German rapper Marteria, who also records as Marsimoto, was born Marten Laciny on December 4, 1982, in Rostock, East Germany. He played soccer as a kid and teenager, and became a member of the FC Hansa Rostock's youth team. After his older brother introduced him to hip-hop acts such as Public Enemy and Run-D.M.C., Laciny began to rap in 1995, forming his first group, Warn Direct, and then adopting the Marteria pseudonym in 1997. In 1999 he moved to New York, where he was discovered by a model scout, and for a year he modeled for brands such as Diesel, Hugo Boss, and Valentino b...