It takes a special sort of hedonist to almost die at 29, and then celebrate that near-death experience by snorting coke and boozing with doubled intensity.
But that is what chef Matty Matheson did after he suffered a massive heart attack in June 2012.
Matheson, now 34, is a large, tattooed Canadian – a heavy metal version of the culinary bad boy. He will be one of the new faces on Australian television when SBS Viceland launches his new show, Dead Set on Life, on Monday.
But that day in 2012, he’d been on a three-day bender and woke up feeling not quite right.
“I’ve had a million heart palpitations with skips and beats from all the drugs and stuff – and this was like someone squeezing my heart and I thought ‘this is shit’,” Matheson tells Guardian Australia. “At the hospital they knew right away that I had a heart attack – it was four hours ago. I slept through it.”
For most people, that would have been the end of the hard partying. But not for Matheson: “Because I was gripping my chest and having that movie movement, when I got out of hospital I partied harder than ever.”
Matheson already played pretty hard. The chef’s routine was familiar to many who’ve done stints in hospitality: “A lot people, including me would knock off work late then drink to five or six in the morning then wake up at 11 and then do it all again – that’s what it is. During the day, it’s Marco Pierre White stuff – you smoke cigarettes and eat Snickers and drink coffee.”
The basement of his restaurant, Parts and Labour in Toronto, became a live music venue, where Matheson would party for 15 hours straight. He started infamous “Matty-Fest” bashes that attracted metal fans from all over the world, and he would drink whiskey and snort coke like a Canadian John Belushi.
But after surviving the heart attack, he took his partying to a whole new level, including openly buying and using drugs in his workplace and alienating all his old friends. Even his old drug dealers wouldn’t go near him.
“Really quickly I was turning into a fucking loser. I turned from being a party fun guy to being a nightmare. All my drug dealers wouldn’t sell to me anymore, so you go to different circles, and my friends were like, ‘who are all these sketchy characters? And for what – another bag?’”
Kitchens are full of self-destructive, charismatic chefs like Anthony Bourdain and Marco Pierre White, and their appetite for destruction makes great copy – as long as they come out the other side OK.
Matheson made it out alive thanks to an intervention by family and friends.
“After I had the heart attack, I had the Superman ego and I went even harder. Then there was an ultimatum by my bosses. I was really drunk at work during service and one of the owners was like, ‘You’re fucked, you’re done.’ Then he called me the next day and said ‘for real’.”
Matheson was relieved there was an intervention. “I was 29 years old and tired.” His partying had become so legendary that is was inextricable from his identity. He has now been sober for three years.
His show, Dead Set on Life, is a cooking show, but not like the shiny, aspirational cooking shows on other networks.
Matheson describes it as “the most anti-Food Network show I can make”. The food is strictly dude – think burgers, fries and barbecue. There’s also a bit of travel in the mix. The first episode included Matheson taking a drive out to some grease pit on a highway where his favourite subs are made. The buffalo chicken finger sub has that sloppy, oily look of food that is heaven for hangovers.
Now a new father, Matheson says: “I’m in a really happy, very grateful place – people see that and people want to be around that. I like having fun and being hospitable. I’d rather have people come over and have a whole leg of lamb and hang out and watch movies than get fucked up.”
Some things still survive his former lifestyle, including an inclination to pepper his conversation with profanities, and a penchant for tattoos.
“The backs of my thighs, my left butt cheek and the left side of my belly – they are still open. Once you get heavily tattooed, it’s like you see spots – the goal is to finish my body. I have tattoos on tattoos on tattoos.”
Matheson is married to his high school sweetheart and now works on a combination of projects – including a catering business, menu consultation, travel, and filming the second season of his show.
He also finds himself in the unlikely but welcome position as a role model for others who want to become sober.
“Most chefs are adrenaline junkies. A lot of it is romantic. There is so much romanticism about being a chef who is a drug addict; I can do more coke than you, I’ll drink a case of beer and I’ll do it again, and again and again. 15 years later, you’re a total mess.
“Since I’ve become public about my shit I’ve had a lot of people reach out to me and ask for help. I get it daily. The only thing I can tell people to do is to go to treatment or meetings – but nothing works unless you want it to.”
• Dead Set On Life will premiere on SBS Viceland on 21 November at 9:25pm
