Matt Matthews: The Hustle Behind The Humor

Summary

Dumb Blonde Podcast

Episode: Matt Matthews: The Hustle Behind The Humor
Date: September 29, 2025
Host: Bunnie XO
Guest: Matt Matthews

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Episode Overview

This emotional and riotously funny episode features comedian, photographer, and boudoir empire builder Matt Matthews, joining Bunnie XO for an unfiltered conversation. They dive deep into Matt’s tumultuous upbringing, long journey to healing, discovering comedy, building multiple careers from nothing, the power of chosen family, and what it really means to hustle hard in the spotlight. The duo shares wild stories, honest confessions, and a lot of laughs, giving listeners an intimate look at the real “hustle behind the humor.”

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. How They Met & First Impressions

[02:20-05:01]

• Bunnie recounts first learning about Matt when fans tagged him in her farm clip.
• Initial assumptions shattered; instant friendship ensued despite judging books by covers.
• Notable moment:
  • “I thought she was gonna be a twat...And then it goes to show you that you can't judge somebody, you know?...we just hit it off. Well.” – Matt [03:00]
• Shared aversion to attending award shows and red carpets—both feeling out of place in glam events.

2. Hilarious Rapid Fire & Real Talk on Relationships

[08:06-13:18]

• Rapid-fire questions bring out outrageous farm stories and candid sexual discussions.
• Matt describes life on the farm in a robe, the judgmental gaze of horses, and the “trauma” of messy farm animals.
• They riff about DM nightmares (“Straight men that are married...come to my shows with their wives and then DM me after”—Matt [09:22]) and the realities of open relationships and jealousy.
  • “Love is freedom, you know?...maybe that’s their way of not getting hurt too.” – Bunnie [10:40]

3. Growing Up: Trauma, Addiction, and Resilience

[14:03-34:40]

• Matt’s raw recount of his upbringing in government housing in Bessemer, Alabama, with an alcoholic mother and addicted siblings.
  • “I grew up in government housing with an alcoholic mom, and we lived in the projects...I was the only white gay kid in the neighborhood.” – Matt [14:24]
• The impact of losing both his biological mother and stepmother; navigating trauma and cutting off toxic family relationships.
• The humor and harsh realities of project life (e.g., mom throwing down with a teacher over a Cheeto-cigarette incident [30:02]), battling poverty, and Matt’s vow to never follow in those footsteps.
• “Hyper independence is a trauma response.” – Bunnie [34:37]
• Discusses ongoing anxiety over becoming poor again despite financial success, illustrating how old wounds linger.

4. Comedy as Survival: From Class Clown to Stage Star

[27:38-29:43 | 48:32-51:25]

• Matt’s humor was both a defense mechanism and the skill that set him apart.
• Confesses to always being the class clown:
  • “Best comedians out there are the ones that come from trauma.” – Bunnie [29:09]
• Stand-up wasn't planned:
  • “I’d never watched comedy. I’d never, you know, never watched stand up...The first show sold out in two minutes.” – Matt [49:39, 49:55]
  • Classic moment: Matt claims he just “got up there and started running my mouth” at his first show [50:19].
• Swift, organic rise as a touring comedian, culminating with a Live Nation deal and work with WME.

5. Building an Empire: Boudoir Photography to Social Media Stardom

[36:30-47:06]

• Chronicles how nursing school gave way to photography, starting at Walmart Portrait Studio, then wedding photographer, then viral boudoir sensation.
  • “I started photographing women and showing them how beautiful they were...people were like, I’ve never felt so beautiful.” – Matt [42:05]
• Creating viral “titty crusher” poses and correcting confidence issues, both for himself and clients.
• TikTok pivots: When boudoir content was banned, showed how he kept innovating—teaching selfies, showcasing farm life, and leveraging authenticity.

6. Navigating Online Fame and Public Misconceptions

[53:14-60:25]

• Discusses using roast-style, no-holds-barred comedy to unite people and encourage laughter about life’s unspoken issues.
  • “I make fun of everybody because I feel like we're in such a dark world...if we can't laugh about it, then what do we do?” – Matt [53:14]
• Addresses fake social media rumors (including fake divorces and AI scams) and the loneliness of industry success.
  • “The hardest part for me is being lonely...I will get really lonely.” – Matt [54:28]
• The perpetual pressure to always ‘be on’ for fans; both he and Bunnie relate to having introverted sides people don’t expect.

7. Music Aspirations, Jewels, and Yodeling

[64:10-78:22]

• Matt shares his lifelong love for music, influenced heavily by Jewel (including a vivid Jewel encounter and being invited to sing onstage with her).
  • “Jewel actually tells me she thinks that I should sing my songs on stage while I do my comedy…” – Matt [75:56]
• Sings/yodels live (to Bunnie’s delight: “My nipples got hard. I was turned on.” [77:48]), opening up about vulnerability in pursuing original music.
• Debates whether to mix serious music and comedy or “separate church and state.”

8. Reflection: Fame, Hustle, and Legacy

[83:38-86:24]

• Discusses the immense amount of behind-the-scenes work and financial risk in building and sustaining a career online.
  • “People think that, oh, you just blew up on the Internet....You don't realize just how much work we put into this.” – Matt [83:55]
• Emphasizes humility and grounding—choosing to still live in rural Alabama and not be changed by success.
• “Money doesn’t…money reveals character.” – Bunnie & Matt [85:57]
• Matt highlights the importance of chosen family, resilience, and staying authentic even in the public eye.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On First Impressions:
  “I thought she was gonna be a twat ... It goes to show you can’t judge somebody.” – Matt [03:00]
• On Sexual Openness:
  “I don't want to floss my teeth when I'm trying to suck on a tally wagon.” – Matt [04:27]
• On Life in the Projects:
  “We lived in the projects of Bessemer, Alabama … if you have never heard of Bessemer, all you got to do is watch the first 48, because we're on every episode.” – Matt [14:24]
• On Trauma’s Upside:
  “Best comedians out there are the ones that come from trauma.” – Bunnie [29:09]
• On Fame:
  “Everybody thinks that fame changes you...I always want to stay who I am.” – Matt [85:57]
• On Performing:
  “When I'm on stage, it's a part of who I am … but it’s just a part of who I am. I am performing.” – Matt [61:21]
• Yodeling Triumph:
  “I've never done that [yodel] for anybody.” – Matt [72:41]

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Key Timestamps

| Timestamp | Topic Summary | | ------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 02:20-05:01 | Meeting, first impressions, and quick friendship | | 08:06-13:18 | Rapid-fire Q&A: farm stories, DM confessions, and relationship dynamics | | 14:03-34:40 | Deep dive: Matt’s upbringing, family addiction, surviving trauma | | 36:30-47:06 | Boudoir photography journey and TikTok evolution | | 48:32-51:25 | Stand-up comedy beginnings, first sold-out shows | | 53:14-60:25 | Fame’s impact: public pressure, loneliness, Internet rumors | | 64:10-78:22 | Musical dreams, singing with Jewel, live yodeling, discussing authenticity | | 83:38-86:24 | What people don’t see: the work and cost of building and maintaining an empire |

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Final Words

The episode beautifully blends gut-busting humor with heartfelt reflection, as Matt Matthews shares the gritty, often painful, and ultimately empowering truths behind his journey from Alabama’s project housing to viral stardom and live stages. Both he and Bunnie share a deep understanding of struggle, survival, and the power of using laughter as both shield and gift. Touching on addiction, chosen family, creative reinvention, and staying grounded amid fame, it’s a must-listen for anyone who values authenticity—and good, healing belly laughs.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Yes Matt. Period.

[A]

I am so happy you're here.

[B]

I'm so happy to be here. I'm so happy.

[A]

It's crazy because I didn't really even know who you were until we posted the clip of me cleaning the frickin stalls out at the barn or at the at the farm and everybody's tagging Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt. Matt needs you need to meet Matt. You need to do this. And I'm like, who is Matt? So I go over to your page, and I'm. I. It was. We had two different reactions when I saw you. I was like, oh, my God, I'm gonna love this man. Like, he's fucking amazing. He's out there talking shit. He's in a robe. He's fucking busting his husband's balls. Like, love this man. And then you had a different reaction. What was it?

[B]

I thought she was gonna be a twat. Like, I was like, I'm not gonna like her. She is this pretty, like, beautiful. I thought she is damn sure gonna be a. And then it goes to show you that you can't judge somebody, you know? And as soon as we. As soon as we connected and we started talking, like, it was just, like, immediate friendship.

[A]

Yeah, for sure.

[B]

It just. We just hit it off. Well.

[A]

And Kale loves you. Kale Lowry from Teen Mom. You guys know I had Kale on a few years ago. Love Kale. And if Kale loves you, I love you, too. Because Kale's kind of just like me. We're just like, take it or leave it. This is who we are. And when I saw that you guys had, you know, had your, you know, little moments together online, too, I was like, okay, he's cool, people.

[B]

So Kel's. Kel's one of my besties. She's a. She's a ride or die, and she's also a twat. So I'm like, you know, it's. It's. It really. It really was all just kind of full circle. She was like, oh, you're going to love Bunny. I was like, okay, if you say I like her, I'll like her. And then I. Like. We met and I fell in love, and I was like, she. She's truly the kindest person. And, like, that's hard to find.

[A]

I love it. You're very sweet.

[B]

I ain't lying.

[A]

Well, I also fell in love with you. When I heard that you hate bush, I was like, thank God. Like, there's, like, this trend right now where everybody wants to grow out their bush. And why do we think that's hot? Thigh to thigh. It looks like Jiffy Pop.

[B]

I'm going throw up.

[A]

I'm. I can't. Who wants to dive in that?

[B]

No, I don't want to floss my teeth when I'm trying to suck on a tally wagon.

[A]

I don't want to look for the snake in the garage.

[B]

No. Hell no.

[A]

You Know what I'm saying?

[B]

I'm not do. I won't do it. And it's not. It ain't sanitary, you know, it smells like bo. If. If I'm trying, you know, to service the Lord's work down there, you know, I don't want. If there's a scent, I'm done.

[A]

No, you can't do it.

[B]

I'm done.

[A]

You can't do it.

[B]

It's for me.

[A]

Nope. So as soon as I heard you didn't like bush, I was like, this is my partner. Like, this is it. This seals the deal because I can't do bush either.

[B]

I think what sealed the deal for me is when we were talking about going to award shows and we were talking about like red carpets and all that. We were like, we would just be in the corner just like, like, this is not it. Because it's too much people in for me.

[A]

Ask my team. I. And I talk about it on the podcast all the time. I hate red carpets. They one, the cameramen are just love you guys love our photographers. They just don't know your angles.

[B]

Oh, no. I'll have 45 chins.

[A]

Oh, dude. There's one time I look like slimer. Straight up slime. I look like slimer.

[B]

I was like, hey, yeah.

[A]

Like, I don't know how they caught me like from the side.

[B]

They knew you dirty, bro. They really did.

[A]

They use the picture in every magazine. I'm like, can we not use the one with the five chins? Like, what are we doing here that they're hot. There was one award show that we went to. When? What was it?

