On the mic with Mike

When most 19-year-olds are mundanely going through classes and spending their free time trying to figure out how to score beer, Mike Martinez is spending 12 to 15 hours a days working two jobs—not because he has to, but because he wants to. A typical college-age career may involve an apron and a matching pair of tongs. Mike, however, is a little more high-tech. Job No. 1 is engineering for a television station. This means being Mr. Fix-it at odd times, on top of full-time hours. Job No. 2 is co-owning PM Productions, a local media production company. All this responsibility doesn’t overwhelm Mike; he thrives on it.

What do you like most about working at KHSL/KNVN?

I like the element that there’s always problems that need to be fixed all day long. It’s good for me because I love to keep my mind going the whole time.

Why do you choose to do two jobs instead of concentrating on just one?

PM Productions is a whole other side of my life, and it’s well worth my time to do both because it fills in all of the gaps that I don’t get at Channel 12. I get to edit video, go shoot video and be out interacting in public. My ideal job would be all that merged together, but there is no job that is that.

Do you think you’ll ever go to college?

Yeah, but school just isn’t my thing right now. I’m not going to say I’m never going to college because I’m completely open to learning.

Where do you see yourself in 20 years?

Retired?! No, I do see myself moving to a larger city, doing what I do here, but on a bigger scale.

Do you ever have a day where you just want to lie by the pool and do nothing?

No, I don’t have those days. As nice as that sounds, it’s just not me. To me just sitting is death.