To know that you can create what you want and not what someone else wants is an incredible feeling. To know that your creation can be seen by millions and hopefully inspire them is SuperFly (Excuse the pun! lol).
Creator Profile:
Tony & Carmen Matthews + Superfly Magazine
Creators: Tony & Carmen Matthews (@tonyandcarmen)
Company: Global Automotive Connection | SuperFly Magazine (Instagram: @superfly_magazine | Global Automotive Connection on Facebook)
Location: London, England (U.K.)
Website: www.superfly-autos.com
Words of Wisdom – “One of the most important things is to find out what you are truly passionate about. The reason is that most dismiss their passion for a career and something that can make them some income.
Once you have that passion and you know that you will do what it takes to make it come true, then you need a plan to get it on the road. You need to plan the short and long term goals and the mission statement of what you want to achieve.
Last and most important of all, is you have to mentally prepare yourself to fail forward, work more hours than your regular 9 to 5 job and be prepared that it will take time to gain momentum.
It’s 10am and I’m in Long Beach, CA at Cafe Aroma Di Roma along with rising star jewelry designer and entrepreneur, Oleg Gold. What better way to start a power breakfast than to introduce one creator to another set of creators.
I’m there to meet two individuals responsible for one of the hottest digital car magazines on the planet, SuperFly Magazine. Founded by Tony & Carmen Matthews, their vision is simple:
SuperFly is on a mission to showcase the most unique and coolest cars of this world. To tell their owners’ stories in order to inspire other passionate car individuals to realize their dream car, create their own product or even start their own company.
Coolest cars on the planet? You’ve got that right. Tony & Carmen do not focus solely on the supercars such as as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti and the like, but more so for the uniqueness of the car, it’s history, the story behind it and its owner.
These two don’t look for cool, they have successfully defined it, period.
And in case you need their credentials, they’ve interviewed everyone from James Bond himself, Roger Moore, to the Prince of Monaco.
If you ask Tony & Carmen about their journey, they’ll say it’s just getting started. While the company has been in existence for some time, and includes an insanely popular Facebook community of almost 1MM people, they’re journey to date is one of the hardest working and most humbling hustles I have ever seen, which is why I’m honored to do this story.
In July 2014, they made a decision to quit their corporate careers by December 2014, and sold all of their possessions in the process of going all in. That, my friends, is commitment.
While Tony & Carmen are based out of London, England, and are currently on a global tour, I was able to sit with them in Long Beach, CA and discuss their versatile backgrounds, their commitment to procuring online content that matters and telling authentic stories, rising above work conditions, creating a life to be proud of, and of course, their major love of cars.
Here’s what they had to say:
Tony & Carmen Matthews | Global Automotive Connection + SuperFly Magazine
HDF: Tony & Carmen, I’m excited for this. Whew!! Besides you guys being two of the coolest people I’ve met, you have one of the coolest brands I’ve seen out there!! Thank you so much for doing this.
Tony & Carmen: Hey Matt, it’s a pleasure to finally get to meet you and we are super excited to hangout with you guys!
HDF: We’re just as excited! Believe me!
Before we get into your company, SuperFly Magazine, can we start by diving in a little bit more about where you’re originally from and where you’re living now?
Tony: I was born in Stoke-on-Trent way back in 1979, where I grew up for the first ten months of my life. My father was an English man from that city and my mother was French/Italian, from a small Greek village in the South of France called Agde. I also have a sister, who is seven years older than me.
At ten months old I moved (with my family of course) to this village (Agde), where I lived close by to my French family till I was about 6 years of age. This is where my early childhood was at its greatest as our village was next door to the beautiful beaches of the South of France. The weather was always sunny and warm. And as a result my first language is French.
We then decided to move back to Stoke-on-Trent in 1985 when my mother fell ill to cancer (brain tumour).
Stoke-on-Trent, UK | Photo Courtesy of the Sentinel
Growing up in the UK with initially not speaking the language was tough and it took a while for me to settle at school and start communicating. It took time for our family to settle in, as my father had no job and so we had to live with my English grandmother for a while. Once my father found a job, he also located a council house for us to live in, through the local government.
It then took another two house changes and schools, before our family could start to settle properly. As time went on, I started to gain confidence in my English speaking and making friends at school.
It was kind of tough mind, as bullying was a large part of growing up for me, so I found refuge in music, car toys, video games.
HDF: At what point did cars make their way into your life?
Tony: Around the time I went to college to study Information Technology. At that point my love for cars really took off thanks to my French cousins showing me their car magazines when I went to see them for holidays in France. Then as I made new friends from work and college, more of these custom car magazines were presented to me.
It did not take much convincing and I was hooked.
HDF: Cars will do that! (laughter)
Tony: Oh, I made it my mission to have a custom car one day.
So the day came that I passed my driving test on my second run and my father got me a $700 Vauxhall Nova car, which I drove stock for a year. As I then started earning a bit more cash from my Supermarket job as I worked extra hours, I decided it was time to see what other car I could buy.
