Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Raekelboom.
Matthew, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I am a content creator who started the company known as “Journey2ADHD”. The reason I named it that because people with ADHD have a journey with understanding life that other people don’t seem to have due to invalidation, lack of information, and consistent judgment from those less than informed. I am no different.
Without going into too much detail, I lived the typical hyperactive white male story of getting diagnosed early in life, getting IEPs that were less than adequate, being overmedicated at way too young of an age, and falling in with the wrong crowds growing up.
These things led me to a life full of drug addiction, a developed eating disorder (both too much and lack of), and the leering thoughts confirmed to me by so many saying (Academics are not for you)
Finally, after a constant search for 24 years as to “Where do I belong” or “Why can’t I be normal” I found the beautiful world of research and understand behind the ADHD brain, and through consistent reading and understanding, I learned that I was allowed to live the life I wanted provided that I understand certain responsibilities and habits needed to optimize my brain.
As I started changing my life at my peak, I lost over 80 lbs, I became happily sober, and I became a man trying to tell his story that “You can do this too.”
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Bluntly, no. Addiction is no joke, Neurochemical regulation is no joke, understanding how to live in a world not meant for your style of brain is no joke. Since these things were in my life while I was striving for greatness/understanding, I experienced more failure than I ever had in my life, and learning to understand failure was a part of the process because my greatest triumph.
2 steps forward, 1 step back became my mantra. Sober for more than 2 days and then a relapse? That’s a win compared to who I use to be. Eating properly for even 2 meals and then one bad one? Progress.
My obstacles became quite high at many points because in my early journey, I was homeless, did not have support from others, and never knew if I was heading in the right direction. This led me to seeking out ADHD speakers that were saying the things I needed. People like Peter Shankman, Brian Fanzo, Jessica McCabe, and more became my family and my support even though none of them knew I existed.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a content creator with the goals to teach people how to understand their brains in a “Goofy” way that will help them understand their behaviors through education, comedy, and playfulness around subjects that can be rather harsh to our ears, such as: Self-harming, Addiction, Relationships, Trauma, etc.
My goals are to take this far past content creation with my business known as “Journey2ADHD”, my public speaking, and my individual/group coaching teaching those how to unlock their brains, understand their partners/coworkers, and most importantly to understand why your Mental Health Matters.
I am known for my unique wording and descriptive videos “Overexplaining” the concepts of my specialized research in Human Behaviour and Neurobiology.
I am most proud of the reach I have gained over the course of 2 years, reaching an average of 5-10 million people a month, having social platforms with a combined 500,000 followers, and the amount of people on a daily basis telling me that they have never felt so understood and that I am happily helping them change their lives.
What sets me apart from others, I truly believe is my passion. Having overcame addiction, terrible weight gain, a dead-end line of work, and of course, never having the support systems from my family growing up, I want to do as MUCH as possible to change the worlds view on ADHD as I have built what I truly describe as a wonderful life for myself, and it’s my mission in life for others to know why I speak with such optimism about this subject.
How do you define success?
Success to me means happiness. “If you love what you do in life, then you will never feel like you have worked a single day,” and while that quote used to be terrible to me, I can’t believe how true it is.
Life was not meant to be lived with a frown on your face, and if you customize and customize and customize a life worth living… you will find it, and you will feel successful.
Contact Info:
- Website: journey2adhd.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattraekelboom/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MattRaekelboomADHD
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-raekelboom-5aa316230/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MattRaekelboom
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtcpAV5Lry4EsQJb-MBxrDQ
