Matt Carson

For the baseball player, see Matt Carson (baseball).

Matt Carson
Born	(1975-10-14) October 14, 1975 (age 48) Warrenton, Virginia, U.S.
Alma mater	West Virginia University
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, Author
Website	www.outsiderlabs.com

Matthew "Matt" Carson (born October 14, 1975) is an American entrepreneur and author from Virginia. Carson's works include The Attic, A Christmas Story and On A Hill They Call Capital. In 2009 he ran as an independent candidate for Virginia House of Delegates, 30th District seat, losing to the Republican incumbent.

Biography

Born in Warrenton, Virginia, Matt Carson is a graduate of Fauquier High School and holds a degree in political science and history from West Virginia University. ^[1] As a student, he was the founder of the SRA (Student Rights Administration) in 1997, ^[2] a group that gained national media attention by battling the then president of the University, David Hardesty, for his "dry fraternity" initiatives and for attempting to cut back on student tailgating at football games by instituting a "no keg" ruling. Carson was arrested by Morgantown police for some of his on-campus antics.

Carson was also a writer for The Daily Athenaeum at the time, the WVU student newspaper, ^[3] and gained attention for his often hilarious pro-party rants and for citing his determination at restoring WVU as the "number one party school in the nation" as ranked by Playboy . ^{[4] [5]}

After graduating, he worked at Oasis Winery with owner Tareq Salahi in an effort to learn the wine business. ^[6] Carson was originally slated to write the Salahi story involving the winery family feud, the Virginia polo murder, and the rise of the Virginia wine business to be titled Wine, War, & Roses. The Real Housewives of Washington, D.C. filmed a book meeting at Carson's Virginia home with the Salahis one week prior to the alleged White House Gatecrashing incident. Soon after the White House incident Carson walked away from the project. ^{[7] [8]}

After Oasis he co-founded Bigteams. He currently serves on the board of the Middleburg Film Festival and as CEO of Britches Great Outdoors. ^{[9] [10]}

Carson was also featured in the infamous The Men of Rappahannock County partially nude calendar that gained national attention as a fundraiser for a local high school track field. He appeared in the calendar along with Ben L. Jones, aka, Cooter from the Dukes of Hazzard television show. ^{[11] [12]}

On A Hill They Call Capital

The second literary work of Matt Carson, On A Hill They Call Capital: A Revolution Is Coming, published on July 4, 2007, is a satirical story of 8 Virginians in their late twenties who mount a revolution against the U.S. Federal Government out of frustration with the Patriot Act. These 8 Virginians call themselves the Grandsons of Liberty after the Sons of Liberty. ^{[13] [14]}

The book has received praise from such sources as The Washington Post journalist Joel Garreau and Julie Failla Earhart of Armchair Interviews. ^[15]

When a band of good ol boys from Virginia decide that American liberties have been breached once too often, the resulting revolution they launch is both clever and informed by a sense of irony that only true country boys can pull off. Matt Carson has written a story populated by great characters and an ingenious plot. Watch out for this budding story teller.

— Joel Garreau ^[13]

2009 Virginia elections candidacy

Matt Carson ran as an independent against the Republican incumbent Ed Scott in November’s race for the 30th District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. In his first campaign for public office he gained 25% of the vote, losing to the incumbent. The main points of his political campaign were the support for a Patriot Act free state, ^[16] fiscal responsibility at state level, protection of inalienable rights of individuals, and an environmentally friendly approach. ^{[1] [17]}

Bibliography

• Matt Carson. (2007). On A Hill They Call Capital: A Revolution is Coming.  ISBN   978-1-60402-854-6
• Matthew Amick (original penname of Matt Carson). (1999). The Attic: A Christmas Story. ISBN   978-0-9675024-0-3

References

1. Allison Brophy Champion (June 10, 2009). "Independent files to run against Scott in statehouse". Star Exponent. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
2. Brandi C. Moreton (November 6, 1998). "Move over Letterman! SRA forms Top 10 list; Poll asks students for biggest complaints with University". The Daily Athenaeum . Last year, Carson established the Student Rights Administration. Dissatisfied with the closing of the Pit and other changes occurring within West Virginia University, Carson decided to begin an organization which caters to the needs and wants of students. [...] Last week, SRA set up a booth in the Mountainlair asking students to express up to 10 of their biggest complaints about WVU. Within the week, 5,518 votes were documented from 827 students.
3. Matt Carson (September 17, 1997). "Let's save the "Pit"". The Daily Athenaeum .
4. Adam Russell (September 18, 1997). "Partiers get organized". The Daily Athenaeum .
5. Adam Russell (October 2, 1997). "Administration relaxes Pit rules". The Daily Athenaeum .
6. Thomas Heath (November 27, 2011). "A Christmas tale about a new business". Washington Post .
7. Amy Argetsinger (September 23, 2010). "D.C. 'Housewives' recap and fact-check (#7, Sept. 23)". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on October 6, 2011.
8. Diane Dimond. Cirque Du Salahi: Be Careful Who You Trust. CreateSpace. ISBN   1439273294.
9. "Britches not burned: Classic Georgetown-based clothing store reborn in Warrenton". WTOP News. August 3, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
10. "Middleburg Film Festival | Who We Are" . Retrieved September 22, 2023.
11. "ESPN - Happy Nude Year". espn.com. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
12. "The Free Lance Star". The Free Lance Star Publishing Company. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
13. "Is a new American Revolution brewing in the hills of Virginia?". Grandsons of Liberty. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
14. Paul Lappen. "On a Hill They Call Capital (review)" . Retrieved September 2, 2009.
15. Julie Failla Earhart. "On a Hill They Call Capital (review)". Armchair Interviews. Retrieved September 2, 2009.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
16. Matt Carson (October 26, 2009). "Why my platform targets the Patriot Act". Star Exponent. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
17. "About Me". Carson 4 Virginia. Retrieved September 2, 2009.