Newmarket runner Martin’s a star turn with 6.7k viewers

A Newmarket runner who planned to compete in the London Marathon dressed as a star has instead become the star of his own live show on Facebook.

Martin Gear, 37, who runs mobile disco business Geared Entertainment as a sideline to his job as a heathman, was working out in his garage/gym when the battery on his small speaker died.

“I thought I’d set up the disco and then I decided to go live on Facebook on Sunday morning. I called it ‘Wake Up Shake Up’ and it went crazy,” said Martin.

As well as more than 300 people who watched it live, within 24 hours it had been viewed 6.7k times with hundreds of comments, shares and likes from as far afield as Australia.

“I’ve had comments from people who said they wanted it to become a regular thing. A family from Liverpool said they’d been dancing and singing round the house, and someone from Australia commented ‘Great work. We live in the outback and we’ve put it up on a big screen’.

“It’s absolutely brilliant that it’s a way to make people happy for a couple of hours when their lives have been turned upside down by the virus,” said Martin.

And he will continue to give a new meaning to the term ‘garage’ music on Sunday morning starting at 8.30am when his second show can be seen at facebook.com/martin.gear.1

This week, his children Toby, six, three-year-old Max and Olivia who is nearly one, will also take part and Martin will be taking requests for people’s favourite songs.

The coronavirus precautions have meant all Martin’s disco bookings, including wedding receptions, birthdays, children’s parties and his regular monthly booking at Unique nightclub have all been cancelled.

He is also the children’s entertainer for 12 local schools but doesn’t expect to be back in action in the classroom until September.

On the running front, Martin was building up his training ahead of the 40th London Marathon which has now been put back six months to October 4 when he will don his star costume to raise money for the Make-A-Wish charity which grants life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. Last year he made £3,600 for Children With Cancer UK when he ran dressed as a bell.

He will also be aiming to break the current Guinness Book of Records’ time for an adult man running as a star which stands at 4hours 5minutes.