Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt McGovern.
Hi Matt, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m from Ellisville, Mississippi, which is in the middle of south Mississippi. Born and raised. I also briefly did the Disney College Program at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida in 2006. I was “friends with” Goofy and Tigger.
I finished college at the University of Southern Mississippi in December 2009 with a Bachelor’s Degree. My major was Radio / TV Production, with a minor in Religion (I am who I am, lol). This was during the time when the U.S. economy was in the toilet, so I worked at Outback Steakhouse until working at my home TV station, WDAM-TV, as a Production Assistant.
I soon moved to Texas in June 2012 to further my media career. Over the last nine years, I have worked at three more TV stations. I worked at KCEN-TV in Central Texas as a news photographer. Then I worked at KGNS-TV in Laredo as a news photographer, then the first web producer in the history of the station, then as the Senior Web / Social Media Producer. Ever since June 2017, I have been working at KWKT FOX 44 in Waco as a web producer.
Aside from my professional life, moving to Texas also introduced me to a lot of new things and new hobbies – jet skis and personal watercraft being one of them. In 2014, I used my writing and photography skills to do some freelance work for Pro Rider Watercraft Magazine. Seven years later, I’m still going to the occasional Texas jet ski event and reporting on it for this magazine.
In recent years, however, I’ve mostly transitioned over to portrait photography – and even male modeling. These are two things I never, ever thought I would do in my life. I’ve been lucky enough to try my hand at just about anything creative throughout the course of my life, and photography and modeling are the two things I’m doing the most at this time.
At the time of this writing, I have been internationally-published 21 times. And believe it or not, most of these publications came from pictures I took on an average point-and-shoot camera and basic photo editing software on my laptop. This is a combination of publications of articles on personal watercraft events, portrait photography, and male modeling. And I’m not done yet! I’m also proudly represented by CC’s Modeling out of Central Texas and Valentine’s Model Management out of Arlington, Texas.
Pro Rider Watercraft Magazine: @proridermagazine, @proridermag
CC’s Modeling: @ccsmodeling2020
Valentine’s Model Management: @vmmanagementdallas
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It’s definitely had its share of ups and downs. Professionally, as I mentioned before, I graduated college when no one could get a job and I had to take whatever I could get for a year before I got an entry-level job in the media industry. And that entry-level job was part-time at a place where nobody ever left their jobs. Every job I’ve ever had in Mississippi, whether it’s career-related or not, was NEVER a full-time job. I had to move out of state to get a full-time job. And then when I did, I was fired after three months of working at my second TV station. Looking back, that was a combination of me not having as much experience as I thought and also working for someone who was impossible to please.
After not being able to get a job for seven months, I moved back in with my mom and dad in Mississippi. Four months later, I landed another media job in Laredo, Texas, and it was right back to Texas! Thankfully, things got much, much better after that and my career started getting on the right track.
When it comes to writing articles, photography, and modeling – I haven’t had a lot of bad experiences…..yet. But the one or two I’ve had, as well as the problems I constantly hear about from everybody, have to do with other people. Their personalities, needs, and demands. When you interact with several different groups of people all the time, you’re bound to bump into someone you butt heads with at some point. Anybody who makes a life out of racing jet skis, planning jet ski events, doing photography, being a model – or basically anything fun or creative – most of them are barely making anything at all. You’ll meet the occasional person who has their own business outside of these things and is financially stable, but anyone who decided to start what they’re doing from scratch – your support means the world to them. They are nothing without the love, dedication and support of others. I personally am playing things safe and doing all these things as hobbies while sticking with my full-time job – I’m at a point in my life where I want to avoid headaches, lol.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
From 2014 until around 2019, everything major creative thing I did was pretty much freelance work for Pro Rider Watercraft Magazine. I went to most of the annual Jet Ski Extravaganzas held every summer at Lake Travis, met people, spoke to them for information on the event and on the local jet ski scene, took pictures of them in action, wrote articles on these events, and this annual event was basically my foot in the door that proved to me that I have what it takes to be internationally-published.
