Matt and his family migrated to Australia in 1968 from Gurnsey Channel Islands. Matt was 3 years of age. After moving around Australia his parents settled at Avalon beach on the northern beaches of Sydney. Growing up on the beach Matt and his brothers were destined to surf. His father John was an avid surfer and surfboard builder. He had a small factory in their garage and at one point turned the lounge room into a laminating area. Over the years they had many international professional surfers stay at their family home, as Matt got to watch the likes of Gerry Lopez and Reno Abellira shape boards in his family garage.

Matt left school at 15 and managed to find an apprenticeship as a carpenter. After completing his apprenticeship he started to work as a professional lifeguard. At this time his younger brother Mark was the Australian junior professional surfing champion, and got sponsored by a Japanese surfboard company called Sun Surfboards. Mark went to Japan to compete and Matt followed the following year to learn how to shape.