Luke Marks is turning heads in the local and national arenas. At the tender age of five, he is recognized as an incredibly talented winner.

The name, Luke Marks, is not yet as recognizable as Tiger Woods or Mark Spitz. But in the world of athletics, five-year-old Luke is beginning to generate quite a buzz. The tiny champ is turning heads in, not just one, but three fields - swimming, surfing and motocross. To those in the know, he is definitely one to watch.

Luke started swimming at the age of two. By age three he already was competing on the Lighthouse Point Yacht Club Summer league swin team. In his first year of competition, he was undefeated and finished first in the league championships for his age group. The following year he again finished first in his age group, but also competed against six-year-olds and placed second in their league championships.

His acheivements quickly caught the eye of Broward Aquatics/USA Swimming (training home of Olympic gold medalist Brooke Bennett) and he was invited to swim with the organziation. This past December, Luke placed second in the butterfly and his time ranked him among the top six in the state.

Despite his swimming achievements, Luke's true passion, and first love, is surfing. Luke's father, Darren, is a recreational surfer of 20 years. His mother, Sarah, also surfs. Luke started surfing at age three and by age four had his own surfboard.

	Surfing on the Hillsboro Inlet, little Luke makes a big splash in the sports world. He is headed for great success.

"My son's got uncanny natural talent," says Darren proudly. "He has an instinctive way of reading the water. He's fearless out there in waves that are two times over his head."

Even those in the surfing industry acknowledge Luke's skills. He was recently mentioned in Eastern Surfing Magazine as one of the hot young groms to follow in Florida. (Grom is a slang word for a surfer under 18). "One of the neat things for me as a Dad is to see how other surfers react to him," says Darren. "He gets a lot of hooting and hollering and it's common to see other surfers on shore watching him surf, instead of surfing themselves."

Luke is also leaving his mark on land. He has been racing motocross at Pepsi Air Dania since he was four. He rides for a sponsored race team out of Stuart and consistently places in the top eight of every race he enters against six-year-olds.

	Luke Marks stands before a few of his many trophies. He is having a lot of fun while winning a lot of awards.

Sponsorship offers already are rolling in. "While exciting, we are terrified to hurt him in any way. We want to keep his innocence as long as possible and keep him grounded," says Darren. "This is all new to my wife and I, but we are blessed to have two very special people who have taken Luke under their wing and are guiding us through the increasing attention." The first is Randy Skinner, owner of Surfworld in Pompano Beach. Skinner and Surfworld have a reputation of working with families and young children. He has taken a special interest in Luke and is advising the Marks' through Luke's growing popularity, helping them pick out he right sponsors. One sponsor, Himaya, a European company that makes waterproof sun protection, just released a poster featuring Luke surfing that will be sent to all the local surf and water shops. The Marks' other mentor is Larry Bloomberg, a coach for Broward Aquatics who has been Luke's swimming coach since age two. He is a New Jersey state record holder, a former professional tri-athlete and has coached several world record holders. "'I can't tell you what Randy and Larry have meant to our lives," says Darren. "They have really gone out of their way to support, guide and nurture Luke. We are very grateful to know them. This whole thing has just been a lot of fun. Believe it or not, Luke really is just your typical five-year-old. He doesn't brag, he's a great student. If you met him you'd never know he had such talent and affinity for sports. He's a very normal kid when he's not competing."

Luke attends North Broward/Lighthouse Point Academy and this past January, won the "Good Citizen Award" for the second time in three months. The award is given to select students for exceptional behavior, academic excellence and helping others.

Remember the name Luke Marks. You will undoubtedly hear it again.