The Host

Hey there!  My name is Matt Monroe, and I’m the creator and host of this podcast – the I FIND IT INTERESTING podcast.  During the course of the past five decades I’ve done a whole bunch of weird shit led a really interesting life.

How weird interesting?

And what kind of shit sort of activities and adventures?

Well… Sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and let me regale you with a few quick stories…

I’ve been to the northernmost reaches of the United States multiple times, where I’ve eaten both sautéed seal flipper (not bad at all) and fermented whale blubber (definitely an acquired taste).

While working on a documentary project in Peru about shamans and sacred rituals of the world, I was invited to take part in an all night Ayahuasca ceremony.  And I partook.

Less than a half hour before it was destroyed in a huge ass explosion controlled demolition, I was one of the last three people to go inside Seattle’s King Dome stadium.  I was then in place outside the structure – standing by, waiting for the signal to seek shelter – and watching Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen hit the “detonator” button which brought down the entire structure.

I’m a hardcore hotspring enthusiast, and have soaked in thermal waters all across across the planet.

I’ve been onstage with the band Pearl Jam multiple times, in the recording studio with R.E.M., and spent three days on the road, touring around the Pacific Northwest with Michael Stipe.  As a quick sidenote, Mr. Stipe is the most deadpan-yet-hilarious person I’ve ever met.

I’ve carved out and slept in a snowcave at the Denali climbers’ basecamp.  The cave being necessary for shelter when the air temperatures dropped down into the minus 20s.

I have a fully formed extra vertebrae in my lower spine.

I’ve been falling down drunk at a Lions Club meeting in the Himalayas.  Fortunately, everyone else at that Lions Club gathering (all the “Lions”) also happened to be falling down drunk because… Well…  That seemed to be the modus operandi of the club and its monthly meetings.

I’ve been both naked and sober (at the same time) while attending the Burning Man Festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.  As a sidenote, my first Burn took place back in 1997, with just 15,000 Burners in attendance.

I’ve played bass in Jimi Hendrix’s childhood bedroom.  The bass belonged to Jimi.

I love tattoos, and would be completely covered with them from neck to toes except – EXCEPT – as fate would have things I’m severely allergic to tattoo ink.  My allergy was discovered in Hawaii, after an anaphylactic reaction to a freshly applied tattoo (my very first tattoo, btw) sent me straight into the emergency room at Honolulu’s Kaukini Hospital.

In my entire life, I’ve eaten just one single Hostess Twinkie.  I lost my Twinkie virginity when I was 40 years old.

Of course, I have hundreds more stories to tell about my life and experiences, though I’m much more interested in hearing the stories that my guests have to tell about their own lives.

Now, if you’re the sort of person who’s led a life that just a bit out-of-the-ordinary, then I’d be super interested in sitting down with you for an hour or so, setting up some mics, hitting the *record* button, and just pulling out those stories and insights.

Feel free to e-mail me: matt *at* ifinditinteresting *dot* com