If you’ve ever been on a university campus in the greater Cape Town area and you happen to see a pretty boi with golden curls interviewing people, you’ve seen Chief Matt at work.

One of Cape Town’s biggest Youtubers, I’ve found Chief Matt’s fans and followers in all walks of life. We decided to catch up with him and figure out who exactly he is, and why the people love him.

Who is Chief Matt? Tell us more about the man behind the mic

“I used to think that this question was answered through my content, since the goal has always been a high level of authenticity.”

“However, the longer I’ve done it the more that I realize that, for a number of reasons, the person you see on the screen isn’t always the person editing behind it.”

“Chief Matt is an amplified version of certain Matt qualities, that’s all. “

How did you find yourself ending up as one of Cape Town's biggest YouTubers?

“The short version is that me and my boys, Abo and Tebs, started a group channel called ‘Three Fine Guys’ in a small study room on UCT campus during test week prep, out of boredom.”

“This then transitioned into me starting my own channel about 3 years later when the boys carried on pursuing real careers (sies) and COVID hit at the same time, not giving me much else to do anyways. From there it was just a lot of consistency (something which still comes and goes) and a bit of creativity.”

“For real though, shout out to Abo and Tebs, doing it big in their respective fields, and a special shout out to my editing professor Abo - he saw some dark days in the beginning with Tebs and I in the studio”

From your experience, what is a YouTuber? What all goes into it? 

“Someone who makes videos on YouTube? (ha lol got em) to ME a GOOD YouTuber is someone who can be entertaining through their own creativity, however that manifests itself.”

“Bonus points for being a good editor, authenticity, consistency, attention to detail, creativity, and for having the ability to form a real connection with the people that follow you”

On the topic of creativity, how do you find yourself expressing it through your chosen medium?

“Before YouTube I never really thought myself a creative person in the artistic sense (maybe the autistic), but with 250+ videos under my belt, the majority of which have been edited by myself, I think I deserve some credit.”

“I like making videos because I can create something from nothing, in the sense of a story line, as well as financially speaking. I’ve always been smart and lazy (the latter becoming more dominant in recent years), so I’ve always taken pride in finding easier ways to achieve goals/complete tasks.”

“Obviously I’m not even close to where I want to be, but to be able to say that I can make money with my iPhone, my laptop and an internet connection from something that I’ve built almost entirely by myself is something I’m quite proud of.”

You're known for editing your own videos. How did you master the craft?

“That one’s easy. Put the hours in and have a friend like Abo.”

“Nah I would say that in the beginning it was about showing me the ropes - I used to edit basically on iMovie but after that I moved to Final Cut Pro and have used YouTube tutorials to learn small individual skills and incorporate them into my bag of edits.”

From there it’s just the classic story of putting the hours in. A personality trait which I feel gives me an edge regarding editing is my obsessive nature and attention to detail.”

“Where other people would just think ‘good enough’ and send their work out, I would take the extra time to make sure it’s as high quality as possible. In isolated events it doesn’t make much of a difference, but if you spend time polishing the individual puzzle pieces, the overall picture shines that much brighter (bars am I right guys)”

Looking past the YouTube channel, and the clout, where do you see Chief Matt ending up if you stay on this trajectory?

“Honestly speaking I don’t think too far into the future (probably something I should work on), but if Chief Matt works out for me, I would like to see a future with financial excellence (taking care of myself, my parents and my loved ones), business ownership, a real presence in the community and a lot of personal development, being a master of my own mind.”

Your fanbase is very supportive and vocal. What is the wildest experience you've had when encountering fans?

“YOH honestly there are probably so many that I’ve forgotten about - funnily enough the ones that are sticking out right now are from the Three Fine Guys days.”

“This one girl greeted me in long street by jumping and wrapping her legs around me with a hug and another girl, I assume because of the YouTube clout, ending up offering me head in the dm’s like it was a massage voucher - I never ended up taking her up on her offer, something I regret to this day.”

You can follow Chief Matt’s latest escapades on his youtube channel, @chiefmattt, and on Instagram @chiefmattt.