Matt Baker was born in Eugene Oregon and was destined to become a professional athlete. Playing sports year round and excelling at high levels, Matt quickly became disinterested in the competitive spirit of conventional sports and began playing a sport called Footbag or Hacky Sack.
Matt quickly became very skilled at the sport and took his talents to an island in the South Pacific called Western Samoa. Matt lived there for 14 months studying the culture and demonstrating his talents around the island.
Matt returned to the states briefly only to leave again when he got a job touring Europe performing demonstrations as part of the first ever-international Footbag team. The team was made up of some of the best professional players in the world. It included 12 players from 7 different countries and Matt was honored to be the youngest of the group at 17.
Matt lived in Europe for 6 months and taught himself how to juggle during his travels. He excelled quickly, working with five balls in only a few months. Excited about his newfound passion, Matt eagerly returned to the states to begin developing a show that integrated juggling and Footbag.
He got a job performing at school assembly programs across the country. He demonstrated non-competitive games from different countries including not only Juggling and Footbag but Snakeboard, Takraw, Diabolo and more. He traveled in a van for 1-½ years doing over 1,000 shows in all lower 48 states.
In these shows he started developing his comic timing and fell in love with writing jokes. After 1.5 years Matt moved to Seattle and started performing comedy and juggling with his brother Alex.
He now lives in Georgetown, which is located in South Seattle. He is the founder of the Northwest Variety Arts Forum, which brings together variety artists to collaborate on new ideas. He is also the co-founder of the Seattle Juggling and Footbag Festival and The All Four Limbs show, an annual event and the only event of its kind in the world.
When he is not performing with his brother he spends his time hanging out at the Seattle Circus School, writing comedy and playing pinball. Some projects he is working on include a book (Memoirs of a traveling Vaudevillian), a sitcom, and two movie scripts.
- Name:
- Matthew Lowes Baker
- Birthplace:
- Eugene, Oregon
- Coolest Place Lived:
- Western Samoa
- Coolest Place Visited:
- Cinque Terre
- Hobbies:
- Pinball, Comedy Writing, Soccer, Poker, and Traveling
- Inspirations:
- Smothers Brothers, Rodney Dangerfield, and W.C. Fields
- Favorite Book:
- W.C. Fields for President
- Diet:
- Vegetarian
- Favorite Movie(s):
- The Hustler and Limelight
- Pets:
- Chia
- First Job:
- Touring Europe doing Footbag Demo’s
