Ken Martinez

Ken was born with Spina-bifida which meant, at that time, he would not live over six weeks. Now doctors say that it is because of God that he is alive today, and is, without doubt the oldest person living with his severity of spina bifida. It has not been an easy life for Ken.

Ken’s a gifted musician and composer – playing piano and many other instruments. In college and then, later in life, Ken formed his own musical ministry. He has also produced several concerts with the price of admission being canned foods and donations, for shelters.

Ken has worked in many restaurants as a chef. He’s written articles for food magazines. When Ken went on disability, boredom sent him back to school, earning him two PhD degrees in Nutrition and in Nutritional Anthropology. Because of his personal “taste” for foods, he sometimes has a little trouble enjoying foods prepared by others – even in restaurants.

High school saw his writing call as a poet. Although Rod McKuen was the Pop poet of the time, Ken tended to read and relate to the Beat poets and the folk music of the coffee houses and the clubs on in SF’s North Beach’s Purple Onion and the Hungry I and, the NYC Greenich’s Bleeker Street and on MacDougal street in the Village, too, like the Gaslight, Cafe Wha?, Gerde’s Folk City, the Bitter End like Phil Ochs, Fred Neil, and Rambling Jack Elliot, the Mugwugs with John Sebastian and Cass Elliot, and, of course, Bobby Dylan and again, the beat poets like Allen Ginsberg and Ferlinghetti. Ken began reading and singing in the Berkeley coffee houses, passing the hat.

While in college, he was on the University’s newspaper staff, writing his own satirical column, causing a stir in the conservative Nazarene University while getting results for the students.

He has traveled around the world in 32 countries.

Ken has a great sense of humor and can be VERY funny and entertaining.

A devote Christian, Ken’s life motto has been “I never fail – I just find limits.”