Vauxhall Nova | Photo Credit – http://www.carandclassic.co.uk
HDF: And the next car was?
Tony: I purchased on credit a Fiat 500 and then spent the following 8 years customizing it bit by bit. I would attend car shows, meets and get involved in a car club, organizing events.
The car passion just took over and I would travel country wide in the UK to showcase my car. That’s when I bumped into a car magazine, who was coming to a local cruise to report on it. Excited as I was, I made it my mission to get the photographer at the cruise, to take a photo of my car and put it in the magazine.
A few months later and my car made it into that very magazine! I was so excited, that it became my mission to see how I could get even more involved with car magazines.
HDF: BOOM! Funny how art becomes life one day. So, Carmen, tell me a little bit about your background.
Carmen: Well, I was born in Augsburg (Bavaria/Swabia), Germany in 1975. I am an only child but due to the crazy shifts my aunt, uncle and father worked, I was raised from five years old together with my cousin, Alexander. We still, to today consider each other siblings.
Augsburg Germany | Photo Credit – Wikipedia
I also spent countless years at my grandparents beautiful village house surrounded by ducks, chickens, rabbits, cats and a proper farm with cows, pigs and goats just around the corner. I class the early years of my life and the time I spent at my grandparents property with and without my cousin/brother the most idyllic and beautiful in my life.
I learned more than the average child about life and how the “world functions”.
However, my early schooling was far from easy as I did not learn reading or writing like others did. Reading was torture for me and my writing was noted as drawing rather than writing in my year end comment from my teacher to my parents. Would I have been born around now, I would have been classed as dyslexic in numbers and letters but back then I did still get some telling in order to get going.
HDF: So you were close with your whole family?
Carmen: Well, my biggest supporters and positive influences in my life had been my grandfather and my father. That is not to say I did not learn from my grandmother or my mother. Their teachings had only been from a very different angle.
From about 12 years of age things got a little less idyllic for me. My grandfather was diagnosed with throat cancer thanks to a lengthy captivity in France after WWIII in a coal mine. He died the year later when I was 13. My grandfather’s death was not easy to get through but I found sanctuary in the knowing that he did not longer have to suffer.
This however, did not prepare me sufficient for what came next.
HDF: What happened?
Carmen: When I was 15 in the spring we went to a ski holiday as was normal for us. This time, however, it was different.
My father insisted for him to see all of the family. Even my grandmother had to come who lived about 1.5 – 2 hours drive from us. Everyone said for him to come off it as we all will be back together in a week’s time again.
And he only said:
“You never know!”
During the second night of our stay, my father died with no obvious signs. He was diagnosed with Sudden Adult Death Syndrome. I can’t tell you much about after that or how we got back home. I still to this day have a blank out over the events thereafter. As much as most would expect me to talk about the heartache thereafter and the problems I had, there are a lot more significant things that stuck with me from that event.
HDF: Like what?
Carmen: These three things:
Life can end at any point of time, we only can use it and live it to our fullest everyday. Living without regret had an instant different meaning to me from this point onwards.
There does not need to be a reason for you to die. Being healthy is a false security we all have and we hide way to often behind security. Life needs some risks to evolve yourself. To push yourself to the next level.
Listen to what people have to say mainly when they come from a point of intuition. My father talked about not being around anymore and no one took him serious. Ever since I follow my gut or instinct if you will and it served me better than any third party advice (even well meant advise) I ever got.
HDF: These three points are so well put and very true! I’m curious, how did you come to meet Tony?
Carmen: Through cars, of course!
HDF: Only fitting. (laughter)
Carmen: So, I ended up in the U.K., but we can get to that in a bit.In June 2003 I met Tony in Swtizerland, where I was living/working at the time in a town called Lausanne. Tony was on an assignment to photograph the lamborghini’s.
I should mention, that due to my father’s love for cars I was introduced to cars early and although I lost my father, I always had friends with garages and/or cars. This was a theme that never changed. I always found a car scene and always found myself attached to it. It is the creativity and passion that holds me captivated.
We met again in July at a car met in Lausanne and we kept in touch until I got to the UK. I arrived on the 3rd of September and since the 13th we are together. The rest is history as they say… at least in terms of our relationship.
The Charles-Bessières Bridge – Cathedral of Notre Dame – Lausanne, Switzerland | Photo Credit – Wikipedia
HDF: So, Tony, tell me more about the recollection of you and Carmen meeting.
Tony: Well Carmen mentioned the Lamborghini’s – I was researching cars to photograph in Europe and I started with French speaking countries; Switzerland being my first assignment.
I contacted a guy who had numerous contacts in Geneva and so we organized a few days out there. It was whilst we were photographing those two custom Lamborghini Diablo’s that I met Carmen. We speak a mixture of English and French. I could feel that there was something there between us.
HDF: That’s a match made in heaven. Two car fanatics meeting over a couple of Lamborghini’s. (laughter)
Tony: On my return to the UK, we stayed in touch and it was at this point that a full time position came for the car magazine I was freelancing for with the photographer.
