Matt

Eating good I had to get my weight up 🫃

From coloring shoes to colored callsheets (2025) ♋️ We were starting our 5th game of pool when Teo asked me what it took for me to be happy at work. The rack of colors broke as I shot the white cue ball down the table, telling him I was happiest when I helped others be their most creative. I had my own way of organizing info and making things painfully obvious, without any risk for confusion, so that others could focus on getting the right shot or the right lighting or the right frame in the right amount of time. Being a video producer meant I took pride in my creativity helping others navigate crucial information, like this callsheet from the third part of the Footlocker x On campaign Ralph and I worked on. My time as a producer helped me realize I’m my truest self when my creativity is trusted, and in return everyone else’s creativity increases. Positive feedback loop. Win win. I’m my happiest when I help others win.

BTS portrait on-set of Ralph and Zu testing video angles. From part 2 of the 3-part Footlocker x On campaign with Lexie Learmann back in 2024. #ricohgriii

Throwback to producing my second Footlocker x On shoot with some very talented folks down in LA. Seamless is the only word to describe how this worktrip felt. Ralph and I had our respective director+shooter/producer reps in by the time we’d gotten the call back to do another campaign with @lexielearmann so we were really able to have fun with this one. No better feeling than making sure everyone on set is fed, caffeinated, and wrapping early. Bonus appearance at the end by @bobbyfilacchione to help commemorate this milestone 🪳 Photographer/Director @ralphromeo Producer 🤓 Videographer Zu Farid Lighting Tech @ajlising BTS Video @correadrian Stylist @jassanchezz PA @eriklumins HMU @poojasethiya_mua Senior Manager, Production Erica Schwegman Manager, Content & Creative @markeyrocks Art Director, Key Accounts Beatrice Thompson  Hero Talent @lexielearmann

On K-Tech 1 in Tofu & Sea Moss ♋️ “Show them what you can do with what you’ve been given” Full circle moment, a few years in the making. Being sent On’s newest footwear collab brings me back to the 3-part campaign @ralphromeo and I collaborated on for Footlocker in partnership with On, a testament to the growth we enabled in each other when we’d first started out shooting shoes just cause. I’ll always think about how Ralph would be sent a pair of shoes, come up with an idea, and ask if I wanted to help execute it on a random Friday. For no reason other than his love of footwear and photography, a sort of “show them what you can do with what you’ve been given” mindset that has stayed with me ever since. It’s also helped me lean into what excites me the most about a specific pair of shoes and what I’m capable of doing. For this page from the sketchbook I dissected the lateral, heel, and toebox shape language of the K-Tech 1 in an attempt to understand the newest silhouette from On developed exclusively for Kith. A clean, undeniably Kith riff on the already comfortable Cloudswift that’ll always remind me of what Ralph and I have built for ourselves, with our friendship as the foundation.

My time in Seattle is best portrayed as “consistent city life”: for 10 years I’ve been 10 minutes away from Pike’s Place, Elliot Bay Bookstore, and the Korean-owned cafe known as URL. I used to think going to the same places and seeing the same faces every week meant I was stuck, until I started hanging out with Gabs and Tony. Their lives are so consistent, there’s rarely anything “new” to talk about when we get together. “Tony’s like a cartoon character, wears the same thing every day!” We already know the routines we’ve established for ourselves. Because of this we end up living more in the moment whenever we’re supporting one of Mo’s DJ sets or welcoming Lindsey or Viv back from their travels. It feels special to know two of the kindest, funniest, most genuine people so intimately; on more than one occasion, Gabs has told me just how intentional she and Tony are with her friendships. “You think YOU don’t let anyone in? Tony’s even stricter than that!” ♋ When I first met Gabs, I thought I knew everyone I ever needed to know. Maybe it was because I’d been hurt before by letting the wrong people in, and I never knew who had my best interests in mind. I would often stay “home” to minimize the chances of letting the wrong one in again. My life was ruled by a fear that I would never break this seemingly consistent cycle of being hurt. Until I saw what was consistently good in my life. Seeing the familiar lighting of the same bars. Seeing the moles and cheekbones of the same faces. Letting others see me for who I am and letting them show me who they are. Building relationships with those who have my best interests in mind, who want nothing but for me to be happy. This mindset of seeing what’s been consistently good in my life helped me take this portrait of Gabs, Tony and Rico in their home. ♋️ I feel grateful every time I see Gabs or Tony for our weekly outings, to have been made part of their routine. When I’m with them, I’m reminded just how special it is to be consistent in someone’s life, and to never take that for granted.

It’s March which means the Don Toliver show at Climate Pledge is only 3 months away

Happy Year of the Fire Horse! A sketch request of a cowboy from a 2022 journal featuring warmups of trying to understand the shape of horses and their riders. Later used as a tattoo reference! How’d that Young Thug bar go again?

My friends are some of my greatest sources of inspiration; capturing them in their homes has helped me understand how much they’ve shaped me into who I am today. This portrait features someone whose good taste and opinion I have immense respect for, as both a friend and a fellow photographer. It’s through her that I’ve seen what it means to live freely.  Marissa is one of the most forward people I’ve met in Seattle. In a city notorious for people minding their own business, she’s the odd one out. I can always rely on her to offer her opinion on the food in front of us or the flavors found at the bottom of a wine glass.  Such a strong opinion doesn’t come without its foundations: from a decade working in and around fashion, her life has been full of trial and error, figuring out what she likes and doesn’t like. “My mom too. She always had a good sense of style and we’d always connect on it”. It’s that forward mindset of hers that I believe has helped her make the tasteful creative decisions evident in her photography. My admiration for her work and the shared understanding we have of being raised by a Filipino mother led me to ask if I could feature her in this series on “home”. Like her photography, Marissa makes a strong and lasting impression on you when you’re with her, and the day I shot her portrait was no different. I remember trying different compositions in various corners of her home as the sun shifted positions through her window. Last night I defaulted to her opinion when deciding which portrait to post, the one you’re reading about right now. “I feel like there’s more [of] a story [to tell with this one]”.  ♋️ I’ve never been good at confrontation. I’ve never even been in a fight with someone. I was raised to never offer my own opinion because others knew what was best for me, and to think otherwise meant rejection and abandonment. But lately I’ve wanted to be braver and believe in the opinion I have, even if it means confrontation. Having a friend like Marissa who freely gives her opinion inspires me to embrace my own without fear - to live a life as freely as possible.

First 6 weeks of 2026 #ricohgriii

More sketches from a 2025 journal including the Air Terra Humara, the Asics UB6-S GT-2160, and turning my name into a logo based on the amount of penstrokes it takes for me to write each letter

Blue Reminder (2024) #ricohgriii