How a Childhood Obsession Encourages Others

 

     None of us ever dreamed that an obsession from my thirty-two-year-old son’s youth would end up saving lives. He’s not a firefighter or policeman. He’s not a surgeon or EMT. What is it about his passion for playing claw machines that led to helping others?

     Ever since he was about four, my shy son Matt fell in love with being filmed by a video camera. His dad would record fun moments spent with he and his brother, and little Matt could watch himself on the television screen for hours. When they began spending time in arcades, their father taught them how to play a crane game also known as claw machines. Matt couldn’t believe that you won an actual prize—usually some sort of stuffed animal—if you played well enough. With their wins recorded for posterity, the boys and their dad bonded over watching their moments of victory captured on film.

     To my dismay, however, as he got older, Matt started getting really good at these games. We had boxes and bags filled to the brim with stuffed animals and small prizes spilling out of them that we packed in our attic and all available spaces. To Matt, they were like trophies of his special wins. It became difficult for him to part with them. To a mom, they were unnecessary clutter.

      I watched Matt become a little more shy and withdrawn as he headed into his early teen years. He didn’t make friends easily, and one day he came home from school and told me that he felt invisible. None of the kids seemed to pay any attention to him. He felt like he was always in the background. My heart broke when he added, “Mom, what am I good at?”

     I panicked at that moment. God, please help me give him the right answer. What is he good at? He didn’t care for sports or music. All he really loved was arcades and playing those goofy claw machines. “You’ll find out when you are a little older, honey,” I said, hoping this would be sufficient.

     At seventeen, Matt got his first job and began saving up for a dream of his—to own an actual claw machine! The day it was delivered, my son began quickly learning the ins and outs of the workings and mechanisms. He found ways to program it and decided to film himself talking about his journey to the claw machine.

     A few years later, Matt decided to put the videos he made onto YouTube. It might be fun to see if anyone actually watched his series which he called—of course—“Journey to the Claw Machine.” To his surprise, he began to receive comments and likes from people everywhere. It seemed that his new “fans” were just like him—all ages with a passion for winning prizes from an arcade game!

     As time passed, Matt grew to over a million followers on his YouTube account. He became partnered with them, and decided to do this for a living. He added in other arcade games and even miniature golf with friends and the videos quickly took off.

     In about 2013, a young girl reached out to Matt in a personal letter. She told him how much she loved his silly style of arcade adventures. She was his biggest fan, she said, and wanted to meet him one day. She told him that she had been a “cutter” and also had thought on several occasions of taking her life. Finding Matt was as if someone threw a life preserver to her to hang onto and find positivity. After she met him at a fan meet and greet, she made her own video: “I was on the brink of suicide. Whenever I was down, his videos gave me a sense of comfort. Just knowing he was out there. Not only is he talented, but he has a huge heart. He reminds me there is more to life than what stresses me out. And whatever I’m going through, it gets better.”

     Matt knew something about depression. There were relatives in our family who were clinically depressed. There seemed to be no escaping the blues. He’d had his own times of overwhelming sadness, darkness, and insecurity. He understood where this girl was coming from, and then others began reaching out to him as well.

     Matt, you’re the reason I can handle another day . . . Matt, if it wasn’t for watching your videos, I don’t know if I would still be here. You gave me a reason to live . . .

     During the pandemic year, Matt once again struggled with his own issues. He recently wrote on his page: “It’s been a crazy year and still continues to be kind of crazy. I just wanted to post this and say that if you are feeling down, or not yourself, then you are not alone. It’s ok to feel this way and take some time to care for your mental health. I’ve taken a little time today myself to reflect and watch some older videos and I got emotional, not gonna lie, because there’s been plenty of days in the recent months where I haven’t felt like my true self, like I did years back in those videos. I always try and put my heart, soul, and passion into every video I do for you guys and I apologize if there’s times where I haven’t seemed like myself lately. I’m not ashamed sharing this—we’re all human and we have struggles, even people that don’t seem like they do. I always try to be real with everyone. More importantly, if I can help people going through similar struggles to help them realize they aren’t alone, then I feel like I’m doing something good for others and using my platform for something positive. Thanks for understanding everyone. Matt”    

     One of the responses he received was this: “About two years ago, I was in a very dark place. I was on the verge of taking my own life. I hate to think about it. I hated myself. I hated what I did. I hated everything. Nothing was fun. Everything was just meshed together in dark disarray. Then I found you. Your videos. I saw this grown man just having the time of his life. The way you carried yourself. How silly you could be and just simply not care. Envious, is the best word I could describe, but you showed me that I can truly be myself. I can have fun and enjoy myself. So I went to the arcade. I felt awkward. Weird. But then I hit a jackpot and it was like all my emotions just leaped out of me. I was going crazy and nobody seemed to even watch. In that moment my life was saved. I’m not trying to sound philosophical or anything. I’m just saying that you can truly find happiness in the little things. Now I go to the arcade regularly with my little brother. I am I a good place and you are a reason why, so thank you Matt.” 

     To answer your old question, son, I think we found something you are really good at. You are certainly not “invisible” any longer. You are seen by over a million viewers! What you have is a God-given gift. May He continue to bless your journey as you encourage others.

     On a side note, the young girl from a few years ago informed us that she recently became an EMT.

 

      Matt gives away a lot of his wins, or sometimes he specifically wins something for others. This makes my heart happy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix4mdXqv_BI&list=UUMe8Y3zO7_la3uHaWR3OVrg&index=5