The ever-changing life of Matthew May — learning to get it right from doing it wrong
Before getting it 'right,' you need to do it ‘wrong’ first
We only discover what we like after we know the opposite. This could be a definition of life in the 20s for many people, including Matthew May—an ice-cream scooper, hairdresser, marketer, marble polisher, singer, musician, winemaker, and model. He's basically a 26-year-old mistake master, who mentioned that his hobby is stepping out of his comfort zone to find himself.
On a late afternoon with a gentle breeze, we meet Matthew on the second floor of a small café in Sukhumvit. He walks in and greets us with a large box filled with winemaking equipment. Matthew is wearing his own brand t-shirt, comfy jeans, and sneakers that reveal his Elvis Presley socks.
We immediately know that today’s conversation won’t just be a casual chit-chat. We will get to make homemade wine with him too.
“20s is a strange time. It’s weird and a bit scary. Many people say things will get better in your 30s, so I feel like 20s is the time to explore. It’s probably the time when you feel the most lost. I’m still very lost right now, though—like, I really don’t understand life that well yet. I’m trying, but this is the time when things should happen.
“It's time to find yourself, that’s why I try so many things.”
As Matthew speaks, he mixes this and that into the jar without measuring tools. Then our conversation shifted to the unpredictable nature of life, the search for identity, and the usual ups and downs he experiences.
Tell us about your childhood
“I was studying in Phuket when I was around 9 years old. Back then, I was quite well-behaved because I grew up in a family with a German dad. He was strict about many things. I wasn't as wild as other kids in Phuket since I wasn't living in the same area as my friends.
“My parents probably knew what they wanted me to do or become. At that time, I focused on my studies and even ranked first in the provincial English test. A ‘good boy’ was actually my identity then. Later on, I moved to Spain around 14, and I was exposed to new perspectives and cultures. Being on the other side of the world made me feel like I could do anything.
“Initially, I was still following my parents' rules, but they didn't fit well with the context there. My sleep and diet schedules changed, and my life was different. These little things kind of broke my box and transformed the rules my parents set. I realized that if small things could change, then other things could change too—it was like a domino effect.”
How about your life in university?
“During that time, I was really into music because I wasn't living with my parents in Spain. I was very much outside my comfort zone, and my guitar became my safe space. In my senior year, I auditioned for The Face Season 5, joining Tony's team with Moo as the master mentor. We shot for a while, but everything slowed down after COVID hit. A friend of mine had a marble company, so I reached out to ask if I could work with him. That’s how I got to try marble polishing and marketing. Later on, I ended up doing marketing for a few fashion brands.
“When I was studying, I also tried cutting hair at a small hair salon near the university. Then, Billy from Tur Hair Salon contacted me and asked if I wanted to try cutting hair at his shop. I gave it a shot, but I found that cutting women’s hair just wasn’t for me. The different angles make it a bit harder”
Why do you try so many different things?
“I think it’s because I grew up in a family where they would respond with ‘no, no, no, no, no’ whenever I asked my parents if I could do things. But when I went to Spain, I wasn’t under that control anymore. I felt like there were still plenty of ‘yes, yes, yes, yes’ opportunities out there, so I just went for it.”
Not a rockstar, but a rockstar wannabe.
When did your interest in music start?
“It was when I saw Elvis for the first time. My English teacher at school was talking about him and rock & roll. I thought, ‘Whoa, I want to know what that is!’ So I searched on Yahoo Music and found Don't Be Cruel by Elvis Presley. That was the moment I fell in love with music, and I still love it to this day. I'm wearing Elvis socks right now! (shows socks)
“At first, I asked my dad to buy me a guitar, but he said ‘no, no, no, no.’ Then, when I was around 11, I went to another school that had a school band. I decided to join, and everyone was already playing guitar, so nobody wanted to play bass. I thought, ‘Okay, I can play bass.’ In the end, I got a second-hand bass. Then, a friend who took the same van to school with me had a guitar but wanted to play bass, so we switched.”
Did you learn it all on your own?
“Yes, learning everything by myself means playing it wrong and right at the same time. For example, when I try to figure out a song, I know it’s not perfect, but it sounds like me—the sound is me. I’ve tried playing on a 2,000-baht guitar versus a 20,000-baht guitar, but no matter what, if I play it my way, the final sound is still uniquely mine.”
We saw on Spotify that your bio says ‘rockstar wannabe.’ What’s the story behind that?
“I think the meaning of being a rockstar is pretty fixed—‘sex, drugs, and rock & roll.’ But I can't really do all of that. It doesn't feel realistic for me in this modern day. I mean, someone like Sek Loso might pull it off—I love him, though! But my lifestyle just doesn’t align with that.