[B]

Wait, I thought you meant the cameraman. I said, I ain't never seen a hot one. Let me know which awards you was going to. Cuz the ones that I be going to, they not hot.

[A]

No, no, no, no. Not the cameraman. But the award shows. Like we went to one in Texas. It was in the summertime ACMs.

[B]

This year.

[A]

It wasn't this year. It was last year or two years ago.

[B]

Three years ago, I was having a heat stroke. This year, my whole titties about. About slap the hell. Sweat it off.

[A]

Try wearing a dress. Your thighs are just, just moist. Everything from down under is moist. It's terrible. And they had us in like a. A tent that had no ac. Like it was so bad. So, yeah, the award shows, I don't like them. I can't. I just can't. Too many people, too much energy.

[B]

And they yell at you. I'm like, yell at me. One more time because I'm going throw something at you. And I hate feeling like. I hate, you know, having to walk around. This sounds. First world problem. Like, I mean, just having to, like, sit around and wait to do an interview.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Or like, sit around and I'm just like, can we.

[A]

It's the old hurry up and wait.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. And I'm sorry. It's. I go to support my husband, and I'm thankful to even be there because absolutely. I would have.

[B]

It's an honor. Yeah.

[A]

To be there without my husband, but still, it's a lot. It's a lot to take on, which is why I don't really. I try not to go to him. And I tell my husband, like, this year, I'm like, do we have to go to every.

[B]

And then you're sitting in, like, you feel like a sardine in the seats and you're squished.

[A]

It's like, you know, just. Yeah. It's like church. Turn to the person and say hi and tell them that you. That you love them today. And, you know, it's like you have to turn to everybody and say hi. And it's just like. It's a whole big hullable.

[B]

I feel like. I feel like we should do. We should from. For now on the red carpets, I feel like we should just. We'll do our walks, and then we'll just have to have each other for moral support and be like, I'm totally down this.

[A]

Let's do it. We could do the interviews together, too. Oh, I hate the interviews because I'm so bad with, like, right on the spot. Like, when they ask you questions, and then it's like, I want to cuss and I'm on air and it's just like. Yeah, no, it's a whole nightmare. So we'll just hold each other's hands and do the interviews together. I can't wait. You want to do some rapid fire questions with me? Let's start this. This interview off. Okay. Don't think too much, because I want what comes to your head.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Which farm animal has seen you naked the most?

[B]

Oh, the horses.

[A]

Do tell.

[B]

Yeah. Well, so I. My horses. My barn is right beneath my house.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So, like, I can walk to. Down into the barn from my kitchen.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So. And y' all know I wear a robe. Like, that's what I wear. And people really think that I'm being cute. Like, oh, he's just wearing that for. For views. No, I don't like clothes.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Okay. So I sleep naked. So When I wake up, I throw on a robe and. And nine times out of 10, like, I am getting up at 6am to go put horses up before it gets hot and feed them and do all that. So I'm doing all that before I ever have my coffee. So, like, that's the first thing that I'm doing. So a lot of times I'll just be walking down there, just being like, baby, when that thing gets a thing. And, you know, just.

[A]

Have they ever looked at you sideways?

[B]

Oh, they look at me sideways every day. They're like, here comes this bitch again.

[A]

Just judgmental as they are. What's the biggest lie you've told without getting caught?

[B]

Biggest laugh tall without getting caught? I don't know. Because my problem is I don't lie. Too honest. So I get in trouble for that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Biggest lie I've told.

[A]

You can pass if you need.

[B]

Yeah, I don't. I really don't know.

[A]

Gotcha. Weirdest DM you've ever gotten.

[B]

Straight men that were. That are married.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

They come to my shows with their wives.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then they. They'll DM me after the show. Like, you want to come over? No, I don't. Or they'll send me pictures themselves or.

[A]

Like, with their wives. Both, really.

[B]

I'm like, first of all, you think I'm about to. You. Absolutely not.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay. Second of all, what if it was.

[A]

Somebody really hot, though?

[B]

I mean, okay, are you and your.

[A]

Husband open or do you know?

[B]

So. Okay, but here's the. Here's the teeth on that, though. Okay. So I wasn't a throuple at one point. It didn't last very long. I'd never done that before.

[A]

I've done a thruffle and you have done it before.

[B]

Did it? Well, obviously it didn't work, but it was. It was. It was very weird to me. So my husband is very much not. Not jealous.

[A]

Like, he's my husband.

[B]

He's like, if you wanted to go fuck somebody, you could. Like, he doesn't care.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I cannot think like that. I think more like a girl.

[A]

Right.

[B]

My husband's very much a straight man.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, he just likes tally whacker, you know? So I just.

[A]

What? He says tally whacker. I think of a jar of pickles.

[B]

I'm like, I don't know why I say that.

[A]

I say tally whacker. So I. When I think of it, though, I just think of, like a jar of pickles.

[B]

So it's very strange to me how he can think that way and I mean, truly. He could be like, you're on tour. A hot guy messages you. Okay?

[A]

That's how my husband is. And it took me the longest time because I'm like you. For the. For the longest time, I got so offended, and I was like, why are you not jealous? Why are you not fighting for me? But then I realized that that's not what love is. Love is freedom, you know? And like, yes, okay, if. If a man tells you to go sleep with somebody else, nobody wants to fucking hear that from their significant other. So I think that they could have other ways of saying it, but I also think that maybe that's their way of not getting hurt too.

[B]

Well, I think for him was. I. We had a deep conversation about it. I was like, how do you. How are you okay with that? And he said, we've been together for 11 years. He said, I know how much you adore me. I know how much you love me. I know how much I love you. He was like, and I know that you are never going to go sleep with somebody and not come home. And I'm like, well, number one, I've never done it, like, because I just can't. Not that I don't like a little, you know, a little teleworker every once in a while, but a little strange to me. I'm like, nobody's gonna do it as good as he does. He's had 10 years of practice.

[A]

Right.

[B]

You know, but it is. It's very weird to me. So he would absolutely be okay with it if I wanted to.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But then again, it's like, how am I gonna go do that? And then somebody not post all over the Internet that they.

[A]

Exactly. And that's what I've told my husband, too. I'm like, how am I supposed to just find. Which I don't want go sleep with random men either, because, one, I have ocd, and two, I just. People's energy freaks me out. And it's like, I don't want your energy inside of me. I don't know you. I don't. You know, like, it's not.

[B]

It's not possible.

[A]

But, I mean, have you guys ever had threesomes?

[B]

No. And he wants to. He wants to so bad. But I'm like, I'm. I'm terrified because I will spiral. What? Like, what if they're hotter than me?

[A]

No, you're so handsome then.

[B]

Or, like, what if they're not hotter than me? Then, like, what am I? You know, Like, I'm.

[A]

I'm.

[B]

I'm like, this is not. Build a bear. Like, what are we doing? You know? So I'm very, very. He would love it. And, like, he would be all about again. Very typical man. Very typical man. And I am just like. So that's kind of how the whole, like, thrle thing started.

[A]

One more question. Who's messier? You, your husband or the goats?

[B]

The goats.

[A]

The goats.

[B]

They stank. Oh, my God. Y' all don't have goats, right?

[A]

I will. I refuse.

[B]

Don't do it.

[A]

I.

[B]

It's a trap. A billy goat will piss in his beard to attract the females.

[A]

How does he reach?

[B]

You ain't never seen one of them things? No, girl, they, like, this long. No, and I got it. I got. They suck their own tallywackers.

[A]

Oh, God.

[B]

And then he pisses in his beard and his stinks. Oh, it's just. Is, like, about, though.

[A]

What's wrong with that dude?

[B]

It's a. It's atrocious.

[A]

That sounds like my bull. My bull was getting really horny, and he was like, fucking chairs. Like, it was crazy.

[B]

We can't.

[A]

He tried to mount a chair last night while I was on it, and then I woke up this morning, and he fucking took all my chairs and just threw them everywhere. Like, he had a fucking night last night. See, it's crazy how farm animals have personalities.

[B]

They're wild.

[A]

No, they are, but they're like little souls that really are, like. They're like fucking just little humans that can't speak. It's crazy. It's wild. Moving on. You talk very openly about your childhood, and you actually wrote a book in 2019, a memoir called Uncovered the Naked Truth of Life, Love, and Addiction.

[B]

Damn. You do your homework before these.

[A]

That's right, baby. That's what I'm here for. And, you know, we talked a little bit about. About your sisters, and I believe your brother in the beginning of the podcast. And, you know, can you take me on that journey of growing up and in a family with addiction and just how you made it through that?

[B]

Yeah, you know, I think every family has their demons and their battles, and mine was. I grew up in government housing with an alcoholic mom, and we lived in the projects of Bessemer, Alabama. And I always tell people, I'm like, if you have never heard of Bessemer, all you got to do is watch the first 48, because we're on every episode.

[A]

Literally. Alabama is so. Not to cut you off, but I'm from Vegas, and I grew up on the east side of Vegas. Vegas, which is Pretty ghetto. Our ghettos on the west coast do not come. Come close to comparing to the ghettos that are in the country. It is a whole different.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Vibe.

[B]

And Bessemer is. Bessemer was actually voted number one crime rated city in the country.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So, like, it's a really bad, bad area. And. But to me, I mean, like, that's my home. You know what I mean? I don't give. Yeah. I ain't scared. You know, I walk around Bessemer like, that's big. Bessemerly, it don't. It don't bother me, but I lived in government housing with my mom and I was the only white gay kid in the neighborhood, you know, so life was life.

[A]

Did you always know that you were gay?

[B]

Oh, yeah, I wanted to. Uncle Jesse in fourth grade, you know, like from Full House. Ooh, baby.

[A]

John Stos was fine, though.

[B]

He's still fine.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I would the dust off that old man.

[A]

I'm telling you. He's like 411, isn't he? He's still.

[B]

Don't tell me that.

[A]

No. He's like, yeah, no, you just broke my heart.

[B]

Somebody Google that. Give it a go. It can't be four.

[A]

Listen, Google lies, though. But he's definitely five' two.

[B]

I know you li.

[A]

I'm not lying. No, he's not.

[B]

He's got to be.

[A]

No, he's not. No, he's not. No, he's not.

[B]

I just almost stood up a little bit.

[A]

He is not.

[B]

I have wanted to him for 25 years.

[A]

Search more. He is not 6 foot.

[B]

I feel like he's close by. He's not that short. I don't feel okay. I'm friends with Josh. Do you know Josh Peek from Drake and Josh?

[A]

No, I don't. Do we know Josh Peek?

[B]

Okay, so Josh. Josh Peck. I'm friends with him and he did. Him and John did a show together.

[A]

Yeah. And should we call Josh and ask.

[B]

Him how tall to call Josh and.

[A]

Be like Josh right now and ask him how tall John is, because I'm willing. Yeah. We're calling in a lifeline because I have heard from other people who have met him that he is very short.

[B]

I don't know if he's going to answer or not, but we're going to call him.

[A]

He does wear lifts. I heard he wears lifts.

[B]

Stop.

[A]

Rebecca. Romaine Stamos is the one that said that.

