Who is Matt Brough?

Most bios are kind of boring, so here’s a list of fun facts. But, if you’re looking for a paragraph or two, scroll to the bottom for a couple of the more official sounding bios that I use…

10 Fun Facts about Matt

1. My last name is pronounced “Bruff.” “How can that be?” you ask. “I thought it was Brow, or Bro, or Braw.” Try saying the word “rough.” Now put a B in front of it.

2. When I was a teenager, someone once asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, and I said “the least amount of work for the most money possible.” I ended up being a pastor and an author. Ha! Still chasing that childhood dream!

3. Favourite Sports teams: Stoke City FC, Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Raptors. This is all very important to me.

4. I was born in Stoke City, UK (hence my favourite soccer team) and moved to Canada with my family when I was two years old.

5. One of my favourite places on earth is Lester Beach. You’ve probably never heard of it, but it has beautiful white sand on a fantastic fresh water lake. A slice of paradise about a 90 minute drive from my house in the middle of Canada! Bonus: My parents live there.

6. I went to seminary at Vancouver School of Theology and it was a good experience (though, I’m not sure I would have said that at the time)

7. I have a Science degree with specializations in Math and Computer Science. What that really means is that I didn’t have enough credits in either to be able to say I “majored” in anything. I had almost as many Philosophy credits as I had Math!

8. I’ve visited all 10 provinces in Canada (I will get to the territories one day!) and I’ve visited 46 States. Somehow I have missed Alaska, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas. C’mon Matt, get it together! Texas is huge – how have I not been there?

9. I got married in the year 2000 and my daughter was born in 2010. Since I have a terrible memory, it is really helpful that these significant life events happened in these years.

10. My wife has a fantastic memory but I do not. She remembers things like random phone numbers and lyrics to songs. I have trouble remembering my own postal code.

Official-ish Bio #1

Matt Brough never liked reading and was super shy as a kid, so the nine-year-old version of himself would be shocked to discover that he became an author and a speaker. He’s written five fantasy/adventure books for kids in grade 4 and up, created and hosted several podcasts, written a few books on spirituality, and with his wife, Cheryl, runs a small publishing business. 

Official-sh Bio #2

On a road trip across western Canada, a boy and his two older sisters listened as their mother read them The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Although he knew he loved the story, and as a teenager went on to fall even more in love with The Lord of the Rings, it wasn’t until the year he was turning 40 that Matthew Brough felt the full force of these books. That was when he sat down to write a story and out came Del Ryder and the Crystal Seed, the first book in a fast-paced fantasy adventure series for ages eight and up. Matthew lives in Winnipeg with his wife, Cheryl, and their daughter, Juliet.

Official-ish Bio #3

Matt Brough has been a pastor of small, faithful congregations for over 20 years. He has served as the director of Cyclical PCC, a Church Planting support initiative of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, and has hosted the Spirituality for Ordinary People Podcast. Matthew is the author of the “Let God” books and a series of fantasy adventure books for ages eight and up. He lives in Winnipeg, Canada, with his wife, Cheryl, and their daughter, Juliet.

What’s This All About?

Check out my first post below where I go into what I’m doing here on Substack.

Noticing Delight

To Stay or Not To Stay

Lots of people have left social media or have left certain platforms to focus on just one. I’m staying where I’m staying, which is mostly Instagram and Facebook (but I feel like I’m there a lot less). But, I, like many people, have been frustrated with the various platforms. The reasons for the frustration have already been endlessly listed elsewhere: I …

Read more

2 years ago · Matt Brough

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