184 – Translating Action Sports – Martina Russo

We had the greatest time talking to Martina Russo. She is an Italian marketing translation specialist with over a decade in the business, now CEO of two translation agencies serving two widely different niches, one that specializes in SEO content and product localization for SaaS, and one that works exclusively with action sports brands. In her spare time, you’ll most likely find her rock climbing, snowboarding or rescuing cats. As matter of fact, she did this interview from a ski resort in Greece, how cool is that?

She told us she lived all over the world (Southeast Asia, South America, you name it!) and a couple of years ago she took up rock climbing and now she’s always chasing the best seasons for rock climbing, snowboard, kite surf, surf. Well, the hotspot for that right now is Greece and there she is, working full time for her clients from a tiny house on wheels, with her laptop, her partner and her pets.

She began specializing in action sports after finding some awful translations on the Italian website of a major climbing brand. For an adventurer like her (and many others who love action sports like she does), it was a shock to realize that a bad translation could cost lives. So, she thought, “maybe I can do something about it”.

Now she works with some of the world’s biggest outdoor brands on marketing materials, websites, ad campaigns, and apps. She works with a core team of linguists across many languages, but of course, it’s not easy for her to find the right people for this kind of content. The key is that Martina and her group of collaborators are not only professional translators, but also core customers for these brands. And that is why 99% of the clients come to her: they usually had a bad experience with other translation providers.

She shared lots of insight and experiences regarding marketing our services in social media, on how to be “prepared for a rainy day”, building resilience and the struggles that we might face at the beginning of our freelance journey.

If you feel like going hiking, climbing, or just walking a couple of blocks to stretch your legs, take your headphones with you and listen to this inspiring interview!