[B]

Hi. This is the most random question for you ever. I'm in the middle of filming a podcast with with Bunny and we. I was talking About. I wanted to John Stamos when I was in the fourth grade, and she said that he's 4 11. Is he really that short? No, no, he's. He's properly tall. Like six feet. Properly tall. Wow. That's what we needed to know. Thank you, Josh.

[A]

I love you. Thank you, Josh.

[B]

I hope it happens between you and John. You're so good to me.

[A]

That's crazy, because Rebecca remains Stamos, I thought, went on like, this whole spree when they got a divorce, talking about how short he was and how he wears lips.

[B]

He's properly six foot tall.

[A]

There you go. How tall are you?

[B]

5 11.

[A]

There you go.

[B]

Just like. I. Like, I'm just a smidge taller, actually. I like him six foot five. You know, I want to be able to climb them like a tree.

[A]

How old or how tall is your husband?

[B]

Six foot foot.

[A]

Is he six foot?

[B]

Yeah, yeah, he's just.

[A]

Would he. Would you guys be willing to bring John Stamos in as a third?

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

John. John, we need to make this.

[B]

I'm here, baby.

[A]

So you. So you knew ever since that you were a little boy that you love.

[B]

I've never. That's the thing, too. Like, I've never been attracted to a woman, like, never sexually in my whole life. Like, even as a young, young kid. Like, I've never been. And I tell people all the time when they're like, oh, when did you decide to be gay? Or when did you know that it was a choice? And I'm like, it's not a choice. And people don't understand that. And I say to. That I'm like a straight person. When did you choose to be straight? And they're like, I didn't. I just was. And I was like, exactly. So if you didn't choose to be straight, what makes you think that I had the. Just the fucking great decision to choose my sexuality?

[A]

Like, that's why I always say, when did you know?

[B]

Right.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And. And so I knew very young. Like, I never once have I ever been attracted to a woman. Like, I can obviously, like, I think you're stunning. You. I mean, and I can think that a woman's beautiful, but I'm not sexually attracted to them.

[A]

Yeah, absolutely.

[B]

And so I've always. Even as a very young kid, I've always been. And my sister's a lesbian, so like, clearly, you know, like, the. Is there.

[A]

It's in the DNA.

[B]

Yeah, for sure. And so my mom was an alcoholic. You know, she really struggled with alcoholism. That was her drug of Choice. And prescription drugs, like that was. That was her vice. My brother and sister were both addicts as well. I didn't really have a great relationship with my brother growing up. We never really got along. I remember as a young kid, like, he would. He was the type that. He was always very hard into drugs.

[A]

Difference between 11 years.

[B]

So they're twins.

[A]

Oh, wow. Okay.

[B]

So they're 11 years older than me. And like, I remember as a kid, I would get like, a bicycle or something for Christmas, and he would take it and pawn it for drug money.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it's. It's really weird because I was very close to my sister. I adored her. I thought she walked on water. Like, I mean, I. I remember I would go stay with my grandmother in South Carolina for the summer, and I wouldn't leave the house because I thought my sister was going to call. You know what I mean? Like, I was. So we were. We were like this.

[A]

Was she kind of like your mother figure?

[B]

I mean, kind of. Yeah. Like, we were very, very close. I would go stay with her all the time. I mean, we were just. We were very, very close. And then as I got older, I saw her addiction as well. She was better at hiding it.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And I saw what now our. Our. I call her my birth mother. So our birth mom died in 2007 to her addiction. My dad has been a car salesman for 30 years, so he didn't get custody of me until I was nine years old. So.

[A]

So dad was never in the picture.

[B]

Not when I lived. I mean, he was, I would seem, on the weekends, but my mom had custody of me, and I lived with her until I was nine.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And then my. As I got older, I saw the addiction with my sister, and I saw. I was like, I can't, you know, like, I can't be a part of it. So I had to cut both of them off. I haven't had contact with them in years. My birth mom died in 2007. From now, she did get sober from alcohol. She went to AA the last year of her life, and she got sober from that, but she was still abusing prescription drugs. And she mixed two drugs that weren't supposed to be mixed together and died in her sleep in 2007. And then my dad got custody of. My dad had already had custody, custody of me at this point. I was. He got custody when I was nine. And then he remarried. So he remarried the woman that I called Mom. So, like, this woman was absolutely everything to me. She, like, you know, she raised me from nine on she had horses. So that's where that. I've always been obsessed with horses, but I never had the opportunity to have horses or ride horses or anything like that. And so she had horses and I thought she was everything, you know, so she taught me how to ride horses and she was a crna. So she put people to sleep for surgery. So she was really smart and like, her family, like embraced me and they became my. Because I didn't have much of a family and they embraced me and they became my family and they loved me. And then I, you know, I just, I still didn't have any real relationship with my brother and sister after that. And then she passed away in 2015.

[C]

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[B]

So I lost my biological mom and then I lost her in 2015. So that really kind of, you know, just kind of showed me like the things that in life that are really important, right? So it really kind of, it gave me a great relationship with my dad. We didn't have a great relationship growing up. We fought a lot. We didn't see eye to eye. I moved from government housing with an alcoholic mom to a trailer park with a marine dad. And I thought that life was going to be so much better, baby. It wasn't no better. It was worse. It was, it was worse.

[A]

It's very traumatic too because you're going from one, you know, one extreme, one fire into another and that's that's yeah. Are very known to be very abusive.

[B]

Yeah. And. And he wasn't, he was never physically abusive.

[A]

Right.

[B]

As he was more verbally abusive. Like he just. And it wasn't that he was really verbally abusive. He just had no patience. So like he would just yell at me or like, you know, it was just very. Like we just never got along. So we spent most of our time apart. I remember when he and my mom, my mom and him split before she, she moved to Tennessee and got remarried and before she. And that's when she passed away. But I remember in high school when they split, they split when I was probably 16 and so, you know, she had moved to her own place and I was still in high school and I still lived with him. And he. I think he's a lot of the reason why I am the way that I am today and successful because he would say, here's a hundred dollars, this is for your grocery money this week. And he would go to the bars and he would, you know, hang out. He would go to his girlfriend's house and spend the night with his girlfriend. So I'm 16 years old, living on my own. Figure it out in this house. And at the time I hated him, you know, but now I look back and I'm like, I'm thankful for how he raised me that way because now I'm. I'm good with money and I'm able to, you know, be. I'm able to stand on my own two feet because of how he raised me. And I'm very open that we didn't have a good relationship growing up. And we fought and we butted heads and it wasn't good. But now he's my best friend, you know, and it was, it was really when I came out and I was, you know, I came out when I was 19. Come on now.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, like you knew.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You knew when I was playing with Little Mermaid Barbie dolls, like you knew that I was.

[A]

Were you scared to come out?

[B]

Yeah, I was terrified because I was terrified because I thought that he was going to write me off and I didn't have any family. You know, like he was really the only family that I had. Like, besides, you know, I, I did have my, my mom's family.

[A]

Did your sister know that you were gay?

[B]

Yeah, my sister always knew.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

You know, cuz she was a lesbian too. You know, she was looking on carpet. So she knew.

[A]

Like hopefully not bush.

[B]

Yeah, probably the bush. But I mean, she always knew. Like she never really said anything or Made a big deal out of it. And it's funny because now my aunt is the one that she kind of came out for me. She's, she's my, my mom. Not my biological mom, my mom's sister.

[A]

Right.

[B]

She became my best friend. You know, like, I love chosen family. She.

[A]

Yes, cuz I have chosen family.

[B]

And she became my best friend. And I remember I was laying in the bed with her one night and she was on the phone with my mom and she was like, we got to find Matt a boyfriend. I was like, what? She was like, we gotta find Matt a boyfriend. And I was like, what you, what'd you talk about?

[A]

Or.

[B]

And I would tell her, like, I'd be. And I was like, I got a date. And she was like, is it with a girl or is it with a boy?

[A]

And I'm like.

[B]

You know, so.

[A]

But how amazing to feel seen in that moment.

[B]

Absolutely. And, and they were very much like, you are who you are. You love who you love. You got to be who you got to be. So they were such a, such a, like strong, like solid ground and foundation for me because they allowed me to be who I was.

[A]

Did anybody at school know? Were you out at school?

[B]

I never really came out at school. Obviously people knew I was gay. Like, it's not, it's not the biggest secret in the world. Like I always say, like, I'm not the, I'm not the, like the most flamboyant. Like I don't wear makeup or like shopping and you stuff like that. I'm not that gay. But obviously you can tell that I'm gay. You know, like there's, there's, there's levels of gay. Right? You know, I don't get my nails done. Like I live on a farm and you know, but you know, there's definitely you. My husband is the type of man you wouldn't know he's gay if you met him.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Like, you would never know.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Me. You're like, oh, he's gay as hell.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

So I was definitely picked on in school. Not because people knew I was. Not because I was openly out because I was so terrified of that, but because people knew. So like, people would ask, they, they would call me, they would call me or like, you know, whatever. They would like the jocks, like, if I ever went to a football game, they would like. I remember one night I was at a football game and one of the guys like threw a, threw a football at me and like I had caught it and he was like, he Came up to him, he's like. He's like, hey, are you gay? You know, and they would do stuff like that. The thing about me was I grew up in the projects, you know, so. And I was the only white, gay, white, gay kid there. So, like, you had to stand up for yourself. You know, I always tell people, like, you couldn't live in the projects and be this fabulous without knowing how to swing on a hoe.

[A]

I was gonna say, can you throw pause?

[B]

Yeah, so I can. I can hold my own, you know, like, I'll bust a when I need to. And so I never let people walk all over me. Like, you might try to pick on me, but you weren't gonna lay your hands on me because I'd scrub the ground with your ass, you know, like. Yeah, and so I never was, like, beat up or putting lockers because I would clown on you and I would, like, cut you out.

[A]

Did you always have your sassy sense of humor? Oh, yeah, Ever since childhood.

[B]

I always used to get put out of class in school because of my mouth, because. Yeah, it's so funny to me because I'm like, now I get paid for it.

[A]

Yeah, I'm sorry. I got something stuck on my foot over here. My whole life's falling apart over here. So you were pretty much like the class clown. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

And I don't.

[A]

But it's because you came from such a big, dark beginnings that if you don't learn to laugh and have some sort of fucking humor, you're going. It's going to eat you alive.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's going to swallow you.

[B]

And I think that is the best comedians out there are the ones that come from trauma, you know, And I tell people all the time that, you know, I realized the reason that I'm successful is because I saw my mom and I saw. I remember one night we lived. Like I said, we lived in. In the projects. And we were laying in bed one night and I just heard people arguing. Like, where are. We had one. We had a one bedroom apartment, so we slept in the same room. And, like, outside of our window was right out to, like, the staircase that went down to the next level. And I heard these people fighting outside. And it was two guys and a girl, and they were fighting and then they started shooting each other.

[A]

Gee.

[B]

And my mom opened the window and she puts her head out the window and she's like, I got a baby trying to sleep in here. My mama was a thug. Like, I mean, long red fingernails, wore gold rings on every finger. Gold chain necklaces. And she would fight. She beat up my fourth grade teacher in a parent teacher conference.

