Matt Brown was a 15-year-old sophomore at Norwood High School in Massachusetts when he suffered a spinal cord injury during a high school hockey game in 2010. He spent 21 days at Children’s Hospital Boston, then 100 days in Atlanta, GA at the Shepherd Center Rehabilitation Center before returning to his home town of Norwood.

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From the beginning, Matt was determined that he was not going to let the injury define the way he was going to live his life. Matt had missed 4 months of school but had a goal of graduating with his class. He committed to taking classes over the summer, started his junior year on time and one year later graduated from high school on time, receiving the “Golden Diploma Award” for overcoming adversity. He went on to attend college at Stonehill College in Easton MA, where he lived on campus all four years and earned a degree in Communications. 

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Matt is the author of the book Line Change, which he wrote with Todd Civin. The pages take the reader behind the curtains of what he was going through with his injury. The book gives the reader messages of the importance of dealing with adversity and not giving up, no matter how hard things can get.

In his spare time, Matt is a motivational speaker to high schools, colleges, and organizations about dealing with challenges, change, and overcoming adversity. Matt also likes to stay active and he and his running partner have completed 12 marathons in the assisted running category. The 2024 Boston Marathon will be the 10th Boston Marathon for the pair and 13th together. He is an avid sports fan and loves to spend time with friends and family.