"There is far too much focus on health and safety in this world these days and there's virtually nothing dangerous left to do except road racing," Martin told the large crowd. "I love the challenge of pushing myself, knowing that even one slight mistake can kill me."
And it was almost a nudge too far in 2010 at the Isle of Man that very nearly claimed his life.
"I was going hammer and tong in a real battle at the front of the field when I made a pit stop to refuel and change the back tyre, When I got back out I was only about a 10th of a second behind the leader and pushing hard to cross the finish line first. On one corner I pushed a little too hard and lost my front wheel from under me. The bike and I slide at about 170mp/h (yes, miles per hour) toward a concrete wall. I was feet first, but luckily I didn't hit the wall at 90 degrees, it was more like 30 degrees and glanced off to slide another couple of hundred metres. I didn't lose consciousness, but twisted ankles, broke my back in a few places and collapsed lungs and I remember thinking, 'this is it, I'm going to die', knowing full well I had put myself in this position - it was nobody else's fault but mine."
He recovered and was back racing within eight weeks.
While Martin is a funny man, his strong Lincolnshire accent that even fellow Brits struggle to understand, endears him to audiences worldwide.
In fact, on Monday night he had the crowd belly laughing although many did not understand what he was saying.
Martin has been involved in documentaries for the past four years, but gave some insight into a new four-part series debuting in his homeland this weekend.
The series includes Martin's attempt to break the European land speed record on a pushbike and the world record speed on a snow sledge.
"They [producers] wanted me to break the European land speed record on a bike [95mp/h], but my plan was to beat the world record at 161mp/h. I managed over 100mp/h, breaking the European record, but I've got unfinished business to break the world record. I believe 200mp/h is doable."
Martin is no stranger to pedal power and has a long history racing mountain bikes in 24-hour endurance races. He has a podium finish in the Scottish championship to his credit.
His dad Ian Martin also appeared on Monday night and he, too, has a long history at the Isle of Man with 15 years racing on the circuit behind him.
"When I'm not racing or doing oddball documentaries, I work at my dad's garage as a truck mechanic. I get up at 5am every day and cycle 25 miles to work and can't wait to get there - I love it," Martin junior said.
Today Martin competes in the Formula 1 superbike class on a GSXR 1000 Suzuki loaned to him by Suzuki New Zealand and in the classic grade on a Manx Norton on loan from Napier's John Marsh.
Martin did not compete in the earlier F1 rounds at Hampton Downs and Manfield, so is not in the hunt for series honours, but he announced he already has his name on the coveted Robert Holden Memorial Trophy, traditionally the final F1 event on the programme.
