A young entrepreneur’s struggle: Martin Stone’s story.

When Red Bull (yes, the famous brand Red Bull), approaches you to promote their product, the pressure would be immense, no? A massive, huge, ridiculous brand asking YOU topromote THEIR product. However, there is one PR director that does not shy away from such hard work. Meet Martin Stone, entrepreneur, business director and innovator. “Of course, why wouldn’t we?”, is his response to every challenge presented to his PR company, ‘TANK’. The proof is in the pudding as ‘TANK’s’ assistance led to Red Bull receiving over 100 pieces of coverage over print and broadcast media. It is just one of Stone’s clients to receive “unprecedented results,” he says.

As I sit down with Martin in a quaint restaurant, just off Nottingham’s Northampton Square, it is hard not to notice his love of snappy dressing and good time-keeping. I have arrived half hour early. However, Martin arrives only a few minutes after me. I can see the inner journalist in him, shining through. “It has always been important for me to keep everything in order, put one hundred percent effort in and not to let people down,” he says. Graduating with a degree in English Literature, from Nottingham Trent, in 2005, Martin always had high aspirations. “Whilst my grades weren’t the best, they were always my best,” he explains as he tucks into his Caesar salad. He explains how he was always “creative”, but never knew what he wanted to do in life. “I would drift, just delaying time before my degree ended.”

However, when Martin scored a gig doing work experience at the BBC, he felt like he finally had some direction in his life. He started by presenting traffic updates and thought it was “the best job in the world”. However, early mornings and endless work for little pay would prove difficult for Martin. “Shifts started at five in the morning and I lived an hour away so had to get up at three every morning,” (exhausting, right?). Martin says he wanted to “branch out”, so he further became a freelance Journalist. Despite the competitive job market, he was determined to succeed, his most chilling experience as a journalist being when he had to visit the village where Madeleine McCann disappeared, to ask locals questions. “It was so hard to create a balance between being sensitive to the ongoing situation, but still get some sort of scoop for my writing.” Martin pauses for a minute, as I can see how this part of his career has impacted him. “People would shout at me, cry on me, telling me their stories. It was heart breaking.”

I wondered if this was one of the reasons that Martin moved to marketing. However, Martin insisted that “it was by a complete fluke” that he found himself in the ever-enticing industry of PR. By chance Martin was offered a job, by an old friend of his, who was looking for ex-journalists to join his PR company. I wondered how someone found it so easy to stumble into other jobs with such ease! This is where Martin’s PR career started as he focused on digital marketing for many corporations. Despite this, restless and wanting adventure, the company was “more corporate than creative”, for Martin’s liking. “I believe PR needs to be creative and needs to be dynamic.” Martin left with his fellow colleague ‘Trevor’ and set out on their adventure to create their own “stamp on the industry”. TANK was born.

So how did Martin; the English Literature student, the radio freelancer, the determined journalist, do it? Determination. That is the word that keeps getting thrown across the table. “Determination, Determination. Determination,” Martin repeats. He says how they had an office that “only fit two desks” at the start of their journey. Now, seven years later, with an office in central Nottingham and 22 staff members, you could say that Martin’s “determination” paid off. As a PR agency, TANK provides campaigns, social media management, digital PR and much more for their clients. “We take businesses who are either struggling or just starting out and create a story for them. We help brand them, so consumers know who they are, what their company represents.” While big brands such as ‘Holiday Inn’ trust ‘TANK’ with their ‘image’, Martin stresses the importance of the “underdogs”. “It is so satisfying to see a company grow from the ground. A sense of pride. That you helped them.” Martin’s jobs does seem fulfilling.

A man that was once lost, confused about where he wanted his life to go. He now sits here and tells me he has the “most rewarding job in the world”. I feel like I have got to know Martin personally, as his polite, hard driven personality has presented itself throughout our time together.

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When asked whether he has any advice for those who are currently in the dark about what they want to do, Martin remains cool. “Be calm. Be patient. You will find a career you enjoy. The work you put in, you will get out.”