As years went by, a new Texas-based tour called TxH2ORacing was born, and I jumped at the opportunity to introduce myself to the people in charge for more opportunities – and to also help out the new guys and girls on the block. There were more events to report on, which led to more publications and experience for me. There was an eventual change in management a year or two later, and I still went to most events, but only for a few hours at a time (that’s really all I needed anyway). And then the organization went on a sort-of hiatus when the second person in charge unfortunately passed away.
These days, most of the events that pass through Texas are put on by companies who have their own media people, so I’m not really needed right now. I’m not saying I’m retired from doing this kind of stuff, but just sort of taking a break right now. I feel like I’ll still go to the occasional event in the future.
In February 2019, I took a little bit of a stupid risk and made a small announcement that I was going to try portrait photography and male modeling. And I won’t lie, people were probably laughing at me behind my back. I also built an Instagram for the very first time around this point. Never had one before, had to learn as I went. I had a pretty decent amount of photography opportunities at first – once I met two or three key people in the Central Texas area who introduced me to others.
When I finally got at least one good opportunity to do some modeling, that was what I needed to get some of that experience and put it on social media. Once I started doing stuff like this on both sides of the camera, people slowly started taking notice. People invited me to group photoshoots in several nearby areas, and I started making connections. These connections, plus having constant work and content, led to invitations to join agencies. However, because I have a separate career from all this stuff, I had to make sure they didn’t expect a ton out of me at all times. CC’s Modeling and Valentine’s Model Management have both been great experiences, and I’m honored to be a part of both those agencies.
So whenever I have creative control over a project, or I talk to one of my friends and connections for projects to do, I usually try to go for something “cool.” Most people out there want to go for something sexy or attractive, but for me the keyword is “cool.” I’m smart enough to admit I’ll never be People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive.” I’m just an average guy who decided to try something new, and I’m surprised I’ve gotten so much interest in what I’m doing.
For me, inspiration can come from anywhere at any time. There’s times I’ve been in front of the camera and sometimes I’m trying to look chill, sometimes I’m doing a throwback to a black-and-white crime movie from the 1940’s. Sometimes I pose as a pro wrestler from my childhood and quote him. A very talented friend of mine recently made me look like a cyborg. It’s all about trying new things, having a wide variety of interests, and getting out there and doing it. Not every single thing I’ve done has received good reception, but nobody’s perfect.
Whether it’s a creative hobby or anything in general, you will learn very quickly that there is nobody on Earth who is quite like me. I’m a very unique and complex person with a wide variety of interests. If you want to meet or work with someone completely different from anyone else you’ve met or worked with, you’ve found him.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
For my professional career, I would not be where I am today without the love and support of my mom and dad. My mom got me my foot in the door at my home station that she worked at for 35 years before she retired in 2015. I wouldn’t have been able to move Texas and even move BACK to Texas without their support. They gave me a place to stay when I was in-between jobs. All the friends I’ve made in both Mississippi and throughout Texas also played a big part in keeping me in check and have provided countless great memories. I don’t have any family in Texas, so for as long as I’ve been a Texan, my friends have meant everything to me. I’m very lucky to have them all in my life.
After what will be eleven years in the media business this January, any work friend I’ve had in the past and present who was super approachable and helped me when I needed it definitely made a difference.
For the fun and creative stuff, anybody whoever gave me a chance when I was just a young man with a point-and-shoot camera (and I still am) will forever have a special place in my heart. The people who make magazines, who plan events, who have cameras who cost thousands of dollars, and anyone who ever let me take their picture – I’m talking to you. Anybody who has ever seen any kind of merit in me, thank you.
Contact Info:
- Email: mattmcg87@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattsavagechamp/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/mattmcg87
Image Credits:
Axel Torres, Laura Lee Cobb
