Martin Potter

He became a pro in 1981 and In 1989 after claiming 6 tour victories from 25 events he became "World Surfing Champion". This would come fourteen years after learning to stand on a surfboard. 'Pottz' redefined competitive surfing through performing technically high-risk moves such as aerials (where a surfer is able to use the energy of a wave to launch themselves free of it together with their surfboard, and to land back down onto the water and continue on) and 360's (the surfer and surfboard rotate on a wave 360 degrees before continuing on), which were previously only performed in the domain of free surfing (as opposed to competitively). He was also responsible for the invention of several surfing maneuvers such as the “rock-n-roll" (the same as performed on a skateboard). From his success as a world champion, he led the call for a new form of competitive surfing; a judging format based on "risky surfing" - i.e. higher scoring being given to bigger and more critical maneuvering - which eventually became an accepted standard on what is now known as the World Championship Tour (WCT). Pottz is a commentator for the WSL world tour.

Martin "Pottz" Potter (born October 28, 1965 in Blyth, Northumberland, England), is a former professional surfer.