I knew him from SEO land - we met in London in 2002. My favorite thing about Martin is that he would call (always on the phone, never by email) out of the blue with completely random requests. The last one I got from him, two weeks before he died, was to run a Hitwise report on some random website. Because it was Martin, you never asked why, but he was already ready to return the favor in any way he could.

I remember when Shak told me that he died. It was a sad day indeed.

Makes me wonder how many other people there are like this living incredible lives fit for a movie. And here I am staring at excel.

Martin and I crossed paths a few times, at first jousting and later as friends. He was truly a character.

Someday I'll tell the story of how one of his unwelcome SEO explorations led to us setting a creative snare. But that story will keep for a few more years.