Matthew Hart
Committee Member
Growing up in the East Gippsland town of Stratford, Matt’s love of camping, sports and being on the water were allowed to flourish. When he headed away to university in Ballarat he continued to keep active while studying, and it was during that time he met love of his life Loretta, they are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary this year. Football paved the way for a move to Loretta’s hometown of Geelong giving him the chance to take up a role as a gardener on a local property on the Bellarine peninsula.
Matt then found work at a local garden centre, Van Loons Nursery and over the period of twenty years he was there, he fulfilled many roles and eventually became a part owner of the business. And at the time it was recognized as the best Garden Center in Australia.
Whist this was happening Matt’s family was growing and these days his three kids are Lachlan (20), Jesse (18), and Poppy (13) have been a big part of his and Loretta’s focus and one of the key drivers to selling his share of the Van Loons to be able to spend quality time with them while they were still at home.
For the last five years Matt has been working on his passion to assist guys have great relationships with their partners, kids and more importantly them selves.
Through his business Matt Hart – Supporting Men and FB group The Growing Man, he has been running Men’s Nights In evenings and camping trips giving guys an opportunity to connect and develop some skills better equipping them to be the dads and husbands they desire.
Matt has also recently graduated as a Bowen Therapist allowing him to be able to assist people in another dimension complementing the work he is already doing. This was inspired by his time over the last two years as the clinic manager at Geelong Bowen and Remedial Therapies and seeing the amazing results from many of the clients at the clinic. Life long learning is a value that has opened up many opportunities for growth over the last 10 years.
Dealing with a number of serious back injuries since 2005 and coping with the loss of close family members including his son Flynn, has given Matt a unique perspective from which he approaches life these days, and it’s the many stories through out this time and where he is headed now that he uses to connect with many of the men that seek his company.
Living in Ocean Grove, Matt can be regularly found at the beach, surfing or running with mates, and when not there, his garden is one of his places of relaxation with the radio on and the fire going.