What happens when a seven-year-old obsessed with paper airplanes grows up to win a reality TV show, start multiple businesses, and dedicate his life to bringing aviation to the next generation? That’s the remarkable journey of Martin Thompson, a name that pops up everywhere in the model aircraft community—and for good reason.
Recently, I had the chance to sit down with Martin for an in-depth conversation about his unconventional path from childhood tinkerer to entrepreneur to television personality, and ultimately to youth aviation advocate. His story is a testament to following your passion, even when the journey takes unexpected turns.
From Paper Airplanes to Radio Control
Martin’s love affair with aviation began in the most charming way possible. At just four or five years old, he was making airplanes out of A4 paper. But this wasn’t your typical childhood craft project—Martin was engineering solutions before he even understood what engineering was.
“I would sellotape A4 bits of paper together, and to give them their strength—like a rudimentary wing spar—I was using a green bamboo stick to hold them together,” Martin recalls. The next logical step? Motorising them, of course.
His mother took him to Addlestone Models to get a little brushed motor setup, which he promptly attached to his paper creations. His mum was understandably terrified that these contraptions would fly off and cause havoc—perhaps landing at Gatwick or Heathrow, as Martin jokes.
Christmas 2004 changed everything. His grandfather gifted him a basic radio-controlled aircraft from Argos—a single-channel plane where you could simply slide the throttle up to make the motor go. It was rudimentary by today’s standards, but for seven-year-old Martin, it was a gateway to a lifelong obsession.
The Entrepreneur Emerges at Age 10
Here’s where Martin’s story takes an entrepreneurial turn that most adults would find impressive, let alone coming from a ten-year-old. In the early days of eBay, Martin ordered 12 9g servos from China for about £20 and sold them at his local flying club for £3 each or two for a fiver.
When I asked how he even thought to do this, Martin admits he’s not entirely sure himself. “I actually purchased the servos with no intent. I don’t actually know why I purchased those servos looking back on it. Maybe it was a case of they were available, so I purchased them.”
But the business mindset kicked in when he brought them to show off at the club. He also had a habit of asking members who crashed their planes, “Can I have it?”—a question that once resulted in him having duct tape wrapped around his face. “The early 2000s was a different period,” he laughs. “It was a different time.”
Navigating School with Undiagnosed ADHD and Dyslexia
While Martin was thriving in the business world, traditional education was a different story. He struggled at school, changed schools multiple times, and dealt with undiagnosed ADHD and dyslexia—conditions that weren’t as well understood or accommodated 15-20 years ago.
“I just never felt I fitted in,” Martin explains. “Everyone liked football or sports, and I didn’t. I liked airplanes.”
The business became something to look forward to at the end of the day, a way to keep his mind off the challenges he faced in the classroom. “I’m not an academic person. I’m still not an academic person. I learn through doing things. I can’t read books. I’ve never read a book from start to end because it doesn’t hold my attention.”
At 13, Martin was actually out of school for a year—and that’s when the business really took off. After returning to finish his education, he did a week’s work experience with Surrey Wildlife Trust managing Chopham Common, where he’d always flown model airplanes.
“My whole job was filling up cattle troughs with a water bowser. And I loved it so much,” he says, the engineering theme from his childhood making a reappearance. When that week ended, he stayed on for another three unpaid years, all while running his model aircraft business in the background.
Turning Passion into Full-Time Business
By age 18, when his wildlife trust position ended due to redundancies, Martin had a car and what felt like unlimited freedom. He spent the next several years traveling the country nonstop, picking up collections of model aircraft.
“I look back on it now—as a 17, 18-year-old kid, someone’s family member’s just passed, and this 18-year-old kid turns up with his silver Vauxhall Corsa and just cramming airplanes in. I just loved it.”
His sales platform evolved from eBay (which proved challenging when selling secondhand goods to non-enthusiasts) to Facebook groups—this was before Facebook Marketplace even existed. The unofficial BMF (British Model Flying) Facebook groups became his primary marketplace, where fellow enthusiasts understood the terminology and requirements.
The Channel 4 Documentary That Changed Everything
At age 20, Martin was serving as membership secretary for the Chopham Model Flying Association when an email arrived that would alter his trajectory. Channel 4 was looking for participants in a documentary about model airplanes and the war.
“Yes, pick me, pick me!” was Martin’s immediate response.
The “Battle of Britain Model Squadron” documentary wasn’t just about being on television—it was about the 10-day journey and experience. “I thought, what else could I do? I’ve spent all my time up until this point playing with model airplanes. This was my world for my formative years. So all of a sudden having this television experience, I thought, what else could I do?”
Bangladesh: A Three-Month Volunteering Adventure
That question led Martin to sign up for a three-month volunteering placement in Bangladesh through VSO at age 21. He ended up in a really rural part of the country, staying in host homes—a stark contrast from his world of model aircraft.
It was his first time working in a group of people his own age, as the model flying community typically skews older. After landing and completing basic training, his group found themselves sitting on a roof doing nothing for three weeks.
