May 24, 2017
Episode 38: It was the first time Matt had ever been invited to the X Games alongside fourteen other fortunate riders in the 2014 Shanghai, China competition. Nervous and only 19 at the time, he didn’t do so great on his first run in the contest. With some time in between before his second attempt he pictured his dream run and when the bell rang he was confident. He knew he had been working for this moment all his life. He placed 1st and won gold medal. Raised in Woburn, MA, he would ride his bike to school every morning and hit up local spots along the way, frequently marked late because of this. With a bit of convincing and setting a timeframe, his parents allowed him to leave high school in 10th grade. He got his GED and promised them if he didn’t have it figured out by 20 he would go back to school. Every move Matt has made has been calculated and strategic. He got a job at a local BMX shop, which he knew would help him pay for flights, meet people within the industry and would ultimately give him a list of contacts to hit up when the time was right. His boss at the time Ronnie Booner, told him if he started riding Subrosa and Shadow Conspiracy parts, he’d do his best to get him into major contests. Having confidence in Ronnie’s word Matt tossed his old bike and built a new one. He participated in ‘Simple Sessions’ the biggest competition in Europe, flew out to Arizona to film with the legendary filmer Bobby Kanode, traveled to every stop on Subrosa’s team New England tour and was genuine in the relationships he was building. With time he slowly worked his way from the Flow Team, to the Skeleton Crew, to finally being a Pro rider for both Subrosa Brand and Shadow Conspiracy. Riding has given Matt confidence not only in the competitions he has won or the tricks he’s been able to land, but also in himself as a person and any situation he is faced with. In this episode he elaborates on how riding is a 50/50 game of both mental and physical health, how his signature handlebars ‘Ray Bars’ came to life, how not having a lot as a kid taught him to work hard for what he wanted, living without regret especially if you enjoyed it in the moment, never dreaming too big as long as there is a plan to make it happen, making an impact on the kids that look up to him, throwing himself off rooftops doing incredible tricks and traveling the world just from riding his bike. — Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for new interviews (and more) weekly: http://bit.ly/2zprpon Follow us on Soundcloud: http://bit.ly/2hcSBws Subscribe to iTunes: http://apple.co/2yE0u9l Follow us on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2j82AHF Follow Bobbbaaaay on social media: Instagram: http://bit.ly/2Ap24ce Twitter: http://bit.ly/2hj6Ljm