[A]

Over what? Over what?

[B]

Because my. My. I was pretending to smoke a cigarette with a Cheeto, and I didn't want to get in trouble, so I lied to my mom. I was like, I didn't do that. So my mom, like, believed everything I told her. And, mama, I still have the plan. I just posted a YouTube video of it where her and my mom are, like, arguing back and forth in my planner. And my mom's like, matt did not pretend to smoke a cigarette with a Cheeto and did not deserve to be put on red because I got put on red that day.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And my teacher wrote back, and she was like, yes, he did. He admitted it. Blah, blah, blah, blah. She was like, I want to have a parent teacher conference. And my mom's like, that's fine. Bet. You know? So we get to the conference, and I'm in the back of the room crying. And my mom was there with a white wife beater tank top, her fake Louis Vuitton purse, like, all of her gold rings, her nails. And she went to say something, and my teacher put her finger in her face.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

And she was like, shh. Now I see where Matt gets his disrespect from. And my mom stood up and she put her purse on the ground, and she grabbed her by the back of her head and she pulled her out of the. Over the chair, and she starts beating the. Out of her. And that. I mean, my mom would fight. Like, she would fight anybody.

[A]

Yeah. Before people called the cops on people.

[B]

I mean, she did go to jail, but. And then she beat the. Out of a Walmart greeter one time because the lady asked to see the receipt for the rug that she just stole. I mean, it was just like, I.

[A]

Kind of love mom.

[B]

She was crazy as hell.

[A]

And it's.

[B]

It's funny because growing up, I hated her because of just her addiction.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And now as I look back at her, I'm like, man, she loved me so fiercely. She did. She just had so many demons, and she didn't have anybody to help her, you know, she didn't know how to battle those demons and how to succeed and win.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But now I look back, and I'm like, man, she did the best she knew how, you know? And she loved me so much, but she just didn't. She didn't know. She didn't know how to. How to be a mom, really. You know? And that. That's what ultimately, you Know, her addiction is her addiction one but. And that's why I'm so, so like open about mental health and addiction because people don't realize how, how strong that that has on that stronghold that it has on people. It's. It's such a thing that it swept under the rug.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And had she had help, had she had somebody to, you know, walk her through her trauma. Her trauma. And she had a lot of trauma. So it's like she didn't have good relationships with her parents. And so it's like had she had someone to help her, things could have been totally different for her.

[A]

Yeah. Isn't it crazy as we get older that we can see our parents through that lens? Because I grew up hating my entire family so that I got to spend the last years of each one of my parents life. I left home at 14 and I got to forgive them for the childhood that I had. And then when I saw just how sad and unhealed they were, it was almost like I was like, it like freed up my heart.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because I was just like, you know what?

[B]

You can't be angry anymore.

[A]

Yeah. It's like you, you become their parent in a way and you're just kind of like, man, you know, like this. You were put here on this earth to teach me this lesson and to be able to look at it through the lens that you're looking at, it is super beautiful.

[B]

Well, and the crazy thing to me is I don't regret a single minute of it because maybe if I had a cooker. Cutty lot. Cooker cut. Damn, I just had a stroke. Cooker cutter. Cookie cutter. God damn. What is, am I on? Am I slow? If I had a cookie cutter life, I probably wouldn't be the person I am. You know, I probably wouldn't be successful. Like I would. I would probably be just like my siblings.

[A]

Yeah, that's how I feel too. Because my little sister got to live and I don't. I very, very rarely talk about my little sister because I still try to protect her. But she got to live the childhood that I never got with both parents together, going to prom, my dad taking her to prom, never having chores and like being abused the way I was. And she's a mess. She's a drug addict. She's just, she's not okay.

[B]

I think when you see what it can do to a person and what it can, how it can ruin their lives and take everything from them, you know, that was my thing was I made a promise to myself the night that My mom stuck her head out that window and. And yelled at the people shooting each other. I literally. I thought, this is the night that we're going to die. I thought that. And I remember thinking, I will not be like the rest of my family. I will not have this for myself. I will never live like this. And I promised myself that if I ever have to ask somebody for money, if I ever have to ask somebody for anything, I don't want it.

[A]

And hyper independence is a trauma response.

[B]

It's a trauma response. Yeah. And. And now another trauma response that we've been talking about is. So there's a. There's actually a something. I don't know the name. I can't even say cookie, but. But there is a. It's a trauma response of so scared of being poor again. You know, like, and that is something that I struggle with every day is now I make good money, I make a good living. I work my ass off, and I'm so terrified of being poor again because of that trauma.

[A]

Yeah, no, it's. I don't know what it's called either, but I, I. You and I have bonded over. That is. I feel the same exact way. Like, I will stuff. I took my. My husband literally was like, you need to get an accountant. Like, you need a bookkeeper. It took me so long to let somebody into my money because I was just like, you know, just held it so close to my chest. And being in this business, you have to have somebody that's managing your money because you can't do it yourself.

[B]

I. I got in so much trouble because I would have all of the money that I made in my bank account.

[A]

Me too.

[B]

Like, I mean, I'd have all of that money in one account. And when I hired my business manager, he was like, what the.

[A]

Yes. You doing same. And they put it in, like, five different accounts.

[B]

Yeah. And he's like, you do realize that the bank can only guarantee you, like, 275, 000? And I'm like, what about all this money? He. You're. If something happened to the bank, I'm like, oh, yep. You know, they don't teach.

[A]

They don't teach you that.

[B]

They don't teach you that in school.

[A]

They should teach you that. And I feel like they should teach you a credit class. They should teach you a, like, home. Like, he's over here sawing logs, dude. They should teach you, like, how to, like, run your business in school. You shouldn't have to go to college and take.

[B]

I learned nothing in school.

[A]

Yeah, me either. Me either. Like, I mean, I learned division.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Multiplication that I don't use.

[B]

For anything that we don't use. It is absolutely insane to me that I'm like, what was even the point?

[A]

Yeah, no, for sure. Moving on real quick though, I want to talk to you. It says that you started nursing school before trading your scrubs for a camera and you bought that camera with your graduation money. Yeah. Take me on that journey because you ended up building an empire, doing something that is very unlikely. I did not.

[B]

Yeah. You didn't know that. We didn't talk about that.

[A]

Yeah. I did not see this coming.

[B]

Yeah. So I. When I was 17, I got a job at Walmart Portrait Studio. I co opt in school, which means I got to leave school early to go to work, so I had to have a job and I applied at Walmart Portrait Studios. You know, like clicking a little thing and taking pictures of people like Sears. How fun though, as a 17 year old making 8:50 an hour. Like, they close at 6 o'. Clock, you don't have to work Sundays. Like, I was like, this is everything. Because all my friends were waiting tables.

[A]

That's a moment in time too, because they don't do that.

[B]

They don't do it anymore.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so I started to do that. And again, I told you, my mom, not my biological mom, but my mom was a nurse anesthetist, so she put people to sleep for surgeries. So I saw how successful she was and I saw like the life that she had and I was like, that's. That's what I'm gonna do. I always wanted to be an entertainer, but I never. I always wanted to do music. I always wanted to entertain, but I never pursued that because I didn't sing as a child. Yeah. Yeah. So I always sang. I sang in the talent shows. And like, I remember my dad used to take me to this redneck bar every Tuesday and I would sing karaoke.

[A]

I love the bonding.

[B]

Yeah. A bar.

[A]

Yeah, that's my husband. His dad used to take him to bars. Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

So he would take me to a bar every Tuesday night and I would sing karaoke. And it became like this thing and people would start. People started to come to the bar on Tuesdays to hear me sing. And I remember my little gay ass is up there singing Martina McBride. You know, broken Wing.

[A]

That's a hard one.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And, and can you sing it?

[B]

I mean, probably not now, but I.

[A]

Mean, you know, I'm gonna put you.

[B]

On a spot at that point. I could Sing. You know, like. And I remember I went to a talent show.

[A]

Okay, not now.

[B]

I mean. I mean, I still got a little chop, but I was just so terrified, you know? Like, I didn't. I didn't know. Like, I never took vocal lessons. I never. I was just singing, you know? Yeah. And my dad took me every Tuesday, and it was just a thing. And we. We just loved it. And I would. I would sing those songs because that's what my mom listened to, you know? And so what was we talking about?

[A]

We're talking about taking the pictures, too.

[B]

Taking the pictures. So I got a job at Walmart. And I knew that I always wanted to do music or I wanted to do entertainment. And I was too scared to pursue that because I thought that was way too out of the. The possibilities of things that were going to happen for me, that I'm not in an area where I'll ever get to do anything in that. In that space. But I've always been, like, this outlandish personality. I've always been goofy. I've always been musical. I taught myself how to play guitar. I taught myself how to play piano, like, all these things. And so I got that job, and I just really enjoyed it. And so when I graduated high school, I took all the graduation money and I went to Sam's club and I bought a Canon Rebel kit. Like, the kit lens, the cameras and everything. And I just started doing photography. And I didn't. I wasn't good at it at first, obviously, but I got really good, and I started doing weddings. And I was a wedding photographer for several years.

[A]

And what's one of the craziest weddings that you've had? Like, a crazy wedding story.

[B]

A mom and a broad got in a fist fight during their getting ready photos. And I was like, the actual mother. Yes. She was beating the. Out of her. We. We flying everywhere. I was like, oh, we be wanted to come through. I was like, this. And I was like, y' all can run me my check.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Because I don't get paid enough for this. So I remember I was like, this is not for me, you know, Like, I don't want to do this anymore. I'm in the south, where every weekend I'm in the heat, like, dying of heat stroke. And I had a bride ask to take pictures of her in lingerie. And I was like, I don't know how to do that. Like, are you. What? But I did. And they became, like, the most. They were the most beautiful photos. And I was like, okay. She was like, I feel so pretty. And I was like, oh, okay. And she got a big picture of. Of one of the photos printed and put in her bedroom. And I was like, okay. So I started doing boudoir photography. And I was. I did that, and it started really blowing up. And, like, really doing really, really well for me. And so I quit weddings.

[A]

Did it blow up from word of mouth or, like, were you online?

[B]

Yeah, this was well before I, like, got into, you know, tick tock. Or like, this is. This is like 2015 era. 2014. 2015. So my husband and I bought our first house, 2015, and it had this 300 square foot room on the back, and I made it a studio, and I started my boudoir business there. I had nothing but a bed, and I hung a chandelier over the bed, and I had a little white couch.

[A]

Chandelier makes everything better.

[B]

Everything.

[A]

I will add a chandelier to every room in my house if I can.

[B]

Yep. And it just. I was. I never grew up loving my body, you know, I was always very self conscious. I would swim with a shirt on.

[A]

You know, like, you're a great figure.

[B]

I was, but I was always a chunky kid, you know, And. And even, even though I'm smaller now, like, I, you know, I still got. I ain't got no abs, right? And. And like, that's what I, you know, I never, never loved my body. Always very critical of myself. Didn't love what I saw in the mirror. And so I started photographing women and showing them how beautiful they were, and they were in lingerie and they were in sheets, and it was, like, kind of taboo at the time, but it blew up. And people were like, I've never felt so beautiful. Like, you just showed me a side that I've never seen before.