I went to work at the magazine for a two week period, so that they could see if I was the right guy for the job and I got at this point, an opportunity to go back to Geneva to cover a car show.
Freelancing for Fast Car | Photo of FastCar.co.uk
My photographer friend Ricky couldn’t attend and so he set up the his camera and gave it to me, so that I could go and take the photos.
I met Carmen again and it as there that I knew we would somehow be together. It was my first time to photograph an event and the editor of the magazine was amazed at how I capture the photos. I was then offered the full time position as consumer writer/international liason. I went into my dream job straight after finishing my studies at University.
It was a tough time, as I had never lived away from home and I would now move to Kent, just outside London and to leave my family behind. But I knew that I had to make the move and so a few months after I came to Kent, Carmen moved over from Switzerland to work in central London.
HDF: So, you can’t stop what’s meant to be? While I want to talk about SuperFly Magazine, I also want to know a little bit more about your working backgrounds that led up to the digital magazine.
Front Cover of SuperFly Magazine Issue 16 | Extra Terrestrial
Tony: Before SuperFly Magazine was born, I was still working for a custom car magazine. After I left that magazine, Carmen and I we head hunted by European publications to work for them on a freelance basis. This was purely a side line job on weekends and I started working for an international rail company, who required a French speaking salesman.
I then did this for 4 years before deciding to quit and try to create our publishing business, due to the magazine print industry dying out.
Unfortunately, I left when the 2008 economic crash happened and I found myself struggling to find work, so Carmen was holding the fort until I could find a solution. Back then I felt it was a good move, but looking back, I didn’t have enough education to weather the storm.
I finally found a job working for my local council as a ‘Waste Advisor’. I had never heard of this term before, but the role was a mixture of account management and recycling educator. I would assist local neighbourhoods in understanding the importance of recycling household waste, with at times having to collect someone’s recycling.
Trust me when I say that you needed the stomach for the job at times, but I had to dedicate myself even though I truly at the time, didn’t like the role that much.
Thanks to my persistence, despite a $15,000 pay loss than I was use to, the council kept me for five years in total. I worked for several departments and local politicians thanks to my customer service skills.
It’s in that five year period, where Carmen and I knew something had to change. We had no real job security or satisfaction, as my contract was a three month one which was reviewed all the time and Carmen’s was constant stress and lack of respect for the hard work she put in.
Tony & Carmen Matthews
At this point, we still worked freelance on weekends but the work was slowly disappearing thanks to content progressing for free online.
So we started searching the web for answers. We knew that our mind set and way of living didn’t suit us anymore, so we had to take action. Being fans of Tony Robbins, we couldn’t believe it when we saw he was coming to London for a four day event and we somehow managed to get the money together for the tickets.
Those four days truly helped us to gain momentum to change our lives and it was at this moment, when Carmen and I came across an education program that showed you how to create an online business and make money by selling other people’s products (Affiliate Marketing).
This was a new concept for us and the thought of building our business and making money on the side was very appealing.
We also learned that having a mentor was so important in order to help you on the road to success and it was through this online education at the Digital Experts Academy, where we met the founders Jay Kubassek and Stuart Ross. Both have been instrumental with our growth as individuals and in business.
HDF: Sacrifice. All Sacrifice. And SuperFly Magazine?
Carmen: So, SuperFly was a journey happening during all of this. As mentioned, tony was working for a while for one of the largest Modified Car Magazines in the UK before he left early in 2006.
SuperFly Magazine Issue 3 | Ground Force
At that point we both thought that maybe the car scene is no longer for us and we wanted to give it a break. However, within two months we were contacted by car magazines in Europe who had heard that we are no longer tied and could work/write freelance for them.
Our freelance work started with a work share, i.e. we got together with a photographer. We researched the car, arranged a time and date in between the car owner, the photographer and us. The photographer shot the car, we wrote depending on the language (either me or Tony).
This sounded like an ideal but as you can imagine, finding a date and time in between four people is not easy. And as the photographer’s own schedule became more busy this work relationship broke apart.
HDF: That happens. Especially in coordinating freelancers across European travels.
Tony: It wasn’t long till we had to go at this alone, as the photographer was too busy. It took some convincing from Carmen and the selling of my car to buy camera equipment, in order for us to do all the work.
Carmen: Yeah, we had long and deep discussions after that on how to proceed and the result of it was that we sold Tony’s modified Fiat in order to have the funds for a basic DSLR Canon Camera with lens and one flash light. With one flash light we were very restricted and had to learn very quick how to use natural lighting.
HDF: Wow!! Serious dedication. Tony sounded as though he loved that car so to sell it for a DSLR shows courage and commitment.
Carmen: It sure does!
The first two shoots were fine and we sold them on including the wording but it was only a matter of time until we ran into issues due the fact that we were inexperienced.
The fact was however that we were more willing to find a solution to our problem and therefore were more willing to learn very quick whatever it is that was needed than to sulk over a negative feedback. We re-did shoot number three and the magazine buying was very happy with it.
