Trained Human

As a child growing up in Madison WI, a peaceful Midwestern enclave, Matt’s capacity for mind-numbing repetition was clearly evident at a young age, as he would spend hours engaged in constructive, enriching activities such as throwing a ball against the side of the house. Mom’s cries of ‘Matthew, would you stop that thumping’ fell on deaf ears, but her anguish was relieved when her young son happened upon the classic volume on the art of throwing and catching, Juggling for the Complete Klutz. Fueled with a boundless energy that today might be diagnosed as ADHD, and equipped by a very generous Santa Claus, he threw himself whole-heartedly into this odd pursuit.

As a student at Madison’s West High School, he banded together with other juggling oddballs to form the oh-so-creatively-named West High Jugglers. Their first show, at the school’s Fine Arts Week, went better than any of the neophyte performers could have imagined, earning them a standing ovation and setting the course for Matt’s future.

At his parents’ urging, Matt went on to college, and although he enjoyed his studies and graduated with honors with a B.A. in linguistics, juggling remained his true passion, reflected in the dozens of hours a week he spent honing his craft. During this time he continued to perform, refining his skills at central Wisconsin’s finest church basements and Cub Scout jamborees.

After graduation, Matt moved to New York City to try his hand as a starving artist, and succeeded remarkably in that endeavor. He cut his teeth busking on the streets of Manhattan, and proved a quick learner, as the vocal citizens of that great city were never afraid to tell him (often loudly and graphically) when he failed to entertain.

On a sunny morning in the spring of 1996 he received an agent’s call asking if he would consider moving to Orlando, and what was supposed to be an eleven-week gig at Disney World’s Backlot Theatre evolved into a six-year engagement. Matt’s stage skills were honed further by the thousands (yes, thousands) of shows he performed during this time.

He continued to expand his technical repertoire as well and as his skills progressed he set his eye on competition. A bronze-medal finish at the 1997 IJA World Juggling Championships spurred him on further, and his hard work was rewarded in 2001 when he bested dozens of other world-class competitors to win a World Juggling Championship.

Since then, Matt’s unique brand of charm and skill has kept him in demand around the world, from corporate boardrooms to the high seas, from night clubs to symphony orchestras, from Orlando to New York to Hong Kong to London to Tokyo and back again.