“I don’t think I will ever be a full on rockstar. I prefer to be a ‘rockstar wannabe.’ It’s more fun that way! I get to define myself before anyone else tries to make fun of me (laughs).
“I didn’t study music, so my knowledge is not as deep as that of real prodigies or geniuses. I just want to make music in a way that I like, expressing what’s inside me. It might be right or wrong, but it’s still me.”
If you could collaborate with any artist in the world, who would it be?
“George Harrison from The Beatles.
“The first song I learned to play on guitar was Twist and Shout. After that, I started to play other songs by George. I feel like in the beginning, he hadn’t found his own sound yet, but later on, I realized, ‘Whoa, he is actually a musical genius!’ At the start of his career, he was working with John and Paul. I’d love to talk to him about his ways of working. He seems like such a nice guy too.”
What’s the definition of music in MATTYMETRIC style?
“It would probably be the word ‘nostalgia’ because everything I do reflects the songs I listened to in the car as a kid, like when my dad drove me to school. My first song, The Fools and the Sun, is 70s rock. It has elements of AC/DC, Black Sabbath, and Chuck Berry. I try to blend the sounds I love together.
“As for The Lines, it’s very much inspired by The Rolling Stones. Midnight Delight also has that 70s and 80s vibe. My dad wasn’t really into music, so his playlists shuffled from Madonna to The Rolling Stones. But it all comes from what I listened to in the car when I was young.”
Tell us about your latest song, Midnight Delight.
“The inspiration came from when I ate a cannabis brownie and watched RuPaul's Drag Race with my partner. The song in the show was mostly disco, so I thought, ‘Yes, I like that!’ The first line of the song is ‘racing hearts’ because my heart was pounding like I was in a race after the brownie. ‘Melting chairs’ refers to me melting into the sofa. I felt like my glasses were melting into my face, and everything was pink. I felt like someone was reaching out to pull me into the TV.
“I felt that the first two songs might not be as catchy, so I wanted to try something new, especially with the vocals. I love the gang sound of disco music, so in this song, I created a multi-track where multiple layers of my voice sing together. I wanted to capture that gang vibe, and it was really fun!”
What is the best thing about being an artist?
“I think it’s the expression. It's about being able to show who you are. There are some things that I can’t really say or tell anyone directly, but when I turn them into lyrics, even though it might be ambiguous, I know the messages I want to convey.
“I believe the beauty lies in how people can interpret it in their own way. I know what the real meaning is, but what I write also resonates with others. They might relate to it because they have gone through something similar, or they could connect with it through totally different experiences.”
Not a supermodel but at least I tried.
Tell us about your first casting experience
“It was for some advertisement where they had me skiing. There were about 30 other models in the room and 6 people on the casting team. I had never skied before in my life, so I had no idea what I was doing. After a while, they said, ‘Hey, there’s a scene where you have to lie down or look sleepy too.’ I acted as they briefed me, so I lay down. But maybe because I was completely exhausted at that point, they were whispering to each other like, ‘Why doesn’t he just go to sleep at home?’ It was bad. I even called my dad afterward. It was the first time I took a bus from Salaya to Town in Town, and I puked too. I guess I wasn’t used to being surrounded by so many people, and it was very exciting, and I didn’t want to let myself down either.
“The moment that really made me want to be a model came later when I was working as a lifeguard at a swimming pool at Mahidol University. They were doing a photoshoot at the pool, and I was asked to be a lifeguard for the female models. There was a swimming scene, but the male model couldn’t swim. When they checked the footage, he didn’t look great in the water. So the team asked me if I could swim instead. I jumped in, and the clients loved it! Everyone was happy, and the modeling agency signed me on the spot.”
What are the challenges of being a model?
“It's getting used to the camera. To be honest, I'm still not completely comfortable with it, but I have to make it work. Personally, I think the final result looks amazing and can be really beautiful, but you know, the behind-the-scenes work has its own challenges. For me, modeling isn't quite the lifestyle I love yet.
“I just feel like it's a bit challenging for me to adapt to this career. There are moments when I think, ‘I can do this!’ but there are also times when I feel like it's not exactly what I want to do. The best part is that I’ve met some really great coworkers. I’m still friends with many of them since I was 16, even until now. I enjoy meeting good coworkers, but yeah, I've also met about 20% who weren't so great (laughs).”
Does this experience help you get to know yourself better?
“I know that I can do it, but sometimes it’s not something I want to do. I find it a bit challenging to adapt to that lifestyle.
“I go to bed at three or four in the morning, wake up at eight to go to the gym, then go to casting and come back to sleep again. There’s this gap where I don't know what to do with my life. It was a time when I didn't get to play music much either. I felt really lost, without any goals in life.”
What are your goals in life right now?
“I want to have something solid before I turn 30. Like, before things get really good, I feel like I need to suffer a bit right now. I hope that by the time I’m 30, everything will start to come together and be more stable. But I still want to channel that perspective into my little passion projects, like fashion and music, which obviously require money.”
Matthew's journey as a model has helped us understand the importance of ‘trying and failing’—that it’s totally okay to take some time to learn what doesn’t work for you. In the end, it will motivate you to find what truly fits you better.
Not a winemaker but a wine scientist.
We heard you’re making wine now?
“Yeah, it started when I worked at an ice-cream shop, and they were about to open a natural wine bar. This trend was getting popular back then. When I knew the cost of it, I did some more research. Then it started to pop up on my TikTok feeds, something like, ‘You can make alcohol at home with honey.’ From that video, I bought glass jars and various equipment, spending about 3,000 to 3,500 baht, and then I tried fermenting the wine. My first batch was probably two jars, and it was no good at all. I couldn’t drink it, so I had to pour it down the drain. But I kept experimenting, and eventually, it turned into my wine brand, Itchy Tipsy.”
Why Itchy Tipsy?
“It’s about an itch to explore or a desire to be creative. It’s like when you get inspired by something and just want to put it out there—kind of like when you’re feeling itchy.
“I'm not really a winemaker. I don’t have traditional knowledge of winemaking. I didn’t study it, and I don’t drink a lot of wine, but I know what I like in terms of flavors. I enjoy creating different flavors for Itchy Tipsy, like mango sticky rice and guava with plum. Those flavors remind me of my childhood when my mom would buy guavas from street vendors for me. It was amazing! I want to create those kinds of moments for others. It’s like taking them back to those childhood memories.”
What’s the weirdest wine you’ve made so far?
“I just fermented rhubarb, which is actually a vegetable. I’m going to taste it for the first time tonight! I also made a butterfly pea flower and lemon. I remember there was a noodle shop near my university where the lady would serve us this purple drink. Maybe they started selling it when I was in Spain because I don’t think I had it when I was a kid, but I really liked it. So I thought, why not give it a shot?”
Which bottle represents yourself the most?
“Coco Loco is a pineapple and coconut wine. I'm from Phuket, I’m an island boy, so I used only Phuket's Pattavia pineapples. I love pineapple paste, and I’m a fan of Piña Coladas too. I used to listen to Escape (The Piña Colada Song) all the time when I was a kid, so it’s nice to revisit those memories.
“When I did my first wine tasting events, I paired each bottle with a song. For the flavor of Daddy's Credit Card Coco Loco, we played Like A Virgin and Escape (The Piña Colada Song). For the Jumping Jack Flash flavor, we played Jumping Jack Flash by The Rolling Stones, as it all connects!”
What do you love most about making wine?
“The creative process! I think making wine and making music are quite similar, as I can transform my creative ideas into something tangible for people to experience with me. That’s why I love them so much. People can connect with who I am through these two mediums.”
What else would you like to try?
“I'm interested in gardening. As I’ve been using more fruits to make wine, I’ve started wanting to grow my own and be involved in the entire process from the beginning. Right now, I get my ingredients from organic farms, which helps the community in a way, but I think it would be fun if I could grow them on my own.
“I don’t think I would want to mix wine all the time, it might be nice to take a little escape to the garden. I haven't done it yet, but I want to give it a try.”
You’re a Matt-of-all-trades kind of human. So, what does being human mean to you?
“It’s about adaptability. Being human means we have to adapt to everything. It’s a survival mechanism for humans. If we can adapt to everything that’s thrown at us, we’ll survive.
“Humans can fail. It’s okay to fail. Honestly, just try and fail! Failure is part of learning. Don’t be afraid to try and make mistakes. The worst that can happen is, okay, you could die, but realistically, the worst might just be getting screamed at. And to be honest, it isn’t that bad. Sometimes, it’s like a wake-up call.”
Do you have any regrets in life?
“I have no regrets, it’s been a fun ride.”
Matthew's response makes us smile softly before jotting it down in our little notebook. Life at the age of 20s has its own charm. It’s a rhythm where we can add any lyrics to it. It's a sweet and sour, slightly bitter wine that we get to taste, and it's like going to casting for new roles all the time. There’s no fixed theory for living life, we just need to adapt and learn along the way