Just gutted to hear Martin had passed. He was a gentleman, a friend and a mentor. We keep his ESB going at Fleur du Mal as a recognition of his excellent taste, good breeding sense, and generous spirit.
Ot1 was one of the originals, a true hippy guerilla grower from the earliest times of domestic indoor cultivated cannabis. His modesty kept him from claiming his mantle among the pantheon of modern cannabis pioneers, but his place was deserved nonetheless.
His home was an original waypoint in the early 70s for many a traveler on the Hippy Trail to and from the U.S. and Europe to the cannabis growing regions of North Africa and East Asia. Through that he became acquainted with and received genetic gifts from any number of cannabis explorers, including Canadians and Americans who offered him some of the earliest versions of California Haze, Skunk and Blueberry.
I am lucky enough to have been the recipient of several of his crosses made with these genetics, and I can attest to their uniqueness and quality. People talk a lot about old-school varieties and the quality of pre-Dutch lines, but Ot1 is among the very very few who ever showed up with the real deal.
In addition, he was an early supporter and adviser to the creation of the first Overgrow.com, where he gave freely of his expertise in cultivation and breeding, producing tutorials and teks that are relevant to this day. In addition to the Bonzai Mother tek hosted here at OG and his numerous postings at his preferred local UK420.com, he created an archive site called Cannabase.com that preserves most of his 90’s era writings - I encourage anyone to check them out.
Godspeed you ole git, I will miss your gentle good soul. peace -b420