Shondra Martin

Tell us about you! How did you get into sport? Where are you from? What is your story?
My name is Shondra Martin. I was born and raised in beautiful Squamish, British Columbia. Growing up, you could find me on the soccer field 7 days a week, or running in circles around a track or along forested trails. After high school I decided to branch out a bit and became a full on adventure addict. I fell in love with the feeling of summiting mountains, jumping in alpine lakes, and exploring places I’d never seen before. I also found a passion for rock climbing, slacklining, mountain biking, surfing, and skiing before a knee injury in May 2020 completely upended my life, followed by two more incapacitating injuries to my knees. I'm still on the recovery train, and beyond excited to return to sport.

What is a fun fact about you or something not many people know about you?
Before my knee injuries, I was learning to ride the unicycle and getting half decent at it.

What has been your biggest struggle throughout your career? How have you dealt with or overcome that?
Injuries have always been my biggest struggle. My first instinct is to always push through it, which may have worked for a few light ankle sprains from my soccer days, but trying to push through torn ligaments and damaged tendons is a different story. It's been a huge learning curve to slow down, put the time and work into healing and recovering, which in the long run means I can get back to sport faster and stronger.

Injury is a part of life, and sport - how did you deal with yours?
Getting taken out of sport due to injury is soul crushing. I try to keep focusing on the future and on recovery. Giving myself a recovery routine helps me stay motivated and on track. I also try to reframe my mindset to see this time away from sport as an opportunity to learn something new or pursue something I wouldn't normally make the time for. I've learned a lot about Astrophysics and Cosmology, and I want to dive into some neuroscience topics next.

What’s your favourite pre/post sweat snack? Your must have treat?
Smoothies. Always smoothies. And after those bigger days, a giant veggie burger.

Do you have any pre-competition rituals?
I have a pump up playlist that gets me fired up and in the zone.

What gets you most excited about being a part of the Stoko Ambassador program?
I love my K1! Having both my knees protected without sacrificing range of motion or comfort is amazing. I'm so excited to be supported by Stoko throughout my recovery and into the future of all my goals I have across different sports. I'm also so excited to be an ambassador alongside so many incredible and inspiring athletes!

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Career Highlights!?
Two Himalayan mountaineering summits above 6000m: Lobuche East, Nepal (6119m), and Island Peak, Nepal (6189m). I trekked the Chilkoot Trail from Alaska to Yukon following the path the gold miners took during the Klondike gold rush, going over the most dangerous and treacherous pass the from Skagway, USA to Lake Bennet, Canada. It was such a unique, challenging, and amazing experience! I also spent 5 days circumnavigating Ausangate in the Peruvian Andes, and hikes rim to rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona.