Finding The Way For A Good Cause

By Duncan Horscroft on November 29, 2012 in News

It’s taken a while, but Bondi lifeguard Matt Dee has finally got his life on track.

For almost thirty years Matt has lived an adventure many Hollywood film directors would only dream of.

During his travels around the globe he’s been kidnapped by guerrillas in Sumatra, ducked and weaved around tricky situations with Interpol and various governments and somehow lived to tell the tale.

Civil wars, drug wars, gang and territorial wars soon became part of the norm as he sought out exotic surf breaks in some of the world’s roughest outposts.

After more than ten years of wandering Matt settled into the Sydney lifestyle, a far cry from his Victorian roots where he always remembers his mother’s catchcry of ‘F**k The World’ (FTW) when things got tough.

Setting up a business as a sports mentor, Matt thought he had finally found his peace, until his world came crashing down upon him once more.

He received the news that his brother Jonathan had lost his battle with depression and died in tragic circumstances.

“His legacy was our family mantra – FTW. He wore it and represented it every day,” Matt said. “We even draped his coffin in FTW.”

And if that wasn’t enough, Matt’s sister Rachel – a schizophrenic – took her own life shortly after Jonathan’s death.

“I sank into an even darker place, tempting death constantly in the hope of joining my siblings,” Matt said.

“But I slowly climbed out of the pits of hell and started turning my negatives into positives. I became an ambassador for the Schizophrenia Research Institute and Suicide Prevention Australia, and also volunteered with under-privileged kids in El Salvador.”

Matt has set up the brand FTW at a street level to represent everyone from the battler to the elite sportsman, and FTW now means ‘Finding The Way’ and is aimed at helping those in need to do what they once thought was out of their reach.

There’s a fair chance you would’ve seen the FTW logo on surfboards, hats and hoodies around the Eastern Suburbs, particularly if you spend time at the beach. A number of the Waverley Lifeguards wear the logo with pride, as do the surfers from Bronte Boardriders Club.

To find our more about FTW you can contact Matt Dee on 0407 528 345.