Tony: After trial and error, which almost made me quit, we then started to gain momentum and the photography got better as we continued to find and shoot cars. From this shoot on and since our photography graced magazines in about 40 countries, had more than 90 front covers in print published magazines.
We also started our own Facebook page called Global Automotive Connection, showcasing car content from around the web.
Global Automotive Connection | SuperFly Magazine Facebook
Carmen: Yeah, our business name restricted us to go with the demand of automotive photography mainly with the economic crisis slashing entire publishing houses minimizing modified car magazines worldwide one by one. When we started we always ‘dreamt about the opportunity to make an online magazine’.
We chose to take the economic crises and the rising demand for online magazines as opportunity to fulfill our initial dream to incorporate all elements of the Automotive Industry. Carefully thinking of the progress and the recognition we already had gained, we came up with the slight name-change to Global Automotive Connection which in short is now G.A.C. from Global Tuning Connection.
This change did take place in January 2010 and is now used as the publishing hub for G.A.C. SuperFly Car Magazine™.
HDF: Your guys’ stories are truly incredible. That’s also a big reason I like what you’re doing. You clearly do that with SuperFly Magazine by telling the stories behind the cars. There was something you said to me that really stuck.
“We believe that by sharing your authentic story, you can create a positive global movement and ensure that you are fully engaged with your audience.”
Of course I agree with this as that’s all a part of HDFMagazine.com’s mission. Can you guys tell me why you find solace in the “story”?
Tony: Stories are what the world is made of. Everyone has a story to tell, which can inspired other people. We walk around everyday not really knowing the full story of people around us, which is a shame as we would learn so much more.
As kids we all love a good story. A good story allows you to dream and I find that as we grow into adults, we forget to dream as our society’s system has a way to keep you in line. Keeping in line doesn’t provide a great story. We embrace the ones who step out and create their story.
Tony & Carmen Matthews On a Photoshoot
In our case, when we come across a car that has had a unique style created by its owner, we know that there is much more behind how amazing it looks.
Story telling allows you to keep your audience in a state of interest and wanting to know more. Each one will visualize that story and place themselves in that story and how they could adapt it to their story. That’s why positive and inspiring stories are so important in life, you need to show people what is possible.
Carmen Matthews w/Videographer Charles – https://vimeo.com/wrenderfarm
HDF: You couldn’t be speaking more directly to me and our “why”. HDF was created to show people that “different” is a beautiful thing, people are not alone on their journey and that there are opportunities all around to create the life you want.
Carmen: Exactly! The reason that we find solace in stories, is it shows that you are not alone and that others are going through a similar journey. That no matter what you are going through, there is a way to keep moving forward and things can change for the better.
We all start in a different place in life, whether wealthy or poor. The more stories you read, the more you realize that it’s not always the ones who have it all, that succeed. That the underdog can also get there.
HDF: I think it’s usually the underdog (laughter). Obviously some people made it from wealthy backgrounds, but I’d like to think that more often than not it were the underdogs faced with difficult situations and circumstances that brought them to the realization of being exactly who they were born to be.
Carmen: Yeah, it also allows you to put aside judgment of ‘oh, he just has lots of money, that’s why he has made it’. As much as in some people’s lives, this maybe the case that wealth was there from the beginning, knowing the story fully, we can see how they got their success aside from the wealth they already had.
HDF: Well put.
Tony:
We all need to realize that our journeys are chosen by us sub-consciously and that we can change them as we move along the path. It just takes belief, hard work, persistence, consistency and most important of all, to follow your passion.
HDF: You guys are so unique and that’s exactly what I/we seek out. SuperFly Magazine is no different. Can you walk me through the brand and what inspired you to start SuperFly?
Tony: Before SuperFly was born, I mentioned we started with G.A.C. (Global Automotive Connection) on Facebook as a place to showcase every car culture. The aim was to not discriminate any kind of vehicle, as long as it was customized properly and looked amazing, as we know that the ones that are this way, have an awesome story behind them.
At this point, many of our friends and car fans said that we should start our own publication and we had already been thinking of doing this. We knew it needed to be online and not in print, so we started with creating a website with designers.
However, not all designers can be trusted to fulfill your vision and after working with a few, our vision was being knocked back and forth. A lesson learned for sure here and so we educated ourselves through these failures on how to build a good website.
SuperFly Magazine Issue 1 | Cool Flo
HDF: I know exactly how this goes. I got so tired of asking designers for help and I’m so particular that I decided to brand and design myself. So then what happened?
Tony: We then wanted the publication to be digital and we researched numerous software to find the best and most cost effective one to use, as we had no capital to invest apart from any spare income left from our daily jobs.
We also started working with two other industry professionals, which in the end didn’t turn out the way we thought. Having extra help is important to leverage a business, but before you commit, you need to know if their values match yours. It was clear after a few months, that our values didn’t match theirs and their vision was to build a publication business and sell up quickly.
This was not our vision at all.
We want to make a difference, inspire people and have a bloody good time doing it in the process. Sure, if someone was to place an offer for the business we would listen, but it wouldn’t be about the money.
