Matt Gonzalez's life could've turned out very different. ​Born in McAllen, Texas, and raised there and across the river in Reynoso, Tamaulipas (Mexico), Matt recalls spending a lot of time camping and playing football when he was a kid. His family moved around a bit—Louisville, Baltimore, New Orleans—before returning to South Texas, where Matt finished school and played more football. The sport eventually took a back seat to debate class, and he decided to go to college at Columbia in New York City. Matt talks about arriving wide-eyed in New York. He spent four years getting his undergrad, with summers in Maine and Minnesota leading camping expeditions. Then, he decided to come to California for law school. Check back Thursday for Part 2, when Matt will share more memories from his roughly 30 years in San Francisco, which he begins to touch on here. We recorded this podcast over Zoom in March 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather