World Am Spotlight: Living the Golf Life in a Custom Ride
As we’ve seen throughout World Am Week, this one-of-a-kind event attracts an eclectic range of personalities who share the most important trait: an unbridled love and passion for the game of golf. And among all the great World Am participants we’ve either met for the first time or reunited with in 2021, Matt Cardis truly stands out as one-of-a-kind.
PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com’s Kyle Oland takes us on a video tour of Matt’s custom golf-themed ride. It’s quite literally his home base for “living the golf life.”
Click an icon below to check out our photo gallery of Matt Cardis’ “Golf in Your State” custom van
Kyle:
(singing) So Matt, you live out of this. Right?
Matt:
Yeah. I’m a full-time van lifer. I’m a photographer in the golf industry. I photograph golf courses. I highlight golf destinations. Find myself here in Myrtle Beach this week. Yeah.
Kyle:
Yeah and you’re playing in the World Am, huh?
Matt:
Yes, sir.
Kyle:
Wow. So hold on real quick. So, tell me a little bit about all the signatures on your van. That’s what I noticed last night when I walked by.
Matt:
Yeah. So, in 2019 I spent six months to a year on the road with the Golf Ball Project. Essentially what I was doing was traveling around the country, bringing groups of golfers together to give back to the communities that I visit. So performing all different types of community services, cleanups, feeding homeless people, community cleanups, helping municipal golf courses, a little bit of everything. So everybody that participated in that project got to sign the side of the van.
Matt:
Now, since COVID I stopped doing those. So I let people, everyone I connect with … You guys want to sign it?
Kyle:
Yeah, man. We’ll sign it.
Matt:
Yeah. I let everyone that I connect with on the road sign it now. So, I’d love to have you guys sign it.
Kyle:
So real quick. So how long did you have … When did you get the van?
Matt:
I’ve been in the van since January of 2019. For the two years prior to that, I lived in a pop-up tent on top of my car.
Kyle:
Dude.
Matt:
Yeah. So I started this whole thing out of a tent.
Kyle:
And how long did it take you to outfit your van? Because obviously when you got it, it didn’t look like this, but what all have you done to it?
Matt:
All right. So, the van is actually a Winnebago build. So it’s an actual RV unit is what you’re seeing. As you can see, I’ve turned the inside of it into what I like to call the traveling golf art installation. It’s a collection of things I’ve collected in my travels, things people have given to me, a little bit of everything. And that’s part of the where the signature wall came from, too, is I want to turn the exterior into a golf piece of art.
Kyle:
Wow. So, you have a stove top here?
Matt:
Yeah. Do you want to talk about the van a little bit?
Kyle:
Yeah, let’s get in here.
Matt:
Let’s go. Let’s look at all the bells and whistles. Like I said, I didn’t clean it up. You’re seeing it as real as it gets. So, running water, sink. We’ve got a stove top. Down here we got a little mini fridge stocked with all the goodies.
Kyle:
Yeah, that’s everything you need right there.
Matt:
Yes, sir. Bed. The bed is actually on a lift-
Kyle:
Oh, shoot.
Matt:
… so I can get all my gear underneath, just in case I need extra golf balls. This is actually a bathroom. It’s got a toilet, shower. I use it as a closet for all my beer-
Kyle:
I was going to say, where’s the shower?
Matt:
No.
Kyle:
I see the toilet down there.
Matt:
The toilet is down there. Shower is up there.
Kyle:
Do you use it?
Matt:
There’s another shower out the back door that I use on occasion. I obviously don’t use that one because it’s full of stuff all the time.
Kyle:
Yeah.
Matt:
I got myself a little golf library.
Kyle:
Oh wow. What do you got up [crosstalk 00:03:26]?
Matt:
A little bit of everything. You’ve got everything from cooking books-
Kyle:
There you go.
Matt:
— to golf literature.
Kyle:
And then you got the captain seat up here.
