Dustin Martin Weighs In On The Syd Vs Melb Debate And It’s Hard To Argue With An Arm That Stiff

Dustin Martin

Richmond Tigers star / Brownlow winner / 3 x Norm Smith medallist / Bonds ambassador Dustin Martin is obviously one of Melbourne’s most famous residents at the moment, which is why the latest campaign for the Aussie brand is centred around him exploring his ‘hood.

The new Bonds Explorer range, featuring cosy trackies, recycled polar fleece jumpers and of course, undies, has an accompanying ad that takes us through a day in the life of Dusty as he works out, goes grocery shopping and ~smoulders~ in a photo shoot.

“We had an awesome day shooting Bonds Explorer – it was cool hitting up my local spots,” Dusty tells PEDESTRIAN.TV. “Kicking off at St. Kilda Baths for an early morning swim, dropped into my local fruit & veg and barbershop for a tidy up and finished at Port Melbourne Shipyard to shoot the campaign.”

Dustin Martin
Dustin Martin sporting the new Bonds Explorer gear. Credit: Bonds

Off camera, Dusty says in terms of his downtime in Melbs, he “is pretty boring these days. I like to keep it simple” which to me means that, like the rest of us, he spends most of his spare moments with his (Bonds) trackies-clad butt parked on the sofa watching a dumb show on Netflix. He does say that if he was tasked with taking a newbie around Melbourne, he’d kick off with the must-do: brekkie.

“Start with finding a nice café for breakfast…we have such a good café culture in Melbourne. A walk around the Tan [Track, at the Kings Domain and Botanic Gardens] at some stage and more coffee. Then hit Flinders Lane for dinner — there’s some great restaurants down there. Give them tickets to watch the mighty Tiges at the ‘G. I’d also try to fit in a trip down to the Bay for a swim and sauna and more food and coffee.” Honestly, it sounds great. Where do I sign up for the Dustin Martin tour of Melbourne please?

As a national publication with plenty of readers in Sydney and Melbourne, we’ve gotta ask where he stands on the long-standing battle over which city is better. After all, during his high school years in the early 2000s he lived in Sydney with his dad, so he’s had a taste of both places. But, we are not shocked to learn Dustin Martin is a diplomat who refuses to pick a side. “I love both, but they are both so different so it’s hard to compare. Obviously, Sydney’s beaches are awesome, and the weather is better. Then Melbourne has awesome cafés and restaurants.” That’s not an answer, Dusty! CHOOSE YOUR FIGHTER!

Dustin Martin
Ok I forgive you Dusty. Credit: Bonds

Aside from hanging around Melbourne in his undies, Dustin Martin recently clocked up the impressive 250 AFL games milestone at just 29 years of age and attributes his hardiness to “looking after himself”. In fact, the Richmond Tigers superstar subtly dropped a bit of weight ahead of the 2021 AFL season — 3.5kg, in fact.

“I’ve just become more curious about the food we eat,” Dusty tells PEDESTRIAN.TV. “I’ve cut out some things in my diet which has made me lose a couple of kilos. I don’t think it’s really affected my game too much, maybe just a little easier to run around,” he laughs. “I’m sure later in the season it will help more.”

As someone currently doing a 10-week healthy eating challenge through my gym, I of course quiz Dusty about the magic weight loss fix. It’s all about eating cleaner, according to Dusty. “I’m always researching nutrition and finding little things along the way that help me live a cleaner lifestyle,” he says. But there’s hope for me yet, because he admits he does indulge, too. “That said, I still like to have a day or so where I eat whatever I want! Usually the day after a game, I’ll eat whatever… It’s good to have a balance!”

Okay, so I don’t run around a footy field for hours but Dustin Martin said I can have a cheat day, so I’m having the bloody cheat day. Thanks, Dusty.

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