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My name is Matt and I think you’re awesome.
More than that, I see what you’re up to. I see the impact it’s making in the world and I see the potential impact it could make. That’s one of the gifts I was lucky enough to be granted in this lifetime. I see your immense possibility and I believe in you.
The work I do is to bring that to life, to reality, to fruition, to its fullest.
I work with leaders and change-makers to help them live more fully into their purpose and share their masterpieces with the world. I educate and train coaches to be world-class in their fields and to help their own clients in reaching their maximum potential.
My focus is you. Helping you find what lights you up and do what you want to do in the world – and do it with excellence.
Some History of Me
1985: I was born in Detroit, Michigan. I love the city, its people, its grit, and its sports teams.
2003: I graduate from Redford Union High School. Talking about any accomplishments there feels like unnecessary bragging.
2005: I study abroad in Madrid, Spain for 6 months. My eyes and heart are opened to the rich beauty and history of humanity, of art, of exploration, of adventure. I know I will continue to travel my entire life.
2007: I graduate from Kalamazoo College with a degree in Human Development and Social Relations. Instead of saving the world as an anthropologist, I decide to go into marketing so I could get power and influence to make a broader change. I also move to Slovenia for three months and walk a Slovene presidential candidate’s dog every day.
2008: I start my first job at the Michigan Ross School of Business just before the financial crisis hits. There, I work with a rockstar team (that still had its challenges), surrounded by some of the greatest business, HR, and leadership thinkers in the world and am shaped by their teachings.
2012: I move to Nashville, Tennessee to explore life outside of Michigan. I take a job with Gannett and live through my first truly toxic work environment firsthand. More than once, I tell my boss I will not lie to a client, no matter what it costs.
2013: I start work at Parthenon Publishing, a much smaller company. There, I witness the tragedy of well-intentioned leadership not getting out of their own way and trying to build a culture that doesn’t actually reflect their own ways of being.
2014: JWT Intelligence Future 100 report for 2015 changes the course of my life. I connect the dots between digital detox vacations, mindfulness, and the future of leadership.
2015: Golden Bristle is born. I begin meditating. I start speaking on mindfulness and Mindful Leadership. Most of the time I feel terrified.
2016: I quit Parthenon Publishing, move to Connecticut, and pursue my transformational work with Golden Bristle full-time.
2018: I have surgery for a ruptured Achilles. I complete training in the Samurai Coaching Dojo. I move back to Michigan. I give a TEDx talk in Florence, AL titled Why the World Needs Mindful Leaders. I complete a no-woman vision quest to re-create my relationships with women. I do a great deal of healing and a lot changes in a single year.
2019: While getting coffee with a Detroit-based VC, I blurt out a 10-year mission to transform the culture of the venture capital world. In 10 years, every founder will have access to coaching and the majority of VC investors will work with their own coach. As the words leave my mouth, I know that’s what I’m committed to and that I have a long road ahead. I meet Kari Sulenes, the founder of Pilea, who is already on a similar mission. My team is coalescing.
2020: I step into the role of Sensei in the Samurai Coaching Dojo, helping coaches to walk the path of excellence and to create more transformation in the world. I move to beautiful Erie, Colorado with an incredible partner. I take more courageous steps on my 10-year mission even when the world is in lockdown and it feels impossible. I choose impossible.
2021: My focus turns to Pilea full-time, as I join the leadership team as CEO. The change we seek to make is moving closer and closer to reality and big things are on the horizon. We surpass our growth goals, serve incredible clients, and build a network of world-changing coaches.
2022: After a year of intense growth and hard work, I turn my focus back to coaching and the other projects I want to bring to the world. I step away from an operational at Pilea while remaining a strong supporter and partner.
That means I’m turning my focus back to you: to what you want to do in the world, what lights you up, and whether having me as an ally along the way might help.
Enough about me.
I’m interested in your story. Why you’re here. What you’re here to share with the world.