Matt:
Yeah. You can just look at the captain seat. Obviously I love golf. And as you look around you see the flags.
Kyle:
Yeah.
Matt:
The dash is filled with golf balls that I’ve collected in my travels from some places and some people and all kinds of stuff. There’s all kinds of random in this thing here.
Kyle:
Yeah. So let me ask you this. What is your … because you said it’s like a traveling art center in here-
Matt:
Yeah.
Kyle:
… what’s your favorite piece in here? What’s your favorite thing?
Matt:
Definitely my patch coat.
Kyle:
So tell me about it.
Matt:
This is my patch coat. It’s a collection of all my favorite places in golf, places that I’ve connected with.
Kyle:
Oh wow.
Matt:
If they’re on this coat I’ve had a really memorable moment there. Some really great experiences in golf and yeah, this is a collection of … When I look at this thing I see the last five years. It’s full of memories for me, not only the places but the people I’ve connected with along the way and it means a lot to me.
Kyle:
Dude, that’s sick.
Matt:
This is by far my favorite thing in here.
Kyle:
That’s sick. All right.
Matt:
All right.
Kyle:
So-
Matt:
Yes, sir.
Kyle:
… the last question. You’ve been on the road for five years.
Matt:
Yep.
Kyle:
I’m sure you’ve had some crazy stories along the way. Some weird instances where you’re kind of just by yourself on the road.
Matt:
Yep.
Kyle:
What’s the craziest thing that’s happened to you in your travels that you can tell me?
Matt:
All right. Let’s just start with week one. So I’m on the streets of San Francisco. At that point I’m living in a tent on top of my car. I go to see my friend. I’m staying with her for the night. I’m actually pulling the laundry out of my car and I notice her neighbor walk out just right next door, golf bag over the shoulder.
Matt:
So, he walks out, loads his golf clubs up, walks over to me and he’s like, “What’s going on? I saw the stickers on your car, blah, blah, blah.” I started chatting with him. Fifteen minutes later, I’m loading up in his car and I’m going to play the Lake Course at Olympic Club in San Francisco. Absolutely fantastic. Random stranger. Just right off the bat we connected. This is week one.
Kyle:
You’re like, ” I’m doing this. Whatever I decided to do, this is the right thing.”
Matt:
At that point, I really thought I wanted to be a commercial golf course photographer and I realized right there in that instance there was a lot more to this. Right? It could be about connecting with local golfers and showcasing local culture and really just finding those passionate people that love this game around the country.
Kyle:
Yeah. That’s awesome. And so, where you headed next on your journey?
Matt:
Look. She likes it. Hi.
Speaker 3:
Sorry.
Matt:
No, you’re good.
Kyle:
You probably get a lot of people admiring it.
Matt:
All the time.
Kyle:
Yeah.
Matt:
People just love looking at it. They can. It’s a piece of art. So people walk by the front window and they start looking in it like, “What the?” Look at her.
Kyle:
Yeah.
Speaker 3:
I like that golf cart, but I didn’t see you were talking. I’m sorry.
Kyle:
No, you’re good.
Matt:
It’s absolutely fantastic. Right?
Kyle:
Yeah.
Matt:
Everywhere that I go, people look at this thing and they’re like, “What?” And that’s a big part of it for me is I am the untraditional golfer. You talk about new age golfers. This is what it’s all about, is trying to showcase a different side of the game, a fun side of the game, get people that might not have ever played golf and interested in it for other reasons.
Kyle:
Yeah, absolutely. So, where is Matt headed next?
Matt:
Next I’m heading south. I’m on my way to Jacksonville, Florida next. I’m actually leaving tomorrow. I’ll be in Hilton Head for a day on my way to Jacksonville. Then I got Miami, Naples, Panhandle of Florida, up to Michigan, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Colorado, back to Jackson Hole. That’s the next two weeks.
Kyle:
Wow. You are a busy man.
Matt:
Yeah.
Kyle:
Awesome dude. Well, Hey, I appreciate it, Matt …