[A]

Is it true that you gave your mom a boudoir shoot? How fun.

[B]

In 2014, for her birthday, I was like, mom, she never left her body. So I was like, let me photograph you. And I photographed a boudoir session for her. And she was like, I've never felt so beautiful. And after that, it lit a fire in me. And I just. I just started doing boudoir full time. I got really, really good. I started teaching workshops, I started speaking at conventions, and it just, like, blew up. Up. It was absolutely insane.

[A]

I want to see some of your words.

[B]

Yeah, I'll show you.

[A]

Because I love boudoir. Yeah, that's how I got here. Was it? I was an Instagram thought, okay, so.

[B]

You know what's so Funny. I've seen, like, the photos of you, and I'm like, when I was like, if I could have photographed her when I was a boudoir photographer.

[A]

Yeah. That would have been. Dude, we would have made. We could do it.

[B]

Wait, what if we can all out of retirement?

[A]

I'll come out of retirement to let you.

[B]

What if we come out of retirement together?

[A]

Let's do it.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That would be. That would. We'd break the Internet, dude, I'm ready. So that's what happened for me on Tik Tok was I started showing me photographing clients on Tik Tok.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I posted a video, and it got 17 million views.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I was like, I. It was me, like, picking a client's hips up, and I was like, we did this post called the Titty Crusher.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I'd have them lay completely flat on the ground, and then I would, like, have to help them walk their knees up underneath them and put their butt in the air.

[A]

Oh, yeah. I do that pose all the time.

[B]

Yeah. And, like, stagger their feet.

[A]

That's the Carmen Electropose.

[B]

Oh, did you see it? Yeah.

[A]

Pull it up. Can we pull it up? Let's pull it up and see it really quick.

[B]

And it got, like, 17 million views.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it. It, like, went crazy.

[A]

So was that your first viral video?

[B]

Yeah, that was my very first.

[A]

That's your first taste of virality, right? That's. That's crazy.

[B]

And I was booking so much, and I was making a ton of money. I started my. I opened my first studio downtown. Like, it was insane, and it was incredible, you know, I mean, people were coming, other photographers were coming to learn from me, and it was just.

[A]

It probably gave you such a purpose, though, because not only are you making these women feel beautiful, but you're also creating art. And you're like, I don't know, you're just, like, in charge. It's your business. Like.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's got to be so fulfilling.

[B]

Absolutely. And I felt so good making people feel so good. That was, like, the big thing to me.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I remember I had a client come in and she had had a double mastectomy, and I photographed her and, like, before her reconstruction, and she was like, oh, my God. Like, I. Like, I'm beautiful. And I'm like, yeah, you are. You know, like, seeing them come in, being so timid, not loving their body, not feeling comfortable, and seeing them walk out with their head high was just like, oh, man. It gives me chills to think about it. Because, like. Like, I love that. That part of my life. Like, I love that journey still.

[A]

Would you ever, like, once all of this, you know, the. The touring and the music and all that comes to an end, would you ever, like, think of, like, maybe just redoing it and, like.

[B]

Well, so we still. Retirement years. We still have my boudoir business. And my associate Brianna, who's been with me for eight years, she still photographs clients.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[B]

And it's still under my name. It's still my studio. And, you know, her work looks identical to mine. And so she still shoots. So, like, we still have that business and it's. It's amazing. And I was like, we worked so hard to build that. I was like, just because I'm touring and doing all the things now, we're not letting that go. So it was. It was just really. It was a really cool thing, but deep down, there was something missing.

[A]

Right.

[B]

You know, And I was like, I wanna. I wanna be on stage, you know, Like, I wanna. I wanted to sing and. But I still never pursued that. And what started to happen for me was TikTok started deleting my videos because of the boudoir.

[A]

They just did another fucking community upline update.

[B]

Oh, yeah, I saw.

[A]

Yeah. I'm like.

[B]

And they were. They had started deleting everything that I was posting.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

For community guidelines and adult nudity, even though nobody was ever nude. And so I was like. I had built a following of like, 2 million at that point. And I was like, I don't want to lose my account, you know, like, what do I do? So I quit posting. So from then I pivoted and I started doing how to take sexy, sexy, sexy selfies. So I'd be like, put your phone up. Put it on a video. And I would show them how to pose. And I'd be like, now screenshot that hoe and send it out, you know? And then that started blowing up, and everybody was like, oh, my God, your personality.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so then I was like, okay, well, they're going to delete everything I'm posting, so I'll pivot again. So I pivoted to start showing my personal life, which was my farm.

[A]

That's how we are as hustlers. Coming up from the backgrounds that we did is like, you're always going to figure out.

[B]

I'll figure it out. Yeah, absolutely. So I was like, okay, so where do we go now? So I was like, all right, so I'll pivot to farm. I'll start showing my farm and my ridiculous life of I'm out in this robe every day cussing these chickens out. I'll start showing it to people.

[A]

Was this during COVID During COVID Okay.

[B]

Yeah, the first. And I remember like the first video got had. I mean, it got like million 13 million views. And I gained over a half a million followers overnight. And I was like, like, the.

[A]

The crazy thing is, is like you had never hit my FYP until people started tagging you. And now your is all over my FYP like it is. I can't scroll without seeing something from you or somebody tagging you in something or like it's. It's crazy how much people just love you.

[B]

Well, they love you just as much, so.

[A]

Well, I appreciate it. Well, they love to hate me and they hate to love me.

[B]

Well, say. I mean, I think it's. I think that's anybody that's in the industry, you know, like, especially when somebody. You don't know that somebody that's somebody that's successful, you know, like if somebody has success, people always want to on that.

[A]

Yeah. It's always the ones who. I would never trade lives with bad things to say. There is so much more love than never.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it's just a really cool feeling. And I. I remember seeing comments of people saying, you made me smile, you made me laugh when I haven't laughed in weeks. Yeah, you made me. You brightened my day. And then again, same feeling of as boudoir. I was like, that made feel good that I made somebody feel good. And so everybody was like, matt, you have to do. You have to do comedy. You have to do comedy. You have to be a comedian. I'd never watched comedy. I'd never, you know, never watched stand up. It was never something that I wanted to do. Like I wanted to do music.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And. But I was like, I'm never gonna pursue music. It's never gonna be something that I do.

[A]

Why did you think that you just couldn't do it?

[B]

I just didn't think I was good enough.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So I was like, this is the next best thing, right. I'll be on stage, I'll be performing, and I'm doing something that's easy for me, which is making people laugh.

[A]

Right. So being a stand up comedian is not easy.

[B]

It is hard.

[A]

Like it's. You gotta commander. I think that's harder than singing.

[B]

Oh, 100.

[A]

You have to like, really wow a crowd with your humor. And if a joke doesn't land, that's your neck.

[B]

Yes. And. But what's so funny to me is. It's the easiest thing I've ever done. Oh, it is. The. I mean, it is. I can get on a stage in front of thousands of people that I don't know and make them laugh. And for me, it's all about. We all struggle with something. And to make somebody come into a room and to sit down in a room with thousands of people that you don't know and watch this ridiculous man on stage tell you stories and forget about the outside for 90 minutes of your day. That's what it's about for me.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And so I decided to try stand up. And at this point, I'd already had pretty decent following online and from my boudoir videos and from my farm chores, so I decided to give it a shot. And the very first show that I ever did, it sold out in two minutes.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

I was like, what the. I don't even know what I'm doing. I've never done this. Never opened.

[A]

I was gonna say, you didn't practice.

[B]

No. Never open mics? Never. I opened for two. The comedy club in my hometown. They were like, hey, let's have you come in. You can open up for two comics. I had five minutes for the first one. I had 10 minutes for the second one. That's all I'd ever done.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

And then I did my own show and sold it out. And I was like, what the am I gonna do?

[A]

I didn't know.

[B]

So I got up there and just started running my mouth.

[A]

And they didn't have anything planned? Nothing?

[B]

No.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Because that's balls. When I opened, it was horrible because I had, like, memorized this Easter speech, you know? Like, it wasn't good because I had, like, this monologue that I memorized, right? And then I was like this. I'm just gonna say whatever comes to my mind. And I will never forget. Like, I had a lady come that. A lady. Like, this is the first time I'd ever done this, mind you.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I had a. And I'd never watched stand up, so I didn't really know what to do. But I remember this lady had this big blonde hair, and it was, like, huge. And she got up in the middle of the show, went to the bathroom, and I said, teresa Caputo, where the are you going? And I just remember everybody, like, falling out of their chairs. And I was like, ooh, I got it them, you know, and that's really kind of when, like, the crowd work kind of was really flowing.

[A]

Right? I've seen your crowd work. It's hilarious.

[B]

And the comedy club guy, he was like, you, like, you've been doing this for 20 years. He was like, we're going to give you another show in our big room. It holds 420 people and it sold out in a minute.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

And I was like, what in the hell? So I started. I signed with an independent agent and I started my first Tour. Sold over150,000 tickets on my very first tour. Never doing stand up.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Which was insane to me.

[A]

That's amazing.

[B]

It was such a bl.

[A]

That's a testament of who you are and how you make people feel.

[B]

And that was the biggest thing, you know, like. And still to this day, I go read reviews because I'm like, I shouldn't, you know, because like, I know not everybody's gonna like me.

[A]

We're all self sacrificing in that way. We want to know what people are thinking.

[B]

And it's not because I go do that or read those things because I want to see what people are saying negatively or they think that I'm the best out there. But it's. Is there anything I should work on? You know, is there something that I'm doing that people don't like? And I did that. I signed with my first big agency and signed my first deal with Live Nation for my second tour. Then it just kept going. I just. We know. I just left my. My other agency and went to wme.

[A]

I'm so happy you're with us. Welcome to wme, baby. I was so happy to see that announcement. Announcement.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. I was really excited for you.

[B]

It's. It's still crazy to me that I came from a trailer park. You know what I mean?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And I think that's. That's the coolest part.

[A]

I literally brought my best friend and her mom here to live with me in Nashville. That let me move into their trailer when I was 14 years old because I just love them so much and they're my chosen family. And now that I've made it, I want them to make it too. So it's like, like I. I think when we get to a certain point of where we're at now, it's just about giving back. And that's what you're doing. And that's why it keeps coming back to you tenfold, because you're making people feel good. And even if you're calling somebody Teresa Caputo, they're laughing.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, because it's funny and it's.

[B]

Feel good and, and that's the thing, too, is, like, I'm roasting the out of these people in my shows. Yeah. Right. But to me, it's we. And I'm very offensive in my shows. You know, I say things that people normally aren't going to say. I make fun of special needs people. I make fun of regular people. I make fun of black people. I make fun of white people. I make fun of gay people. I make fun of everybody because I feel like we're in such a dark world.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And everybody's so offended about everything that if we can't laugh about it, then what do we do?

[A]

Yeah, we cry about it, you know.

[B]

So I'm like, let's laugh about it and. And realize that we don't have to be so offended about everything.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

We can laugh about things and we can be united, and we can realize.

