Late 2017, Matt was casually invited to experience "The Elevator Shaft" hosted by The Basement LA. He went in with little experience, empty expectation, and a heart full of apprehension. 45 minutes of stress, thrills, and wet clothing later, he emerged victorious... and hooked. Getting voluntarily locked in a room and being forced to solve puzzles under a time limit is actually... fun?

A few recommendations and weeks later, he completed his duties as the Detective in "The Hex Room" hosted by Cross Roads Escape Games. Post-game, Matt's mind was thoroughly blown and bursting with racing thoughts, and the only remedy was to transcribe them on paper, well uh, it was 2018, so via keyboard on a PC. And his very first escape room Yelp review was born.

Soon, more rooms were played, and even more reviews were published. Gradually, fellow Yelp users & escape enthusiasts began to interact, business owners started to take notice, and Matt mingled it up with everyone. The Southern California escape room community is a robust and tight-knit one! With a fiery hot passion, hours upon hours of composing and editing, and a little bit of luck, his reviews had even earned him the Yelp Elite status. Shout out to both the SoCal escape room and Yelp families!

Finally, one day, Matt realized his name "Matt" and his quest to become an escape room "master" should merge on account of the common letter M! (Gasp! Matt + Master = Mattster!) And the self-given nickname "Mattster" is stuck ever since. Initially only sharing his escape adventures on Yelp and Instagram (@EscapeMattster), Mattster realized he needed more. In December 2019, he published this blog site, his very own platform and a safe haven for his many eccentric thoughts, ardent opinions, and random musings.