“I got properly annoyed at this and sort of just effectively appointed myself supreme leader of the little group,” Martin admits with a laugh. “Let’s just do something. I don’t care if we make a mistake, but just let’s try.”
The placement focused on teaching people in the local community to run and set up their own businesses—something Martin was uniquely qualified to do. “For myself, being out there wasn’t so much about adding to my CV. I’ve got my own businesses. I don’t need a job. I’m not doing this to tick a box. I just wanted to do what I thought was right.”
Beauty and the Geek: An Unexpected Chapter
Fast forward to age 24, post-COVID, and Martin found himself at another crossroads. The pandemic had been a surreal, life-changing experience for everyone, and Martin thought, “I could catch COVID tomorrow and die.”
Having been surrounded by model aircraft flyers who were “fairly jaded on the concept of marriage and relationships,” Martin decided he needed to address that aspect of his life. But rather than downloading Tinder like most people his age, he took a characteristically unconventional approach: he applied for “Beauty and the Geek.”
“I thought the easiest way out was by doing a reality TV show. I thought I’d find a wife and get married off, and it would all be happily ever after,” he explains. (Whether that’s actually the easiest way is debatable, but it was certainly memorable.)
The show, which aired on Discovery Plus and later the Really Channel, pairs stereotypical “geeky” people with stereotypical “beautiful” people as a social experiment. Martin won the series—making him a reality TV show winner, something not many people can claim.
The Aftermath: Giving Up on Airplanes (Temporarily)
Winning came with perks: a month living in London, VIP treatment, chauffeurs, and of course, meeting someone on the show. But it also came with something Martin didn’t fully anticipate.
“I thought, I am sick of model airplanes. I am sick of them. So I got rid of the company, and I thought I don’t know what I’m going to do now, but it will never involve model airplanes ever, ever, ever again.”
The irony, of course, is palpable given where he is today.
The six months between filming and airing, during which he couldn’t tell anyone about the show, created immense pressure. “You’re just in your own head,” Martin explains. The experience was life-changing in ways both positive and challenging.
The Return: Finding Purpose Through Aviation Education
After stepping away from the business and watching his bank account decrease, Martin had a realization. “I didn’t really know what I had until I’d sort of given up on it all and got rid of it all.”
The highlight of his life to that point had been the Bangladesh journey—building, creating, and delivering businesses that helped others. He wanted to do the same thing, but with aviation.
“I took a hobby when I was seven years old to winning a national TV show, and all the other journeys that came in between. The amount of doors that opened—it all stemmed through model airplane flying. I just wanted to give people the same opportunities that I had.”
He briefly took a job with a UAV company flying surveys of oil rigs, which sounded interesting in theory but helped him realize he was “probably better off running my own businesses.”
The Mission: Bringing Aviation to Young People
Today, Martin Thompson is deeply involved in encouraging the next generation into the hobby. This is where our paths converge—we both share a passion for supporting young flyers and helping them discover the incredible world of radio-controlled aviation.
Martin’s journey from a neurodivergent kid who didn’t fit in at school to a successful entrepreneur and advocate proves something important: traditional education isn’t the only path to success. Sometimes, following your passion—even when it seems impractical—leads to the most fulfilling life.
His story also highlights how the skills we develop through hobbies can translate into real-world success. The engineering mindset from building paper airplanes, the business acumen from selling servos at age 10, the resilience from navigating school challenges, and the leadership from Bangladesh all combined to create someone uniquely positioned to inspire others.
Lessons from Martin’s Journey
- Start where you are: Martin began with paper and bamboo sticks, proving you don’t need expensive equipment to nurture an interest in aviation.
- Entrepreneurship can start young: Age is just a number when you see opportunities and have the courage to act on them.
- Different doesn’t mean less-than: ADHD and dyslexia made traditional school difficult, but Martin’s hands-on learning style led to business success.
- Take risks and try new things: From Bangladesh to reality TV, Martin’s willingness to step outside his comfort zone opened unexpected doors.
- Come full circle: Sometimes you need to step away from something to realize its true value in your life.
- Give back: Using your success to help others discover the same opportunities is the ultimate full-circle moment.
Why This Matters for the Hobby
The model aviation community needs people like Martin Thompson—individuals who remember what it was like to be the kid who didn’t fit in, who found belonging and purpose in this hobby, and who now dedicate time to ensuring the next generation has that same opportunity.
As the hobby faces challenges with an aging demographic, advocates who can connect with young people, understand their struggles, and show them the possibilities within aviation are invaluable. Martin’s unconventional path makes him relatable to young people who might not see themselves in traditional success stories.
His message is clear: it doesn’t matter if you struggle in school, if you’re neurodivergent, if you don’t fit the mold. What matters is finding something you’re passionate about and pursuing it relentlessly. For Martin, that paper airplane at age seven led to a life full of adventure, business success, and now, a mission to pay it forward.
And that’s a story worth sharing.