So once again, it was back to Carmen and myself to keep going despite the knock backs and loss capital. However, it was the best thing that could happen. Yes, it took us know longer to get give our vision momentum, but we called all the shots again and we were no longer going to let other people decide how our vision was going to look like.
HDF: I think that’s one of the toughest things people need to realize. First, does your vision match your business partners, and second, does the thoughts on money align.
So, you guys kept going?
Tony: Yep, we started to put together two digital magazines, one called SuperFly dedicated to all custom cars and Carte Blanche, which was dedicated to luxury/classic cars.
Our aim was to showcase the best cars from these different cultures and provide these for free to the automotive community. Free because we wanted to give something back and also due to car content being freely available on the internet.
SuperFly Magazine Issue 4 | Una Familia Panscraper Special
However, being a two man army and working full time, proved too much work for us. You see, we research, source, photograph, write and design all our articles. Which means a lot of traveling and any spare income, used for fuel and food trips. We had no spare capital to allow a third party to assist us, so that year was a lot of hard graft, but we felt little momentum.
HDF: It’s the momentum that keeps you going. I can say that for sure.
Tony: It was at this point that we had to make a decision. Do we keep the magazines or not?
HDF: Well it’s clear you kept SuperFly?
Tony: One thing was clear, was that our passion will always remain and we didn’t want to stop doing what we love. So we decided to keep only one magazine…SuperFly.
HDF: Why SuperFly Magazine?
Tony: There was a number of reasons why SuperFly remained. The name is very adaptable to anything cool, we wanted to make the USA our number one follower, the name was very cool and we could add any type of car in the mix and not just custom cars.
Our aim was to make the magazine image led instead of overly designed like the print magazines and let the image speak for itself. We didn’t like when you had an amazing photograph, but could only see half of the image or it was too small. We also added a tagline of ‘This is how we roll’, which says exactly what it does on the tin. This is who I’am and I roll with pride, and we think it’s a cool tagline.
HDF: So what came next?
Tony: We gathered past car photographic material and mixed it with new material. The thing that we had as a disadvantage, was that we were only two people with a lack of time, resources and money. We just couldn’t compete with larger automotive media website/magazines, so we formed a plan.
Tony & Carmen Matthews
We knew that no matter how old content was, if you mixed it in with new material properly, passionate car people would still be interested. Facebook is a testament to this, as around 90% of the content is old content being curated and pushed back out. This way of thinking allowed us to created inspiring and entertaining content that would still be fresh to the end user.
HDF: Smart. Resourceful.
Tony: We would also photograph up to 7 cars per weekend, so that we had enough new content in the bag, to mix with older material. It also gave us greater creative thinking when it came to creating blog posts and magazine issues.
Tony Matthews | Photo Shoot
Our aim was to also work with other automotive media outlets and expose their stories, as we believe in collaboration and not the old way of thinking of exclusivity and not sharing.
So we would add content from other publications within SuperFly, as a way to cross-promote and show our followers something they perhaps didn’t see before. A bonus for us, was to also gain extra content that we couldn’t get to as it was from another country.
HDF: So, I’ve been going through the digital magazine and you guys find some of the coolest cars on the planet. In a one word question, “How?”
Tony: That’s a good question and one that we get asked numerous times. We are known for finding some of the coolest and most unique cars on the planet and it all comes down to an inner feeling emotion that we get when we see the vehicle for the first time.
HDF: I can understand that. Essentially, that’s how we do it with HDF. The moment I met you guys, I saw the authenticity meets decisive creators. The emotion was there. So you reached out to car owners . . . ?
Tony: Yeah, from working previously as a researcher finding cars when I was freelancing, I found ways to reach out to car owners and once you find one person, they always know of someone else with a cool car.
With the power of social media, we can now also find cool cars through Facebook and especially Instagram.
SuperFly Magazine | Instagram
HDF: You know how I feel about Instagram. That’s how I met you guys initially. So, let’s talk about the countries you’ve visited. How many have you been to and I bet you’ve met some interesting people along the way.
Tony: Traveling is definitely high for Carmen and me, which is one of the best things about traveling and meeting different car owners. Our aim is to expose as many different countries and their car culture as possible. To showcase that no matter the language, color of the skin to the car we drive, we all speak the same language of cars.
It also allows to embrace other styles, which can then be adapted to any other culture
Tony Matthews | SuperFly Magazine
HDF: What are some of the countries?
Tony: We have traveled quite a few places such as Japan, Australia, USA, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Luxembourg, Monaco, Italy, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, England, Scotland, Ireland to name a few.
Tony & Carmen Matthews | Japan
Tony & Carmen Matthews | San Francisco U.S.A.
HDF: Wow! And the people?
Tony: In terms of interesting people we meet, every single one has an incredible story, from the likes of Magnus Walker Porsche Collector/Fashion Designer to Chief Hot Wheels Designers sharing their amazing ideas of how they bring these diecast cars to life.
Some of the most incredible stories can be found with that individual who has built a car out of their garage, in their spare time on the weekend, to the friends who rent a large garage and spend most evening building them over conversation.
