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Born across the pond in 1981, Matt moved to England in the summer of 1994. Always filled with a passion for water sports and other such activities, Matt thinks nothing of throwing himself off a cliff paragliding, or surfing waves in Hawaii (just don’t get him to do any sort of bungee jump / skydive!) and is always up for a new challenge!
He moved to Brighton six years ago, where he met his now-wife, Rebecca and her best friend Robyn Tainty. This is where Matt first learned of Cystic Fibrosis and of the severe lack of awareness of organ donation and what it really means for people who have to deal with suffering of a long term illness.
Robyn worked hard in her education, picking up a CF Academic Achievers award at the 2006 Breathing Life Awards. In July 2007, she was the face of National Transplant Week and, having battled her whole life against this debilitating lung disease, Robyn went on to receive a posthumous Masters degree from the University of Sussex in January 2008. Robyn passed away in September 2007 after two years of waiting for a double lung transplant at just 23 years old.
When you’re confronted by something affecting someone you care about, it causes you to think of what you can do to help make a difference. This is where Matt first established contact with the LLTGL team, supporting us at events he’s organised, through other various forms of promotion and by helping out at the Laughter for Life gig a few years ago.
Matt’s always had a penchant for pushing himself and sinking his teeth into any project he embarks on. Setting up his own marketing, sponsorship and sales company in 2005, he’s organised various events (including RobFest 2008 in memory of Robyn), launched magazines and worked on marketing campaigns for international exhibition organisers as well as being a coach at the Horsham Junior Baseball Club.
He’s going to bring a wide variety of these skills to the LLTGL team. |
