
Morris W. Shanahan, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media