Father-son similarities go beyond appearances for R-J contest winners

While no one has developed a way to foretell the future, sometimes a son can look at his father and know exactly what genetics has in store for him one day.

That’s what Mike Martin, 53, tells his son Greg, 30. Though the father’s eyes are brown and the son’s blue, the two of them share such similar features that it’s obvious they’re related.

“I tell him, ‘Hey, you can work out all you want, but you’re going to eventually end up looking like me,’ ” Mike Martin jokes.

The Martins were one of more than 50 entries in the Review-Journal’s father/son look-alike contest and, thanks to their genes, they’re the recipients of the $100 prize.

Many of the entries were of sons who had uncanny resemblances to their fathers. But a completely unscientific staff poll found that Greg and Mike Martin had the same nose, the same facial shape, near-identical smiles and chins. Enough similarities to push them to the top of the list.

Mike Martin didn’t always see the likeness, even though people have been telling him for years that Greg looks just like him. As a kid, Greg Martin had blond hair, fair skin and blue eyes. His father has a darker complexion.

“I always said, ‘No way in hell, he’s too damn good-looking to look like me,’ ” Mike Martin says.

After seeing the picture shown above, Dad had to rethink his opinion. It’s fitting, they both say, since their personalities are similar, too.

Father and son share some artistic ability, which Mike Martin channels into the custom paint and body shop he owns in Henderson. Greg Martin channels his artistic energy into carpentry around the house. They also share a similar outlook on the world, Greg Martin says, and an appreciation of hard work.

“He’s a good, hard-working, honest boy,” Mike Martin says of his son, a Henderson firefighter. “That’s the way I was raised and I just passed it on to him. Any dad would love to have him and one day, he’ll be a great dad.”

Pictured here and on Page 4-J are some other photos we received. You can see more online at www.lvrj.com/multimedia.