By Ethan Benedicto
Being active has been a part of Matthew James Young’s daily routine for as long as he can remember, and with that, he thought, why not add a special layer to his activities?
Matthew was recently awarded the City of Casey’s Young Citizen of the Year Award for his dedication to sports and charity, having raised nearly $20,000 for children’s cancer research.
Star News spoke to Matthew, and when asked what led him down the path of giving back, he said it happened during the pandemic lockdowns, and “I wanted something to do”.
“At that point, I just lost my grandfather to cancer, and I wanted to give back to a charity of some sort.
“So, I looked online and I wanted to do something active, and the charity was holding an event in October, and there was a bike riding challenge to raise money for kids with cancer, so I said, yeah, I’ll do that with a friend.”
Matthew rode for the Great Cycle Challenge, an event which he looks forward to, once more, taking part in later this year
Tracking back to 2024, Matthew, alongside one of his friends, decided that Port Phillip Bay needed to be conquered.
From Melbourne, they cycled to Geelong on the first day, took the ferry and then cycled back up to Melbourne on the second day.
“I had a little backpack of necessities, but I didn’t really train for it, not much,” Matthew said.
“Maybe I went out for a bike or two before, but that was it; but I was like, I’m gonna do this.”
That, however, was simply the start of it.
While the two friends, along the way, got in touch with charities and other families for donations to the charities, Matthew wanted to go bigger.
“I wanted to do something that sounded crazy, something I knew would be a challenge for but also making it worth it,” he said.
“People are going to notice and see that, oh, he’s riding around Cranbourne, that’s good, here’s some money.
”But riding from Melbourne to Adelaide? That’s insane, but that’s why I wanted to do something that people would actually look at.”
His mind was already set, a – give or take – 10-hour drive, nearly 1000 kilometres, and over two days of non-stop cycling.
It was a challenge that Matthew took on, something that took him over six and a half days, but something that was ultimately gratifying.
“It took me around six and a half days, I planned for a week, but I got to the last stop and I just couldn’t,” he said.
“It was a massive (last) day going over the Adelaide Hills, and we got to Adelaide around 10pm.
”My stepdad was with me, he was the support crew in the car, but it was hard – day one was okay since I had some adrenaline, but every single day after that I couldn’t go an hour straight without falling over on the side of the road and having cramps.”
When asked why he wanted to give back, and why he did what he did, all he had to say was, “if we’re doing stuff we enjoy, why can’t we also help other people?”
“I can do something I like, but I can also help someone else, and you do it with the community.
“I do so many different sports and I’ve got so many people I talk to, so it might just motivate one or two people to go out there and maybe raise funds too.”
The most notable memory Matthew held during the trip was the pillow that he duct taped to his bike seat in an attempt to make it more comfortable.
While it did nothing to help, it attracted more than enough looks and gazes from passersby and locals in the towns he went through.
“I couldn’t have done it without the local communities along the way,” he said.
“Each night, I had people who would sponsor me, my mum reached out to local people, businesses; these people would give us a room for the night, some people made dinners for us.
“The community spirit along the way, the way people were looking after us, was really inspiring.”
More recently, during the night of the awards, Matthew was still reeling from the fact that he had been nominated in the first place.
Recalling the thoughts going through his mind, he didn’t “think I was going to win – I saw so many more people out there that do better than me”.
But his name was called, and when he went on stage, everything “was a blur”.
On the continuous progress of the funds raised, Matthew said that for the first two years, it gradually grew from $700 to $2000, but it was in 2024 when it took a leap, when his trip to Adelaide gained traction.
Throughout October last year, before the trip, Matthew “was reaching out, for countless hours tro companies for donations”.
“I would say that I would promote their page, run their raffles, things like that; I also had my niece and nephew help with selling tickets, and it just went up bit by bit,” Matthew said.
Holly, Matthew’s mum, said that she’s never been more proud.
“The achievements, he inspires me, and it’s not just about the bike rides and the charity and the money, it’s the type of person he’s turned into,” she said.
“He’s a great kid all around, and the charity runs that he does on Saturday mornings, all the things where he’s constantly just putting himself out there and getting recognition.”
The journey to Sydney later this year will also take place in October, and under the same charity and endeavour, where this time, he might just put some thought into training a little bit.
“I’m always motivated to go bigger and better, but the award is a big achievement, and I’m very grateful for it,” Matthew said.