Magnus Walker | Porsche Collector & Fashion Designer
HDF: Are you at liberty to say who some of the celebrities you’ve met along the way are? If so, what were their cars?
Tony: We find it so inspiring whenever we get the opportunity to interview celebrities and we have had the great pleasure over the years to have interviewed and photographed a few.
Some names that come to mind are the Prince of Monaco, Pamela Anderson, Roger Moore and Chris Evans (UK TV Presenter) at the Top Marques Live Supercar show. We were hired as photographers/media partners for this event, where numerous celebrities and high profile clients were present.
James Bond | Roger Moore
Pamela Anderson
We also contacted and arranged interviews/video shoots with the likes of Myles Kovacs (Founder of DUB Magazine), Magnus Walker (Porsche collector & Fashion Designer)
Magnus Walker | Porsche Collector & Fashion Designer
Mister Cartoon (Tattoo Artist)
Mister Cartoon | SuperFly Magazine
Mike Brewer (Automotive TV Show host), Estevan Oriol (Famous LA Photographer & music manager).
Estevan Oriol Shooting Lowriders Under 6th St. Bridge L.A.
HDF: That’s a serious lineup. The Prince of Monaco? James Bond? DUB Magazine? You guys are serious.
So, simple question. Why cars?
And I love the fact that for you guys its not all about the Ferraris, but the unique. What’s the message behind why you feature the cars you do? Is it the story
Tony: Another good question, as at times we are asked what is the attraction to being so passionate about the car.
Again, it all comes down to an emotional hook, that gut feeling, those goose bumps you get. It’s that feeling you get when you see your first Lamborghini Countach as a kid. It gives you that ‘wow’ factor, especially when you see it rolling, the engine roaring and how the speed provides that escapism from life.
You want to own one and feel it’s immense force, but when it then comes to the customized cars of the world, you then start to see the potential in adding your own unique spin, your signature to the car so to speak. It’s self-expression and that’s so damn cool.
To stand out from the crowd and be proud to roll your own personal style amongst the norm.
SuperFly Magazine | Hauk Designs Steam Punk-Style Jeep with model Ileana Cardenas
Custom Lamborghini | SuperFly Magazine – Las Vegas
When we also then had a taste for the lifestyle that surrounds the car and meeting its people, we knew that this was our passion and calling.
It’s not like a regular 9-5 job, where you only see the people you work with day in and day out. Every day is totally different to us and as a bonus, we get to photograph/video these SuperFly machines, that most only get to see via the web. An up close and personal experience, which has a story that gives us inspiration each time we interview the owners. To then pass this on to our fans, is just amazing.
In a car you can go anywhere you want, it’s that open road to where you choose the direction and just go for it.
HDF: Fire What’s been each of your favorite cars so far? Each of you can list of your top 5 if you’d like
Tony: That’s the hardest question of them all. We ask the same to other car passionate people and it gets them stuck so often. I would have to go for:
- Porsche 912
- Porsche 964
- Lamborghini Countach
- Ford Mustang
- Aston Martin
and then a mixture of custom rides from the classic to retro era.
HDF: My first car poster as a child was a Lamborghini Countach (laugher). Carmen?
Carmen:
- Jaguar E-Type convertible
- classic Volkswagen splitty
- Singer Porsche and
- Classic 1936 Bugatti Type 57c Atlantic
Carmen Matthews | SuperFly Magazine
HDF: We recently met in Los Angeles and we talked a lot about the journey of life.
Carmen, I think you mentioned that every car has it’s own story and that you can really see an individual’s journey be poured out into their creation?
Carmen: That was a cool conversation and I’m glad you bought that up for this interview. It’s true, the cars we find are the common bond to all the people that we meet and the cultures that we experience.
HDF: Because of this, you guys are meeting all kinds of people. Essentially, are cars the common bond that connect you to all walks of life and allow you to explore all cultures and backgrounds?
Carmen: If it wasn’t for that individual adding their life experiences to their car, we would have never seen them in a busy crowd of everyday normality. We meet individuals where their cars have phenomenal amounts of detail, some have gone for that show winning look, some have a rundown rat look with some being very discreet to the untrained eye.
Each one depending on the modification, have a reason for that style. We’ve met people that carried on a lost friends dream and built their car after their passing, to some being very introvert and creating some of the fastest cars in the world.
Tony Matthews with Automotive Photographer Brian
HDF: Everyone’s got a story.
So, I know you’ve already shared quite a bit of the journey with me, but what have been some your biggest obstacles in building SuperFly Magazine and growing it to what it’s become?
Tony: Gosh! The list is endless! To begin with, it wasn’t an easy path to get the publication to where it stands today.
From an obstacle point, the lack of time due to working a 9-5 job at the same time, money, delays, lack of belief at times, testing and failing, lack of team resources and working with the wrong people have been some of our biggest.
However, those obstacles have been used to their advantages. For example, with lack of money and time, you start to get creative.
We would produce the same amount of work in one week with just the two of us, that a team of ten staff members would create for a car magazine in one month. We would also learn how to design, market, write better copy, social media marketing and so on ourselves.
