The name’s Matt Simpson, I’m a soccer ninja, business connoisseur, music engineer and Ruby on Rails a holic.
My Life, generally:
I was born in a small town and raised in a house in the country. All I had to keep me busy was my brother, best friend, my creativity and the adventures we thought up! I suppose creativity was a part of my life from the git go. Probably why I am always churning ideas around and never in boredom. My boredom contains a canvas and it is never blank.
I am the youngest of 4, being in that position I grew up very determined, competitive and driven. Some people tell me I am not a type A but have 2 A’s in my personality. I love a challenge and figuring out the how to make anything more efficient. I also love designing and composing music. With those 2 combinations you get a very interesting person.
As far as programming’s concerned, well, It all started in the 4th grade. What better year to begin programming? I took a class on QBASIC and my curiosity – on how computers work – began. It opened my eyes that computers are not just some magical things found in a foreign tiny little island with jungles and monkeys and cobras. I began developing websites in 7th grade, where I spent some of my time engrossed in developing hideous (now hideous, then genius) websites about my life in the fast junior high culture 
. Throughout high school I stepped my web development knowledge more and more, bit by bit. My first paid contract was my junior year in high school for a flash website and it all started to come together as to why I was spending so much time on the computer nights after nights, mornings after early mornings.
I went to the Art Institute in Schaumburg Illinois majoring in Interactive Media Design in 2006 when I landed a job as a web developer at Wencel Worldwide downtown Chicago. I quickly realized that with the power of the internet, school was slowing me down in regards to my web development strength. What I could teach myself in 1 year I would learn at school in 4, and by the time I graduated, what I learned would be obsolete at the exponential rate the internet moves. I quickly realized if I were to make it in this industry I needed to unleash myself from school so that I could continue to learn the latest and greatest in web development.
After working at Wencel Worldwide full time for a while I landed a job in Saint Louis Missouri as the lead web applications developer at Customer Direct in 2007. I have been working there as the Lead Ruby on Rails web developer of a team of 4 programmers and 3 systems admins. I’ve been focusing my efforts on Ruby on Rails, mentoring the other developers, and teaming to develop some very innovative applications.
In June of 2008 I started a web development solutions company, Envion Studios LLC, focusing on Ruby on Rails and PHP development. Since then, numerous opportunities have opened up and blossomed into great growing points in my life.
I played baseball and soccer in high school. Started varsity my sophomore, junior and senior year for soccer, loved every minute of the season. I played the trumpet in marching band, section leader my sophomore, junior and senior years as well. I truly believe that being a part of sports and marching band has shaped my life more than anything imaginable.
Music is a huge part in my life. I play drums, guitar, piano (primary) and I sing. Mainly as an outlet of my creativity and of life, but also as a way to express what’s going on inside. Music is the language of the soul.
I hope you enjoy this blog, I feel contributing back to the community of the internet is an amazing privilege and I am so glad that the internet has become as powerful of a tool as it has. I have learned much from it, and only hope to contribute a smidgen of knowledge back.
Feel free to check out my developer blog at Rails Grammer where I ramble about my life, culture, friendships and my walk with christ.
Thanks and enjoy
