Photos: Robert Trathen
Michelle Martin will never forget the first time she saw her face in a magazine. Included in a story about her Shortland Street star son Zak, a little picture of her was popped on the page – so, of course, to the ladies in the office at work, she was famous.
“Wonder what they’ll think now!” she laughs.
Posing for photos for the Weekly is as far removed from normality as it gets for Michelle, 53, – who works as a business manager for a big consumer goods company. But it’s nothing less than she deserves, say her adoring sons Zak, 25, and Jake, 21. To them, she’s better than any cover star could ever be.
“She’s supermum, really,” nods Jake. “She’s our absolute rock.”
Adds Zak, “It hasn’t been smooth sailing, especially when we were kids. But we look back on those rocky times and realise what she did to get us through them, and it makes us so much stronger now.”
Growing up without their father in the picture, it was just Michelle, Zak and Jake, or, as Michelle calls them, The Three Musketeers. Money was tight, but single mum Michelle made sure the boys had what they needed. It’s only now the boys are adults that they fully understand how many sacrifices their mum made for them to flourish.
And thrive they have. The close-knit duo collaborate on their podcast The Martin Show, as well as following their individual dreams in the entertainment industry and pursuing their shared love of boxing. The lads have made it – and it’s a thought that fills Michelle with pride.
“Although they’re still eating me out of house and home!” she grins. “No, they’re fantastic boys. They’re very protective of me and text me every day.
“It’s always been easy to show love to these two because they give it back to me in so many ways. They’ve become great young men and it hasn’t just been me – we have a beautiful family who have helped raise them and are so proud of how they’ve turned out, because it could have been a different story.
“We do lots together and we’re quite tight. It’s quite beautiful and I’m very lucky,” she adds.
The trio still live together – an arrangement they all love.
“We’re more like flatmates now,” says Michelle. “No, that’s rubbish. I’m still paying for lots of stuff!”
Michelle still does most of the household cleaning – after all, there’s a difference between “clean” and “mum clean”, but that’s okay because the boys pull their weight in other ways.
Michelle is also, for the first time in a long time, enjoying the freedom that comes with having kids who can look after themselves.
“I have a bit more disposable income now,” she shares. “I can go and get my hair done or a manicure, or whatever, and I never used to be able to do that because I needed to make sure the boys had what they needed.
“And we eat a lot nicer food now! We always had food on the table when we were struggling, but it wasn’t anything flash. Now we’re enjoying it.”
For the boys, their world revolves around their mum – and now they’re beginning to taste success themselves, their biggest goal is to repay Michelle for her selflessness.
“For me and Zak, that’s our ultimate – we don’t even need to talk about it,” says Jake. “We know that’s what we want to do – to repay her for what she’s gone through. You have your reasons for doing things, right? Well, this is ours. It’s a big motivating factor.”
With Zak and Jake’s recent discussion on the podcast revolving around life’s vulnerabilities – they’ve even had Michelle herself on – their current theme of talking about their personal experiences has spilled over into real life, with all the Martins taking more time to chat about the big stuff.
“We talk about masculinity, the importance of mentorship and using pain to create magic, that kind of stuff,” explains Zak. He has just joined mental health charity I Am Hope as an ambassador. “It’s been good to let it out because you don’t talk about stuff like that every day.”
Adds Michelle, “We’re trying to focus on the good stuff at home. There’s a lot of negative in the world and we’ve been trying to just be appreciative of what we have. It’s about being content with who you are and what you’ve got around you.”
And as for a potential fourth person to join their little whānau? Well, says Michelle, she’s prepared her sons pretty well.
“I’ve tried to train them the best I can!” she laughs. “That’s going to be hard, but hopefully it’ll be great – I’m sure it will be! We’re very tight, but we welcome anyone into our home!”
Listen to the podcast, The Martin Show now on Spotify.
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