HDF: Funny how creative you can become when you don’t have the same man power as a big media company, huh?
Tony: Yeah, and we also have good time management and leverage where possible to make up for those disadvantages. The biggest drive is the passion for what we do. Had we not had the passion and love, our disadvantages and at times disbelief that we can make a success of it, would have been lost.
Tony Matthews with George Barris (Famous Car Builder)
We are also working long-term and not just short-term. Long-term allows you to forecast the greater outcome and thus pushes you to continue and think more strategically.
We had other publications come and go since we launched, but they had their eye on just short-term goals. We also are very persistent and at time it may look crazy for us to continue to other people, but hey, this is our life and we will do what it takes to make it what we want.
HDF: How has SuperFly Magazine and building a community changed your lives?
Tony: It has definitely changed our lives in so many ways. We have become more confident, travelled more than ever, made more friends than we would have at a regular job, gained a following people from all corners of the world who are interested in what we have to say and it has also bought us opportunities we would have never expected.
One of the things that truly inspires and blow’s us away each day, is that some of the most iconic brands and people, also now take interest in us and are happy for SuperFly to tell their story.
Before our meeting in LA, we just spent a day filming the creator of the Fast & Furious cars from the movie franchise! Universal Pictures approved us for this special video interview and when we found out that many request video interviews and are not excepted, we were truly humbled to know that we were very privileged to be here.
HDF: Yeah, but you guys deserve it so I’m not surprised. You’re not in it for Hollywood, but for the art and the story. That means a lot!
Tony: I mean, we grew up watching all the movies and to be in the garage, watching the next movie’s cars being built for the Fast 8 film, was mind blowing to say the least!
HDF: I also see you work with Jay Kubassek. It was because of you guys that I had a chance to also sit and talk with him as well. What an awesome guy!
Talk to me about some of the great things you 3 are working on?
Tony: To us, Jay is a very special person and glad that we can also call him our friend. When we mentioned that SuperFly has provided new opportunities and experiences, working with Jay and his business partner Stuart Ross, is definitely at the top of our list.
Tony & Carmen Matthews with Jay Kubassek & Stuart Ross
Not only is he a humble and kind guy, but he has a vision to help others to wake up (awakeup) to all the opportunities they have in life and being his students, we totally believe in his mission. It was due to our creative story telling through SuperFly that Jay wanted to work closer with us, in the form of photography, videography, social media and coaching to assist his students.
This then lead us to creating our second business called G.A.C. Creative – Design Entourage. The time spent with Jay made us think back at how many people asked us for advice on their business and brand, from storytelling, social media and building websites.
So with the amount of skilled people we knew from the automotive industry and from working with skilled individuals, we created G.A.C Creative, which is a creative consulting agency, assisting businesses in telling their brands story to a global audience.
Thanks to our travels and meeting people, we have people in the USA, Japan, Europe and the UK, who can help a business to create what they need for success and tell their story.
SuperFly Magazine Website
HDF: More of a journey question: What are some of the biggest challenges or obstacles have you faced throughout your life that have taught you incredible lessons? Any lessons you’d like to share?
Tony: I think for me, the biggest challenge has been that fear is an illusion. As I grow older and wiser, I see that fear is just something we make up in our mind. Sure, fear is in some way here to protect us, but fear isn’t always right.
How many times in the past you have said these words ‘I wish I would have reacted this way at the time or done something different if only I had…’ Being an introvert when I was younger, didn’t allow me to push myself as I do now and missing opportunities back then kind of sucked. However, as I grow, I can see my confidence also growing and not letting my fear dictate all my actions. I think wisely, smartly and take opportunities more now than ever.
Don’t let what other think of you stop you speaking out and living your life
Carmen: My biggest challenge has always been – time. I am not only extremely impatient with myself but also since my father died without a heads up of health issues I am always feeling pressured with time.
There is never enough time in the day until I need to sleep and give my body a rest… I had to learn that all good things need time but all great things need a good portion of time. It is this year that I caught up with my father’s age, and it is this year that I have learned to take it easier with myself.
The art of visualization I have learned so long ago finally has no longer to be met with head strength and going as fast as I can. It has become more of an exploration and the realization that everything along the way is as important as the destination itself.
Also, life is about balance. Every negative impact you have experienced in your life you will have had a positive one. It is about finding the other side to your coin and make piece so you can move on and continue to grow.
Whatever we have tackled we have managed and we have to give ourselves not only credit for that but also take this as encouragement to push further to actually find out where our own borders are in terms of our personalities but also in terms of our business. And on terms of SuperFly, we are nowhere near our borders.
SuperFly Magazine
HDF: You guys are creators, period, which is primarily why I’ve become such a fan in such a short time. What’s the best part about “creating” for you?
Creating is so rewarding to us both. To know that you can create what you want and not what someone else wants is an incredible feeling. To know that your creation can be seen by millions and hopefully inspire them is SuperFly (Excuse the pun! lol).
