There's Something About 'Magic'

He was admiring a largemouth bass, caught by a 10-yr old, from one of the fishing pages he religiously follows on Instagram. Genuinely impressed, and even a little jealous, you could tell he was proud for this little guy, whom he’d never even met. 

 “I’d love to get out on the water more,” he said, putting his phone to the side, “the kids are begging me to take them. But fishing with four-under-ten is a little more like herding cats. Still, I love how much they love it.” 

 You have probably never heard of Matt Black, Founder of GEAUX Experiential, father of four, avid angler wannabe, and the most positive underdog you will ever meet. 

 And you should meet him. 

 Throw everything out the window that you think about the underdogs of Hollywood—Rudy, The Blindside story of Mike Oher, even Luke Skywalker was silver-spoonless and look how things turned out for him. 

 Let’s paint a picture of a man for whom all the chips were in his favor—loving parents, raised on the Upper East Side, attended top preparatory academy Allen Stevenson, and learned to navigate life by skateboard on the streets of New York City. This curly-haired boy fished for crawfish with bubblegum in Central Park, ate at sports coat required restaurants, and thanks to some relatives in the movie business, often visited sets and workshops of the likes of Jim Henson films. 

 All before he was 14. 

 And that’s where life took a few of those chips back. His mother passed away from an extensive bout with cancer, following his father’s death several years before from a similar fate. See, those years on the skateboard were often a way to run a few errands—which was acceptable for a kid in the 80’s—for his ailing mother. Vinny ran the market. Lin was the owner of the Chinese take-out and Johnny, well, Johnny let him run a tab for his mom to enjoy a bottle of wine from time to time. 

 A lot on the shoulders of a not-quite-yet man who found himself an orphan on October, 26, 1989.  

 “I hate that word,” Matt says, shifting somewhat uncomfortably in his chair. “It makes people feel sorry for you, and I’ve never felt sorry for myself. It’s not what my mom would have wanted, so while I’ve had my days where I’ve missed her, maybe even wished things had turned out “normal” for me, I’ve always maintained a positive outlook on life. And that’s a tribute to her legacy.” 

 The middle of the story goes something like he moved to Atlanta to live with his uncle and family, but it was short lived as he wished to live out his expected journey at a northeastern boarding school, then off to Furman University and then traded his cap and gown for a box truck, as he took his first job 24 hours after graduation with an experiential marketing company. 

 He seemed to shine as he remembered those years, albeit an up and down road with a less than ideal family life. But what stuck out, was the patchwork fabric of people that Matt seemed to maintain crystal clear memories of throughout his life. 

 There was Mike, the janitor at his high school, for whom Matt took up a collection for to give him a Christmas gift. When spring break came around and Matt couldn’t get home, Mike took him fishing and out to dinner with his family. 

 The first of many vignettes that he shared that gave insight into his chameleon character—an empathetic man with sincere compassion and an inherent calling for “collar blindness”…for he treats the people he encounters of varying importance with the same level of respect. 

 With zero expectation in return. 

 Matt sees it very simply. “At NASCAR tracks, typically the guy at the gate—who coincidentally holds invaluable power for guys like me trying to pull a 50’ trailer 200 yards across the property—is often condescendingly blown off, barked at and understandably defensive. So when I pull up, address this man and his team by name, use my Southern-adopted manners like ‘yes, sir,’ and just treat him with some human decency? Hell, I’ve seen smiles appear on some faces that turned into them stopping by our space to ask us if we needed anything!” 

 Yep, he swears that some swag (not swagger) and a smile will help brand activations execute with the greatest of ease. 

 That’s why when Matt started GEAUX (pronounced “Go” and is a tribute to his wife’s heritage, which he’s willingly adopted), it was a staggering juxtaposition from the industry norm—he’s a production guy—not a sales guy—at the head of an agency. 

 “Why pitch some pretty picture that doesn’t fit in a space where the client wants to be, and it certainly doesn’t fit in their budget?” he asks, referencing his old agency life. “More often than not, the production team was brought in last, to build the impossible champagne picture on a beer budget, and then more often criticized when we couldn’t pull off miracles.” 

 Over the years, he earned the nickname “Magic” for his reputation to make the impossible a reality with quick thinking, a directory of vendors unrivaled in his field, and the motto that a zip tie will fix just about anything. 

 So GEAUX was born with the promise to earn clients who could rest assured that their goals would be met with amazing strategy, concepts and thinking that fit in their budget. Even going so far as to create “GEAUX ON” pricing—an on-demand pricing model that allows the client to pay only for the resources they use, rather than be responsible for fees that support inflated agency overhead. 

 “If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that less is more,” Matt muses. “We work from home in the nooks and crannies that aren’t already allocated for playrooms and digital classrooms. We can have just about anything delivered. The world has become more about experiences with our families—playing Uno and roasting smores on a Wednesday—and making the most of a guy’s night over zoom and a cold beer. And I happen to be in the experience business, so when we are creating them for our clients, I’m more than well versed on what makes a good one.” 

 Speaking of family, this only child now is raising four children of his own—three daughters and one son, all under the age of 10—with his wife, and business partner, Alyese Couvillion. Matt holds nothing back when explaining the chaos that is daily life trying to run an agency out of the house and raise a family of six during a pandemic. 

 “I wear cargo shorts so that at any given time, I can pull whatever I need out of my pocket. You’re hungry, here’s a snack. I’m sorry you fell off your bike. Do you want a Spiderman or Peppa Pig band-aid? Wallet, phone, bows, rocks…you name it and it’s in my pockets. My job has trained me for fatherhood more than any book ever could have,” he says, proudly. “We even go to the beach packed like I’m setting up an event. We catch some crazy looks, but I wouldn’t have it any other way than my 200 sq ft tent village on the sand.” 

 This underdog swears that despite his success, he will always maintain the mentality of one so that he never loses sight of what’s important—giving his best to every client, no matter the budget, no matter the ask, no matter the collar. He’s teaching his team—and his kids—the value of loving what you do because doing the right thing will always be right. He promises that GEAUX will always embody those values. 

 “It’s not hard. I could have made very different decisions in my life, chosen bitterness and believed that the world turned on me. That would have been easy,” he adds. “But I didn’t, and it’s made me, my career, my family and GEAUX much better because of it.” 

 When you meet Matt, you’ll do well to ask about John Elway or Joe Burrow and that time he took over Time’s Square.  

 But rest assured by the end of your conversation, you will have enjoyed a great story, been stored in his phone in case he ever saw something that made him think of you, and thanks to his indoctrination in the Louisiana culture, you’re welcome to come over for dinner anytime. 

 ******* 

Matt can be reached, when he’s not fishing, playing with the kids, watching LSU or building events, at [email protected] or he’s always up for a call 770-335-5475.