Matt grew up always favoring video games over physical exertion. A passionate Call of Duty and Halo player, he spent nearly all of his free time in high school slamming pop tarts and playing XBOX. It wasn’t until college where he found he actually enjoyed exercise and endurance sports, beginning his journey into running, triathlon, and cycling in January 2012.
After graduating college in 2013, he devoted all his free time to passing the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam, a set of 4 exams which require an immense amount of studying. When he passed the exam, he immediately began looking for things to fill his free-time and dove head-first into half Ironman triathlon. In 2016, after two years of mediocre results in half Ironman, he broke his collarbone on a bike ride and was forced inside onto the stationary trainer to stay active, and at the recommendation of a friend he joined Zwift. Instantly, his passion for video games and sport became one, and he began riding inside more and more. The result was that he got faster outside; taking time trial course records and becoming a state champion in his first season after finding Zwift.
In 2018, Matt began racing on Zwift, and started to take it seriously for the first time; setting his sights on qualification for the CVR World Cup in Los Angeles. The CVR World cup was an event where qualifiers raced Zwift in-person for a hefty prize purse. He qualified, accepting an invite to the event which hosted some of the strongest racers on Zwift, as well as professional triathlete and über-cyclist Lionel Sanders. Matt won the first race in the event, placed 2nd in the next race, and landed 6th overall out of the 10-racers. The event was a massive confidence booster, pushing Matt to commit more effort to racing at the top level. He spent the remainder of 2018 honing his skills, racing as often as he could, meeting his current teammates and beginning to host events on Zwift.
It was meeting his current teammates which changed everything for Matt. Before founding the team, Matt worked to host a massive event named The Morning Grind Fondo, where he learned the ins-and-outs of the community and developed skills which would prove useful for running the team. He set out in February of 2019 to start Saris | NoPinz (formerly Indoor Specialist and Saris + The Pro’s Closet), and its been a whirlwind ever since! To put it lightly, Zwift has allowed Matt to grow immensely as a cyclist. There truly is no better way to work full time, race your bike regularly, meet people, and have access to opportunities across the globe. Zwift is a game-changer.
In November 2020, Matt and his wife Kathleen welcomed their first son, Brody, into the world. Brody loves oatmeal and peanut butter, going on early morning walks, and sleeping through the night!
Interesting facts about Matt:
Loves traveling abroad with his wife Kathleen
Massive sweet-tooth (donuts are life)
Has played guitar for over 15 years
Will ride for IPAs from Toppling Goliath Brewing Company!
He’s a passionate home cook
“Back of the Card” Rider Stats
Stands 5’11” tall and weighs in at 147-151lbs
Guaranteed to be listening to “Rage Against the Machine” while racing against you
Specializes in short-to-medium range climbs, his favorite is Box Hill
Frequently begins rides between 3 and 4 AM
Over 100,000 kilometers indoors with over 2,700 lifetime hours in-game
Super power is zone 2 riding. Has averaged 250W+ across all rides since 2017.
Gardiner + Company
Matt works for his family’s audit & tax business which his grandfather, Dan Gardiner, started in 1964 to serve agricultural cooperatives in the midwest United States. In the over 50 years since opening it’s doors, the Company has become an industry-leader, and valued partner for it’s many Cooperative, Credit Union, and Governmental clients.
The company is still very much a family business. It is currently managed by Matt’s father, Dennis. Other coworker-family members include Matt’s mother Laura, sister Emily Bell, brother-in-law Robert Bell, and uncle Mark.