Just the other week, we had an aspiring automotive photographer contact us, who poured out his heart and is so happy that SuperFly exists, was mind-blowing to us! We will be having a meeting with him on Skype as he is looking for direction in his photography.
In a world where everyone can create content and other curate it, we like to mix things up a bit. We love that we create our own branded content within the vastness of other content.
HDF: You got that right! I always find it interesting when people reach out to me and express themselves because of something I created. It’s so humbling, yet inspiring.
What’s the best advice you can give someone just starting out with creating their own brand or digital magazine? Or creating for that matter?
Or maybe just pursuing their dreams?
Tony:
One of the most important things is to find out what you are truly passionate about. The reason is that most dismiss their passion for a career and something that can make them some income.
Once you have that passion and you know that you will do what it takes to make it come true, then you need a plan to get it on the road. You need to plan the short and long term goals and the mission statement of what you want to achieve.
Money will be a large factor, so thinking long term on how to fund it is a key factor. For example, we still worked a 9 to 5 job till we could then take a risk and go all out on our passion full time.
The next thing, would be to invest in your education by reading books, finding online courses in the fields of expertise you require for your passion and most importantly, find a mentor. Mentors have been there and can provide valuable insights, thoughts and directions to help you grow quicker.
SuperFly Magazine | About
Last and most important of all, is you have to mentally prepare yourself to fail forward, work more hours than your regular 9 to 5 job and be prepared that it will take time to gain momentum.
Never quit at first sign of failure or due to the time it takes you to get there.
We at times can get frustrated at how long things can take, but put aside competition worries and what others are doing and just keep your eyes on where you want to do. Remember that what you will bring is unique and has a place in this world.
HDF: All the points hit home, but your last one really resonates with me. You have to mentally prepare yourself cause once you get going and become aware of things, you can never go back. If you could describe the essence of SuperFly Magazine, how would you describe it?
Tony: SuperFly is on a mission to showcase the most unique and coolest cars of this world. To tell their owners’ stories to inspire other passionate car individuals to realize their dream car, create their own product or even start their own company.
Since our launch over one year ago, we are now bringing stories in video and podcast form, so that we can inspire more people.
HDF: I see your Facebook page has hundreds of thousands of followers.
How important has social media and the Internet played in the building of your brand? Or at least, how important do you think it will be as you continue to grow it?
SuperFly Magazine
Tony: Social Media has been one of the key’s to our growth. We remember when we hit a Plato of 25,000 followers and couldn’t understand why we stopped growing. However, we got educated in the social media sector and after understanding better our followers and analytics, we started to see the gain again.
In the last year, we have grown at a super fast rate, with our following growing by 2-5000 new followers each day! It’s crazy seeing the amount of 760,000 followers, which is still growing. Especially when you see larger corporations with more resources gaining quicker followers and momentum.
It adds to our belief that our message of providing inspiring/interesting content is working. We don’t always get it right, but we ensure we make up for these errors and communicate well with our community.
HDF: AMEN!! It’s funny cause you see big companies with all these resources growing their social media, but do they have the conversations we have? Often they do not. The conversations are where all the good stuff can be found.
Tony: No business should be without social media to grow their brands. We see so many brick and mortar businesses, who still don’t believe in the power of social media.
They feel intimidated by it and lack the knowledge, but we know from experience, that once they use it, not only do their businesses thrive, they also love the experience social media provides.
One big thing for us that is important, is to ensure that you are authentic, credit people you use content from and talk to your audience, get them involved like your brand was their own.
HDF: If you could meet any car owner/enthusiast, entrepreneur, or person for that matter, throughout all of history, past or present, who would it be and why?
Carmen: I would love to meet Jay Leno because he stands for the overall car guy and appreciates all that goes into a car. He embraces all car cultures like we do with SuperFly.
Tony & Carmen Matthews |1 week filming in California for some upcoming short films out this year
Tony: Dr. Dre and Eminem would be two present people I would love to meet. Both think different and are not afraid to stand out. Their stories and work inspires me in the work we create. The photography I create has been heavily influence by hip hop/rap videos from MTV, so meeting these two would be insanely cool!
Tony Matthews | SuperFly Magazine
HDF: It’s just a matter of time and I will make sure to be there with you. (laughter) – I can already visualize the call from you two. Well ,may this article get you a step closer to meeting them.
So, is there anything else you’d like me to know that I didn’t ask or you’d like to tell our readers?
Tony: In July 2014, we made a decision to quit our corporate careers by December 2014. We sold all our possessions and then spent time with family in Germany and France, to provide us with more time to build our businesses.
We have in between that time travelled to Japan, the USA and Austria. It was a big commitment especially with leaving with only 6months worth of money in the bank, but it was worth the jump.
In the first quarter of 2016, we will be launching our Tony and Carmen Matthews brand, to help other couples to realize their best lives and to follow their passions.
HDF: Wow! You guys are truly awesome! Thank you so much for this interview and for your friendship!
Tony & Carmen: It was so awesome to hangout with you Matt and truly honored to call you our friend. We hope that our story will inspire your followers to hustle hard!
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