On Wednesday November 30, Marto marks 21 years on 104.5 Triple M brekkie. It’s a big moment for the former Wallaby, famed tradie, renowned rescuer, part-time cabbie and all ‘round top bloke. With nine caps for the Wallabies and 65 matches for his beloved Queensland Reds, Marto has battle scars most of us only dream about; and his footy career was just the beginning.

Marto tells of how he started in breakfast radio – and in typical fashion, it wasn’t planned.

“Twenty one years ago, my mate Dean Miller was Triple M brekkie host with Sammy Power, and I was doing a renovation for him. Every day after work we’d have a few cold beers together and tell stories; and Dean would regale listeners with them the next day,” he said. 

“Back then I was a Triple J listener so I had no idea.

“One day Dean’s boss Jimmy Johnson asked who this ‘mate’ was he kept building up on air, and to bring him on the show. The next thing, I was doing the sports reports for Triple M brekkie – I was already doing Fox Sports. Then Sammy left the show early that November, and I was asked to come on, and haven’t left. That’s how I got into radio – by renovating a mate’s house.”

While he doesn’t like to talk about himself much, Marto said one thing he’s most proud of is the charity rugby game he led in Brisbane, after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. It was an event that raised half a million dollars for the Red Cross Appeal. 

Recently, Marto sat down and recorded a four-part podcast – sharing never told on-air before stories, including his life-threatening cancer battle, his dumping from the Wallabies and how it impacted his relationship with David Campese, when he lost 10 million bucks, and how Jamie Dunn thought he was the cleaner at the radio station and refused to speak to him!

To commemorate his milestone, Brisbane’s Revel Brewing Co has even brewed a limited edition Celebratory Session Ale in his honour – could it be any more perfect? Probably only if it were being sipped on the beach on his beloved Moreton Island! 

Marto’s 21st Anniversary podcast, like the breakfast show, is often hilarious, sometimes painful, and always authentic. All four episodes can be heard here and on LiSTNR here Triple M Breakfast with Marto & Margaux | LiSTNR.