Early and personal life[edit]
The son of TT motorcycle racer Ian, aside from a summer living in Ireland, Martin has always lived in North Lincolnshire. He has two sisters and a brother, Stuart, who is also a truck mechanic and motorbike racer. His younger sister Kate was the first female mechanic in the BSB paddock before leaving to start a family with two-times TT sidecar winner, Patrick Farrance.
Educated at Kirmington Church of England Primary School and The Vale Academy school, which his best friend and mechanic Johnny Ellis also later attended, Martin attended North Lindsey College for a month before starting an apprenticeship as a truck fitter with John Hebb Volvo,[3] where he met Ellis. Martin then worked for his father at the local Scania garage. He currently works as a truck fitter for an independent firm in Grimsby, and lives in a village 20 miles (32 km) away which he cycles to and from daily.
Martin's main personal transport is a Ford Transit van. He bought a new 2010 Aston Martin V12 Vantage,[4] but sold it to buy what he claimed was the "fastest car in Great Britain", a highly modified 1967 Volvo Amazon. Martin also owns a large collection of bicycles and motorcycles, including a Bimota which he stored in his kitchen.
Martin also successfully races mountain bikes in cross country, downhill races and endurance races. He placed second at the Strathpuffer 24hr mountain bike race in both 2014 and 2015, and 10th at the Trans Hajar multi day race in Oman (Feb 2014).[citation needed]
After struggling to come to terms with the fame brought about by his media work, Martin was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome.[5]