[A]

That, like, it's not that deep when you're not laughing. What is. What's a bad day for Matt, a.

[B]

Bad day for me?

[A]

Like, how do you handle it? Because I know not everything's roses and butterflies.

[B]

No, of course not. I think this. And again, this. I say this, like, I hate even saying it because I feel such, like a little saying this because I'm successful and I've. I've made my dreams come true.

[A]

And that doesn't mean that you don't.

[B]

Have feel, but people would die to be in the spot, Right?

[A]

Of course.

[B]

And the hardest part for me is being lonely. You know what I mean? Because, like, I don't have a lot of friends, and people think, you know, I'm this big extrovert, and I just, like, I go. I'm the life of the party, and I go and do all. And I'm not, you know, like. And I don't have a lot of friends. Like, I think that's the hardest thing for me is I will get really lonely. And there was a day that I realized I was off tour, and I realized that my phone didn't ring all day unless it was an agent or.

[A]

A manager, somebody needing something from.

[B]

And I was like, that really sucks, you know? And, like, that was really hard. That was a hard pill for me to swallow. You know, my biological mom's dead. My mom's dead. I have my husband, who's my best friend, you know, he really is my rock, you know? And, like, we have the best relationship. I have a great relationship with my dad, but that's really all I have, you know? And I don't have. I mean, I have kale, and now I Have you.

[A]

You have me.

[B]

And, you know, but anytime.

[A]

I will always text back even later.

[B]

And you and I have had this discussion of, like, don't think I'm not showing up at. On a random day and we're having a pajama party. Like, but it's like, Kale lives in Delaware.

[A]

Yeah. Which Kale. Who the.

[B]

Lives in Delaware.

[A]

Lives in Delaware.

[B]

Yeah. You know, like the two or three. Good. My. My best friend Fallon lives in Texas, you know, so it's like. Like the two or three really close friends that I have aren't near me.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So it's like, it's really. That part's lonely. Like, the industry is lonely. Yeah. We're living our dreams, but it's hard to let people in because you don't trust people because they just want to use you.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

And a lot of people in our industry are, so. I think that's why I was so excited when we clicked, because I was like, man, it's so nice to have somebody that you can talk to that's in this industry that understands how you feel.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And you know, that is. That is in the same. That can understand the loneliness of it.

[A]

Oh, absolutely.

[B]

But it's also, like, you don't want to. You don't want to bitch and sound ungrateful, because you are.

[A]

But at the same time, that doesn't mean that you. You're not human, you know, and just because you are successful. And I think that's where a lot of people on the Internet are like, oh, you have all that. You have this fame, you have money. Everything's fucking great. More money, more problems.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, people don't understand that. Me and my husband talk about it all the time. And it's like, you literally get secluded on this little is island of people's. Half the people you don't like, half the people you don't want to talk to, and you have, like, maybe a small percentage of people that you can be around. And that's. It's not a bad thing for you to feel lonely, but you don't ever have to feel lonely. You can always text me. But I had, like, it. I literally have my crew and that's it. Like, I don't let anybody else in either, because you can't trust people. People are so untrustworthy. And the one time you do something wrong, they go straight to the Internet.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

You know, clout chasers. Yeah. What's the craziest rumor you've ever heard about yourself?

[B]

My husband and I divorced that like, that was an MSN article the other day was. I was divor. Matt. Matt Matthews and husband divorced. And I'm like, we literally just built a house. Like, what are you talking about?

[A]

I call those out anytime something like that gets posted.

[B]

Oh, I posted it. I was like, are y'.

[A]

All. This is a lie. Yeah.

[B]

The. The craziest thing probably is that I've made up my whole life. Like, that it's not real.

[A]

Me, too.

[B]

People say that about me. I didn't live in a trailer park. I didn't live in the projects. My mom's not an alcoholic. Like, I made all that up for just to get views, literally.

[A]

People tell me the same thing. I'm like, do you think that I'm going to tell people that I was a hooker? I would have been a doctor if I was going to make up my past, you know? Like. Like, I. I.

[B]

The.

[A]

The way that people, like, try to shame you for your upbringing is crazy. Like, it's just wild.

[B]

The craziest thing to me is, like, the AI Now.

[A]

Oh, that shit's weird. That shit's so weird.

[B]

People are, like, taking videos of me, and they'll. People are getting scammed. Thousands of dollars. This lady came to my show the other day, and she's sitting, like, third row, and she's like, hey. And I'm like, hey. She goes, it's me. And I'm like, it's you. There's a video on my Instagram. I was like, what? I was like, are you. Are you okay? And she's like, it's me. And I'm like, what the are you talking about? She had been talking to somebody this whole time, and she thought she was talking to me because they're using AI videos, and you can see like. Like, it was actually a cameo that I had done for someone, and they had used AI to change what I was saying.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

And I'm like, this is the craziest. How is that legal?

[A]

But first of all, how do people fall for this? Because it doesn't look real.

[B]

No, it doesn't.

[A]

People get scammed all the time from Jelly and Bunny accounts also. And I feel so bad for you guys. Like, if I. One, I will never ask you for money. Two, never send money to anybody ever. But please pay attention.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because you can tell when shit's not real, you know?

[B]

Like, I hate when I post something on Facebook, and every single time somebody comments. Matt Matthews, private Matt Matthews fan. I'm like, I block them, too. But you can't, like, there's so many, so many. I'm like, I could hire somebody full time and sit there and block accounts. It is insane.

[A]

And now they have these new accounts that are on Facebook that are like news outlets, but they're not really new.

[B]

They're not real news.

[A]

Like, they literally one had the tick tock in her uproar saying that my husband said that he hates gay pride and all this other stuff. And it's like. Like, my husband never said that. And people really believe this. Yesterday they said that I was attacking Sydney Sweeney because of her jeans out or something like that. And I'm like, are you guys. And there's like a thousand comments of.

[B]

And they believe it.

[A]

Oh, yeah, we're not taking advice from a hooker. And like, didn't she used to sell her ass? And I'm like, yeah, to your dad, Mike. You know, it's like, people still made.

[B]

More money than you. Ho.

[A]

Literally. And people just stop. Just stop believing everything that you read on the Internet.

[B]

It is absolutely insane to me.

[A]

In the business that you're in, do you always feel like you have to be on?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, when I meet somebody, if somebody comes up to me in public for a picture or they stop me, like, I feel like I have number one, I will never say no.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I will never be ugly to anybody because if it weren't for those people, I would not be here.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I'm so thankful for them. But at the same time, I know that they expect me to be farm chores or they expect me to be the comedian on stage. And I tell people I'm like, I am when I'm on stage, it's a part of who I am. Like, that is who I am. That really is me. But it's just a part of who I am. And I'm performing, you know, like, that is a performance. When I'm on that stage, I am performing. This is not a conference. You know what I mean? I'm not just reading a script. I am performing.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And so when you meet me in the grocery store, I'm not going to be that ridiculous. You know what I mean? So I do feel like I have to be on a lot.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And that is. That's, you know, nobody's ever gonna say that I was rude to them.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But they may say like, oh, he wasn't the same in person.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Because maybe I don't. You know, that's the big thing that people say about me on the Internet is that I talk black. I try to talk Black.

[A]

And I'm like, you're a Southern.

[B]

Gay Southern.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I'm gay as hell. Like, and I was raised in the projects, and I did go to an all black church. Church. I was the only. You know. But then they're like, oh, well, your accent changes. Okay, well, I can talk like this or I can talk like this, you.

[A]

Know, but it sounds the same to me.

[B]

It's like it's our customer service voice.

[A]

Right.

[B]

I tell people, if you don't have different voices from when you're hanging out with your best friends or when you're, you know, doing an interview.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Then you need to learn how to do an interview voice so that you can get a job.

[A]

Right.

[B]

You know, like, all right. So that's the. That's the crazy thing to me is I'm like, why would I act to be. Why would I. You can only hold a false person or, like, this personality for so long.

[A]

Oh, I tell everybody. I'm like, listen, I love you. What you see on the Internet is me in the comfort of my own home, in my own studio, in person. I am shy. I'm quiet. I have anxiety. You're judging me. I know you are as soon as you walk up to me and ask for a picture. So I'm like, if I'm not who I am online, just know that. It's just. I'm very more. I'm a lot more reserved in person. I just don't set people up for failure. I'm like, look, Coop, it's. You're gonna be disappointed.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Don't expect much. You'll be.

[B]

What kills me is when they come up to me and they're like, get up. It's time to do farm chores. And I'm like, that is the cringiest thing to me. I'm like, please. Or they'll be like, did you do farm chores today? I'm like, no. I'm off. Like, I'm at a comedy show. What the. Do you think I'm in Seattle? Do you think I did farm chores? That is. That part makes me cringe because I'm just like. But I mean, it's like, I'm sure people. I'm sure people will come up to you and, you know, like, any kind of. Any kind of.

[A]

What do they say? What do they say? What is it that. Oh, the. I still confess because I do what? So I do this thing where I'm like, I. We have another segment called Askel Confess.

[B]

Okay?

[A]

I've literally had ask how confess since I had my Instagram 10 years ago, but we just moved it to our platform about a year ago. And so the opening, I'm always like, welcome to Ask, Tell, Confess. So I say that. So people come up to me all the time, and that's what they do. I can't do it.

[B]

Did I do it?

[A]

Yeah, you did it. Hey, you did it. Ask, Talk and Fish. So, yeah, that's what they come up and say to me.

[B]

Yeah. And it makes you cringe, don't it?

[A]

I mean, I'm just like, I'm not doing it right now. Like, I'll do it whenever I have to film five in a row. Yeah, let's talk about. About your music, because I know that Jewel actually had a really big impact on your music career, which you and I had this conversation, and should I even tell the story or no?

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Okay.

[A]

Okay. So. And listen, Jewel, you're a beautiful human. I have always looked up to you. This was just a moment in time, and I completely understand where she was coming from now that I live the life that I live. When I met Jewel, this was when the Palms was huge in Vegas. And I think I was like, leaving fucking Ghost Bar or something. It was in the middle of the night, two o' clock in the morning. She's walking in the casino by herself. And I'm walking out of this club and I see Jewel. And then this is like when she was huge. And, like, I couldn't believe it. And I was just like, oh, my God, Jewel. And she was like, you know, like she had gotten caught. And I was just like, hey, can we take a picture? And she was like. Rolled her eyes and goes, one picture right now, right here. And I was like, you know what? It's okay. And I ended up leaving her. And I left that. That encounter with her for the longest time. For years, I was like, dude, Jewel was a bitch, you know, but now that I'm in this lifestyle, you understand. Yeah, I. She could have been going through a fucking divorce in the middle of this fucking casino. She could have been on her period. She could have been fucking. There could have been a million things that were going on, you know, granted, she could have been a little nicer, but when you told me your story about how much she helped you, I was like, oh, maybe she does have a heart, you know?

[B]

Well, and that's kind of why I said, I will never be ugly to a fan.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Now, I mean, let me never say never, because you might catch me on the right time, you know, But I really try to never be ugly because.

[A]

And it's hard. They will remember that. Tears. And people will come up to you and you have to like.

