Mike Martin is no different from anyone else and will tell you we’re all capable of inventing simply because we all have unique perspectives. What separates him, as many of his colleagues will attest, is his drive and perseverance. Martin is an inventor of unique, innovative products. Many would state, “Why didn’t I think of that?” From The Heavyweight scrub brush, his initial creation that challenges everything you know about cleaning, to his latest, the ‘Coolin Curve’, which takes the struggle out of chilling your favorite beverage. Mike’s advice is simple, just go do it.

In fact, for the last four years, Martin has been doing just that. He was starting up Miss Emma’s Retreat, which takes those struggling with cancer sailing in Galveston Bay with relatively no sailing experience to having his latest invention on shelves within two years. The mission statement of Mike Martin Designs sums up his life journey which is, to develop and deliver quality products that Work, Last, and Make a Difference.

Miss Emma’s Retreat

Martin, who had witnessed firsthand how mysterious God works, knew exactly what he would do when his three-week-old granddaughter was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, cancer of the soft tissue cells. He would take those struggling with cancer sailing in Galveston Bay. But, why sailing, why now? Fate! He had just met a 22-year-old Baylor graduated, baseball playing, silver medalist/sailing instructor in rehab. “I knew the night I learned Emma was diagnosed why I met Lawrence. We were going to take those struggling with cancer sailing in Galveston Bay free of charge.” Never mind that Martin had only sailed once 20 years earlier, didn’t own a boat, didn’t have the money, and yet the next day in art class, he created his vision board (see image). Today, four years later, he has shared his sailing experience with hundreds of people, free of charge. When Martin is not out sailing with families in the struggle, he donates that same expertise to local charities to help in their fundraising efforts.

Overcoming huge hurdles,
how the Coolin Curve came to be.

Martin will also tell you his latest invention; the curved bottom wine bucket was a gift from God, the universe, or whatever you want to call it. He was sitting at a bar with his Dad when he noticed the bartender struggling to get a wine bottle into a bucket of ice. Within seconds of observing this, Mike put pen to paper (napkin) and designed the first curved bottom wine bucket. At this pivotal moment, the Coolin Curve was born, and Martin knew how he would fund Miss Emma’s Retreat. True to form, he began building a prototype to prove his concept, and within a year, he had finished product, acquired patent pending status, and his first container of Coolin Curves landed in his hometown of Houston, TX.