We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Matthew Eugene a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Matthew , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?
If I were starting today, I think the biggest thing I would focus on is staying true to what I believe and knowing my vision and what I want to bring forth with my brand. I’ve tried and attempted numerous things that I thought may have worked for me, but that wasn’t my calling. These things may have aligned with the surrounding factors of what I wanted to do, but it was not my area to excel in. Comparing myself then to where I am now, I know it was a defined line I had to follow to get me to this point along this journey. I’ve learned a lot of things and had many lessons, but the number one thing I grew to understand is, don’t give up, no matter what you think is or is not working for you. Just continue and stay the course. Sometimes, on our journeys, we compare ourselves to where other people are, and we think we should be there, but their path is not our path. You may take breaks, and they may be extended hiatus, but continue to come back to what brings you joy and happiness. I found my lane with music. I’ve always been passionate about music, listening to it as I would consume it and understanding the origin of where it started. With that passion, I found my lane in music as a board game creative.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
For those of you guys who are not familiar with the work and the craft that I do, let me familiarize you. My name is Matt, and I am a board game creative. Growing up I never saw myself as a board game designer. I knew I was fascinated by video and board games because, growing up with my siblings, it seemed all we had were games. When our parents were not around, we were drawn to fun, whether that was playing games like Madden and NBA live or if we were in person with our friends playing games like tag or playing basketball. All I knew was I was a competitive person when it came to any aspect of play, whether it was in person, viral, or on a board game. As I got older and became interested in other likes like music and sports, I often wondered how to combine those two areas. Unfortunately, my sports came to an end. Although I actively still watch sports, I knew that space was not a space that I could grow in. When it came to music, as mentioned before, I’ve always found myself taking deep dives in and learning more and more about the history of the artist and the producer, and for the longest, I would wonder how I could combine my love and passion for music into a profitable way. This idea came to me when I was in college. It was a rough idea that I worked on, but I shelf for many years, and one thing I can say is I wish I had started it a lot earlier. Creating a board game about music was my lane. When we looked at the board game industry, there was a wide variety of fun, but there were not many music-genre games. When I realized this, I knew it was a space for me to create Randomly Curated Hits(Coming soon, 2024). Once I came up with the idea, it became more apparent that my creative side was inclined to the industry for board games. I wanted to give people a product they could use with their families and friends that could leave long-lasting memories; thus, I started my search to create a music game that makes you defend your library.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
When I think about what fuels me to continue my journey and my search to be the best version of myself in this creative space, I think back to my mantra, the mantra that reminds me to be good: “I rather try and not succeed, then to succeed at not trying” whenever I think of this mantra, it reminds me that there’s always room to grow and there’s always room to expand and if I never try, how can I reach those new heights. Life is a constant evolution. Life is constantly changing, and we must find a way to evolve and grow into our better selves. The person I was in high school is not the same person I am today. I’ve been through many life-changing experiences that shaped my thought process into the individual I am now.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
The way I found my audience on TikTok was by being myself. Many people ask this constant question, and the answer always seems to stem around the same thing, but being myself is how I truly built my audience. Instead of conforming to the things that most people would do for views, I did what was indeed a passion of mine, which was music. I talked about music and the likeness of what I like and how I see certain artists and producers in this space. I view my TikTok page as my outlet, a place where I can run and I can talk to my friends. There may be times when I don’t post, or I may go on hiatus. I know that when I come back, my following base will treat me the same way I’ve always treated them, and the goal is not to stop where I am now but to continue building a powerhouse brand through my audience, giving them content services and materials that they can use and their day-to-day life
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/OgCamperMatt
- Other: https://tiktok.com/@Rooftop_Tunes