[B]

And you have to be like, okay, hi, how are you? You know. But they remember that for the rest of their life. You're not going to remember them, but they will remember you for the rest of their life.

[A]

Yes. And people won't remember times or situations, but they'll remember how they. You made them feel. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

And so that is. That's why I. I really try to always be kind. Because it. It. It costs zero dollars to be kind.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I remember I grew up. I was obsessed with Jewel.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Obsessed.

[A]

Same. I had the same tooth as her.

[B]

Like, yeah. I mean, literally, I was. I grew up. So just, like, I thought she was the best artist. Like, I thought her music was just incredible. I mean, I loved her so much.

[A]

She really is a talented artist.

[B]

She's incredible.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I remember she followed me on Instagram. And I don't fangirl over people. You know, we're people. Like, it's. We just have a career that you see, but I don't. So I don't fangirl over people. I don't like, you know what I mean? Like, it's. That to me, is just like. It is what it is.

[A]

I did fan girl over Anna Nicole. She was the only one that I found girled over when I met her.

[B]

Yeah, well, Anna Nicole Smith was. Yeah, Nicole Smith, but. So I've never really fangirled over people. And I was laying in bed one night and I look. I was just scrolling and I looked at my Instagram and I saw Jewel Blue check mark followed me and I, like, fell out of the bed. I was screaming. My husband was like, rampant. He was like, what's wrong? I was like, Joel followed me. Like, she came to my hometown and did a book signing. And I went to the book signing by myself. Like, read her. I was always a fan.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I mean, never. Like, I'm not a crazy. Like, I'm not stalking you that kind of fan, but I just always, like, really, really looked up to her as an artist. And I was like, oh, my God. She followed me. And I DM'd her. And I was like, I swear I don't fangirl over people. But I just fangirled so hard. I was like, you don't know how much this means to me. And she was like, oh, I'm such a fan. And I was like, what?

[A]

So it's like your Hero.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Telling you.

[B]

Literally. Literally. And she was like, gay men are my favorite. No, her best friend is a gay man.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so she. We started talking just, you know, kind of how you and I did. We just started talking back and forth. We exchanged numbers. She was like, hey, I'm playing in Rogers, Arkansas, with Melissa Etheridge.

[A]

I. Melissa's been on the podcast. I love Melissa and her wife.

[B]

She is so talented.

[A]

Greatest human.

[B]

I loved Melissa Etheridge as well. And so they were playing in Rogers, Arkansas, at the Walmart amp, and Jewel was like, why don't you come out and sing with me?

[A]

Me?

[B]

I was like, what? I was like, are you kidding me? And she was like, yeah, why don't you come out and sing with me? And I was like, absolutely. I can't turn that down. So we got on the tour bus. It was like 8 o' clock at night, and we drove eight hours to Rogers, Arkansas. And we got there and we had never met in real life. We had only talked, you know, texted and things like. And voice memos and things like that. And we got there and she knocked on my door. And I opened the door. She was like, you got a cup of sugar? And I was like. And she came on the bus and she had her guitar, and she was like, we're gonna sing this song that we didn't. She was like, I don't want to sing a hit with you. I want to sing a hit that's gonna. I want to sing a song that's gonna offend people.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I'm like, okay. And she's a funny. Yeah, she's hysterical. And she was like, let's sing this song that's gonna offend everybody. And I'm like, okay.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I was like, I've never heard this song before. So she gives me a piece of paper. She's like, here's the song I'm myself that I'm about to sing in front of Jewel. You know, never met her. It's not like we're best friends. And I'm about to. I'm sitting on the couch. Jewel is sitting next to me playing a guitar. And I'm about to sing this song with her, and I start singing and she stopped. And she was like. She said. I was like, ma', am, what did I do? And she was like, you can sing. And I was like, I, like. I, like, sunk down into the couch. I didn't hide how much. I was. I was like, I'm not hiding this. This is everything.

[A]

That's the confirmation you needed.

[B]

It Was. So I. I went out and I sang with her, and then we. And then she called me.

[A]

Song. Was it?

[B]

So it was a song called Stop hating or Stop hating Hate or something like that. And it's like, it. The song is like, stop saying the word. Stop saying.

[A]

Like, how do you sing that? I want to hear this.

[B]

I. I'm trying to think how it. How it even goes. Oh, so it's like, my ain't weak. Can you handle that? So stop. So what is it? So stop calling men a like that. I don't need young girls to think that even their sex organs are weak. So stop. Stop saying. And while I'm at it, you can stop saying. It really is time. I think we've had it. And so it's like, just like all these things of, like, stigmas of, like, quit saying these things. Never sang this. Never heard the song sound.

[A]

And by the way, you sounded great.

[B]

Oh, well, thank you. But I'm like, have this piece of paper. And I'm singing the song on stage with her, and it was incredible because she, like, I'm thinking nobody's gonna know who the I am.

[A]

Right, Right.

[B]

And so she calls me out on stage, and, like, the crowd starts screaming, and I'm like, like, what the. You know, like, it was. It was just incredible. And then. Then she called me back out to yodel because I can yodel.

[A]

And so she's like, yodel right the. Now, Matt. Do it now. Yes. We're obsessed with yo. We love it, dude.

[B]

So we yodeled.

[A]

Carly Pierce was on the podcast three days ago, and she could. She can yodel, but she wouldn't do it for us.

[B]

Why? I don't know. It for you.

[A]

Oh, God, I can't wait.

[B]

Let's see. What's the song?

[A]

I'm excited.

[B]

The song is. Well, Ch. Bells are ringing. Mockingbirds. I sing.

[A]

Oh, my God. I love that. Goosebumps.

[B]

I've never done that for anybody.

[A]

That is so cool. I love that. When did. Okay, how did you discover where the. Did you learn how to yodel?

[B]

Jewel.

[A]

Wow. So she yodels, too.

[B]

She yodels. She grew up in Alaska.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, on. And that's like, yodeling was their family thing. Like, they all yodeled.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And I was so obsessed with her that she could do it, so I had to teach myself how to do it.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

And so I told her that I could yodel, and she was like, wait, really? So we're on. I'm on side stage. We had already Sang together. And she said, somebody in the audience said, yelled, yodel. And she was like, oh, you want me to yodel? And they were like, yeah. And so she was like, matt, get your ass back out here. And I went back out there and we yodel together. And I was just like, what the.

[A]

Oh, my. I got goosebumps. That is so.

[B]

It was. It was crazy. And then afterwards, she was like, matt, you got to it. Do music. And I was like, I'm too scared. I don't think I'm good enough. Like, I don't think that I can.

[A]

You're very good.

[B]

And so she put me in touch with her producer here in Nashville, and I had like, a list of songs that I'd written, and I came to Nashville and I recorded them all. And we just literally got all the masters back literally two days ago. So the record.

[A]

Sending me stuff I want to hear.

[B]

Well, so I never sent you anything cuz I didn't want you to think, like, oh, he's sending me music. Because my husband.

[A]

My husband sends me music all day long. Send me music. Like, I'll tell you if I like.

[B]

It or not, but you know what I mean? Like, I didn't want you to think, oh, like, he's trying to get into music, or like, he wants to be. You know what I mean?

[A]

Like, I wouldn't think so.

[B]

I didn't want to ever do that because I was like, no, I don't want.

[A]

My husband sends me his tracks all the time because I'm not a jelly roll fan. I never have been. And I will tell my husband straight up, do not put that on your album. This is terrible. And so he loves that because. Because he'll talk and be like, you up my algorithm. But he really loves the fact that he'll send me tracks and I'll be like, yes, no. Yes, no. And he really listens. He won't put him on the album if I.

[B]

Well, and that's what I want too, is somebody to be like, this is really good, or this is not good. Because people don't usually do that, you know? And so now Sloan and like everybody at wme, they obviously, there's such a big music, country music. They have a hold on that.

[A]

And they're like, shout out, Sloan.

[B]

Shout out. We love you, Sloan. They're like, matt, your voice is so unique and it's so good. You have to do this music. But we don't know where your music's gonna fall because it's not like pop country. Yeah, it's More folk. Like, they're like. It's very much Jewel.

[A]

But do you think that you could do like a Jewel mix with, like, Tyler Childers? Because Tyler Childers is.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Kind of folk music in some ways.

[B]

And that's kind of what I feel like my music is similar to. So that's kind of like where we are right now is, you know, they're like, oh, Matt, your music is incredible. But it's probably not going to be mainstream enough. It's not going to be on the radio. It's not going to be, you know, this, this and this. Your voice is incredible. The music is incredible. We just don't know where it's going to land. We don't know where it'll live.

[A]

Well, because for you, you have a cult following that will probably blow their minds.

[B]

Well, I hope. But I also don't want to get my hopes up, you know, because, like, that was.

[A]

Was. Have faith in yourself.

[B]

That was always what I wanted to do. And so. So to just put the record, just to. To make the record was just for me.

[A]

Would you ever mix music in with your comedy shows?

[B]

Yeah, so I have a little bit. Jewel actually tells me she thinks that I should sing my songs on stage while I do my comedy, like, either before or after or like some way do it that way. But I'm just like, how do I go from, like, talking about sucking dick to writing to this beautiful ballad, you know?

[A]

Right. How do I do mix it in? Yeah, you know, because, like, Josh, Adam Meyer and Josh Wolf, those are all friends of ours. My husband's like, really entrenched in the comedian world and they sing a lot of stuff online. But it's funny stuff.

[B]

Yeah. See, my music isn't funny.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And that's what I wanted was like, I wanted to show people a different side of me. Like, not the funny side. I want.

[A]

You want to separate church from state.

[B]

Yeah. I think parody music is so cool.

[A]

Corny, right? Like Weird Al Yankovic.

[B]

Yeah, I think it's so corny.

[A]

It works for people. I do it every Christmas. I drop a Christmas song every year. And it.

[B]

It's. But I feel like that's different because it's Christmas.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know what I mean? But, like, now there's a. So it. Right now in the show that I perform at the very end of this, at the very end of the show, I perform an acoustic ballad of my neck, my back.

[A]

I love that. Have you ever put it on Tick Tock?

[B]

No.

[A]

Why not? It will go insanely viral.

[B]

So I'M just, just. You can. Here's the thing. You can tell me I'm not funny and I'm like, I know I am. But you tell me you can't sing and that'll hurt my feelings.

[A]

Matt, put my neck, my back acoustic on Tick Tock and watch how much it blows up. I'll use it 10,000 times if I have to until it blows up. It will blow up. I promise you. I promise you. Please. You gotta have faith in yourself. Dude, look how much you've done already.

[B]

I know, I'm just.

[A]

Look how much you've done already.

[B]

Scary.

[A]

It is very scary putting yourself out there. But, dude, you got Jewel co signing you. You just yodeled. You've got talent, dude.

[B]

That made my stomach hurt.

[A]

No, it was so good.

[B]

What do you mean?

[A]

My nipples got hard. I was turned on.

[B]

I never thought you made Bunny's nipples hard.

[A]

I never thought that I would get turned on by a yodel. And I was completely turned on. Like, it was amazing.

