Mat Kwairn’s Biography: Written by Sasha Preek

I promised Mat that if he didn’t get around to writing his bio, I’d do it for him. He just grinned, and now look who’s writing it!

Mat Kwairn hails from Scotland, and is a self described “student of life and the human experience” he’s also a coffee-fueled, ADHD driven, citizen journalist who can become fixated on a topic and just as easy forget all about it for some new challenge.

Mat writes about anything and everything—whether he’s waxing poetic on history, diving into psychology, or sharing his thoughts on the latest culture trends, he always brings an interesting and unique perspective.

With messy dark hair, soul-piercing green eyes, and a grin that can charm anyone into giving him just about anything, Mat has a look that makes him seem equally at home aboard a ship or climbing a tree. His aquiline nose, thick-but trimmed beard and mustache only add to his rugged charm.

Mat has a large tight-knitted family with 3 brothers and 4 sisters. He’s also lucky enough to have his grandparents still around, providing him with a deep sense of family and connection through history and stories.

Mat loves dogs. He’ll cross a park just to go meet a new dog, even occasionaly saying hello to the owners. His Scottish Deerhound, Cairbre (pronounced “Car-bray,” meaning “charioteer”), is his constant companion. He jokes about how Cairbre must have ADHD as well, so they go for long runs almost every day to burn off energy.

Mat has ADHD and he’s very against taking medication for it. He shares his ADHD experiences with others in conversation and in writing. His openness about his struggles and triumphs is one of the many reasons why he’s such a relatable and engaging personality.

Mat loves coffee, and drinks about 6 to 8 cups a day, including his favorite, which he calls “Scottish Coffee” and he describes as “a wee splash of strong coffee in me whisky”.

When people ask Mat why his name has only one “T” instead of the more common, double t, “I’m Mat with only one T because I prefer coffee.” He’s always quick with a joke or funny story.

Born in Scotland, Mat now resides in Hoboken, NY, where he works as a mechanic, specializing in older cars. For the past five years, he’s been restoring his beauty, a 1957 Chevrolet Nomad—a project that, if he can stay on track, might be finished in about a decade. He has a gift when it comes to mechanics, however his passions are all over the placeand he’s constantly exploring different hobbies, from boating to art to music and more.

Mat is also an amazing singer, and he loves to write sea shanties. He has no qualms about singing in a pub right from his table, while banging his glass to the rythm, or busking in downtown NY, however when I mention to him about selling some of his songs, he’s always quick to brush off the idea of taking it seriously. “Naw, it’s just for fun,” he grins.

Despite being so talented, Mat rarely focuses on one thing for too long. He get’s distracted constantly. The other day we were talking about the website and how to attract writers when I noticed him gazing upward. I stopped talking, I don’t think he noticed, and a few moments later he said “I wonder if I should get a telescope?”

Whether it’s mechanics, writing, art, singing, inventing, writing, etc. he’s always all over the place, depending on whatever mood strikes him.

In the end, Mat’s life is a constant stream of new ideas, projects, and passions.

I playfully threatened to write his biography for him, he grinned and will you look at that, I ended up writing it. 

So, here it is, unless he decides to rewrite it, which I doubt. I can already hear him: “Naw, chookie, it’s just fine the way you wrote it.”

– Sasha Preek