Matthew, or "Matty M" as a lot of people know him, began his artistic journey at 6 years old; he was surrounded by cultural institutions of cleveland museums, its theater district and Oberlin College. Artistic endeavors of all kinds dominated his life, eventually earning him a BFA from Ohio University. His tattoo apprenticeship was at Pussycat Tattoo in Las Vegas and was mentored by Joe Marro and Dirk Vermin. Throughout his time in Las Vegas, Matthew travelled to do guest spots in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. Matthew returned to his home in Northeast Ohio in 2008 where he settled in to a shop called Body Anthology where he worked for 7 years. Near the end of 2015, Matthew formed Southside Tattoo Company where an amazing family of artists have made it one of the few premier places to get tattooed in the greater Cleveland area.