[B]

It's just so scary. It is scary because it's such a serious thing, you know? Like, it's very intimate and like, I just. I wrote a song called Under Trailer Lights. And it's like it talks about my mom and like living in a trailer and like that. That's like. WME is obsessed with it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I'm just like.

[A]

Because you feel so vulnerable. It's crazy though, because you wrote a book.

[B]

Yeah, I know, but that's different.

[A]

Yeah, that's so different. So this is like. This is your, like. Like that one thing that you're gonna.

[B]

When we're off camera, I'll let you hear it.

[A]

Okay. But I'm like, send it to me. Yes. I'm like, all your stuff. So do they want to drop it soon or is that going to be like your first?

[B]

So they want me to take label meetings.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And I'm like, why do you have.

[A]

To sign with a label?

[B]

I don't have to. And that's what I'm saying. But they want to do it. I mean, because my publicist is very. I'm not only. I'm the only comedian that my publicist has.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Like, she's worked with several big comedians. And then she was like, we want to bring on another comedian. But they wouldn't just sign anybody. So she represents massive, massive country stars, you know? So she was like, like, I really want to work with you. She does. And she doesn't take on anybody. So it was an honor for her to want to work with Me. So I signed with her and then I obviously now wme. And so they want to be very strategic about it. And they. I was just gonna throw the out there.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And just be like, here you go.

[A]

Do the Jessie Murph round. That's what she does. I know she's the sweetest, but I love her. She will literally throw music up and it will go completely insanely viral. It'll chart all that stuff, and she'll never release. Release it. Like. But it just. It just.

[B]

But you know, what she does that I will never do is. And that's the biggest struggle that I had was I see all the artists that are blowing up with music is because they get their phone and they get the sound and they lip sync it. And I can't do that because it is the cringiest to me. And they're like, when you release a single, you got to be posting every day. Every day, every day with that.

[A]

My husband can't do that either. He hates it.

[B]

Do that.

[A]

He's the same way.

[B]

So I'm like, how do I post the music without making these videos?

[A]

You do other things. He'll, like, you know, post a concert clip or, like, post a vulnerable moment you're having with a fan or like, there's so many other ways to market it to where you're not having to sing in your camera.

[B]

Yeah. Because I'm just like, I'm not 22 years old.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, doing a TikTok with my song. Like, I just can't do.

[A]

I get that.

[B]

Like, it's so cringey to me.

[A]

What would be your dream collab if you. I'm sorry, he's over here just fucking sawing logs. What would be your dream collab that you would be able to work with? I mean, you.

[B]

Music, comedy.

[A]

Jewel with music. Music and comedy. Let's do both. Music and comedy.

[B]

Well, I mean, we're already both coming out of retirement, so for photography, I mean, obviously.

[A]

Yeah, baby. I'm gonna get these titties out.

[B]

I don't think we're ready for what that could be. Music. I feel like I've already performed with Jewel, but, like, doing. We had. We had talked about it, doing a duet together, but she's. She's been for so long that she's just like, I don't want to work anymore, you know?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So she's kind of out. Music I really love right now. I'm really loving Jesse. I think she's so good.

[A]

Yeah, she's.

[B]

I love her new album. I really love that. I really love. Oh, he is going at it. I wonder if you can hear him in the microphone.

[A]

No, we. We usually edit it.

[B]

So I'm trying to think who I'm just, like, really, really obsessed with right now.

[A]

Male or female?

[B]

Male or female? I really love. I really love Ella right now.

[A]

Ella is so saucy. I love her.

[B]

She and I are good friends. Well, we've talked about that. You know that we're friends. We're from. We're both from Alabama.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. I won't go there, but. So, yes, I think Ella's great. I don't know that she's my dream collab by any means, but, man, that's hard.

[A]

So we got Jesse and Ella.

[B]

We got. We got. With the total opposite ends of the spectrum.

[A]

Well, Jesse's going a more sexy way, and then Ella's going more country. Darling. Yeah.

[B]

I love Elvis.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, I do, too. I just feel like this era for Jesse is, you know, she's so young.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

So we're gonna see this era and 10 other more as she goes through her thing. So nobody get married to the idea that she's going to be prancing around like Priscilla Presley next year. No, it's gonna be a completely different human. As she ages, she's gonna evolve into different eras of her life.

[B]

I also am really, like. I really love 90s grunge.

[A]

Yeah, I love it. Yeah. Like Pearl Jam.

[B]

Really been on a biscuit kick lately.

[A]

Oh, we love Fred. You know, Fred's in Nashville.

[B]

No, I didn't.

[A]

Oh, yeah. I talked to Fred all the time.

[B]

I posted a barrel. Right. You know how a barrel race race? And I posted a barrel racing clip the other day with the roll.

[A]

Yeah, I saw it. I was like, this is hot.

[B]

Yeah. I'm like, I love that. It just really reminded me of, like. It's very nostalgic.

[A]

Yeah. Fred's out here in Nashville. He lives here.

[B]

Bush, Bush.

[A]

Yes. Gavin Rossdale.

[B]

Not Bush Bush, but the band Bush.

[A]

Yeah. Those are all great. Those are all great.

[B]

Well, Kurt Cobain's dead, but, you know, it's fine.

[A]

There's always Courtney Love. Courtney Love was amazing. I loved her.

[B]

Her daughter. Their daughter followed me on Instagram.

[A]

Francis. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Crazy. She married Tony Hawk's son. Like, what, two just, like, empires.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Kurt Cobain and Tony Hawk. Their world's coming together and they had a baby together, like, wild. So I'm gonna ask you a couple questions to close out. You've built this empire from scratch. What's something that you wish more people knew about. The hard work behind the scenes.

[B]

How much work it is. You know, people think that, oh, you just blew up on the Internet. You just got successful overnight from videos. You don't realize just how much work we put into this and how hard.

[A]

It is to stay, to maintain.

[B]

To maintain.

[A]

You know, how many people go up and then straight back down. To be able to go up and keep coasting and keep growing is very hard.

[B]

That is the hard, number one, how much money I've spent, you know, for. On my team, on publicist, on managers, on agents, on, like, the. The amount of just, like, blood, sweat, and tears that go into it and then to stay there.

[A]

Yeah. Was there ever a time that you almost gave up, like, creating content?

[B]

No, never. Never almost gave up because I. What. What the else am I gonna do, right?

[A]

Like, right. No, I feel the same way. I'm like, my husband's like, you feel like you can't ever take time off? I'm like, I can't. My.

[B]

Feel like I can't ever touch.

[A]

Take off. Yeah, no, for sure.

[B]

They did ask me the other day, they were like, would you ever do, like, a destination show? And I was like, what do you mean?

[A]

They were like, love Island.

[B]

They were no, like. Like, going to a. They were like, you and, like, several of your friends that are in the industry, and they were like, y', all, like, you and Bunny could go and do a podcast in Mexico, and we could bring Jewel and y' all do a song together, and we could bring Kelly Osborne and y' all in, like, have, like, sell all the. Like, a cruise almost.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

You know, And I was like, like, w. Asked. WME asked me that, and I was like, oh, well, I've never thought of it, but it sounds fun.

[A]

I mean, I'm down.

[B]

I'm like, I'm down. Go to Mexico and, like, get a vacation with your friends and get to work. Sure.

[A]

Get to hang out with Kelly Osborne. I'm totally down. I love Kelly so much. She's so sweet. Is there anything that fame has given you that you never expected?

[B]

It has given me, number one. It has given me. Me clarity on who I am as a person, you know, because everybody thinks that fame changes you, Right. And for a lot of people, it does.

[A]

Money doesn't. What is it? Money. Money reveals character.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And I think that is one of the. One of the things that I have always, like, being humble is very, very strong driving force for me.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't ever want to Change because people know who I am or because I have money. Yeah. Or anything like that. Like I just want to. I always want to stay who I am. And that's. A lot of people are like, would you ever. Are you ever going to move to Nashville? Are you ever going to move to New York or la? And I'm like, no, I live in Bum, Alabama still.

[A]

Yeah. You know, would you never leave Alabama?

[B]

I mean, if, if I had, like if there was the right opportunity.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Maybe. But I'm like, I'm two hours from.

[A]

From right from every.

[B]

You know, like. So I'm two hours driving here to you or I can get on a flight, two hours to New York. You know what I mean? Like if I have to go do a role or in a movie or a TV show or if I got something like that and I had to go work for a little while, that's fine. But I'm always going to go back to my country. To your roots, to my house, you know. And I think, I think that is a part of what has kept me who I am.

[A]

I love that so much. And last thing. If your animals could talk for 30 seconds, what dirt would they spill on you?

[B]

You That I am.

[A]

If there was any scandal that any of your animals could leak, what would it be?

[B]

Well, damn if I tell you then why? We want to know.

[A]

Inquiring minds want to know. We need the headline, Matt. Give it to us.

[B]

Any scandal. Well, nobody ever comes to my house. So there's no, like I really be in that robe with no underwear on. People think that's a joke. That's the real deal. I really be cussing my husband out.

[A]

Where is Heavy is he?

[B]

He's at home. Yeah. Yeah. I'm honestly very boring.

[A]

You know, I get it.

[B]

There's. I don't have, I don't like, you know, the whole. What is the biggest lie? I don't think there is one. Cuz like I'm just. I figured it out. What is my biggest lie?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

When I was looking at gay porn when I was like a young kid and my dad saw it and I told him I wasn't gay. Oh. And he's like, but you were scared.

[A]

You were scared.

[B]

But I was sure looking at big dick on my dad's computer and he.

[A]

Was, he's like, how am I getting these pop ups? Because back then you would get them.

[B]

And he was like, well, son, are you gay?

[A]

And I was like, no, he's just getting me. He's having his morning coffee and the pop ups are just dick slapping him in the face.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I love it. Matt, tell people where they can buy tickets. Tell people where you're going to be. Tell them you're. Tell them whatever you want to tell them where they can find you on the Internet. See you. All of it.

[B]

Matt matthews.com for all the tickets. Matt underscore Matthews for all of the socials. One T in the last name?

[A]

Yes, everybody. Is it one T?

[B]

Yeah, everybody.

[A]

I always think it's two.

[B]

It's very common for. For two T's, but only one.

[A]

All right. Well, I'm glad you made that clarification. Thank you so much for coming.

[B]

Thank you for having me.

[A]

I can't wait to have you back on. Come back anytime. My couch is always open for you.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

And you're going to have to teach me how to yodel.

[B]

I got. Let's do it.

[A]

I want to learn how to. While we're doing boudoir Shoot.

[B]

Okay. We'll make a. You want to make a tik tok and I'll teach you how to yodel. We'll do a tik tok.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

I'm going to be like.

[A]

Thank you guys for tuning in to another episode of D Blonde. I'll see you guys next week. Bye.

[B]

Limu game. And Doug Limu and I always tell you to customize your car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. But now we want you to feel it. Cue the emu music. Limu. Save yourself money today.

[A]

Increase your wealth. Customize and save.

[B]

We say that may have been too much feeling.

[A]

Only pay for what you need@liberty mutual.com.

[B]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty Savings.

[A]

Very unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates. Excludes Massachusetts.