Daily Inspiration: Meet Matthew Groner

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Groner.

Hi Matthew, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Ever since I could remember as a child growing up in Suburban Chicago, I have loved cars. The passion was passed down from my father. Though we did not grow up with fancy cars, I spent my childhood playing driving video games, collecting Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, and spending every waking minute dreaming about sports cars, drawing them, and printing out pictures online. I am very grateful for my parents for fostering my love and passion. In high school, they purchased a digital camera for me, and I spent my weekends traveling around the city attending car shows and car spotting, which means driving, walking, or biking around looking for nice cars. As social media began to grow, I created a large network of automotive friends around Chicago, the country, and world. I connected with them through various Facebook groups, including Chicagoland Petrolheads and Car Spotters which I helped run, and has over 100,000 members today. As I increased my photography skills, I had the ability to photograph collector cars, attend events, and continue to meet like-minded enthusiasts and owners. In 2020 when the pandemic hit, I moved to California, and in my spare time attended car shows, events, and continued to connect with automotive enthusiasts in Los Angeles. I am continuing to grow my social media platform, and expand more into automotive journalism and pave my way as a creative in this space. My main career also helps me to achieve this, as I have been professionally working as a marketer in various automotive industries in Los Angeles.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It is difficult to say. Nothing good ever comes easy, but there have been various bumps in the road. I have learned a lot over the years, both personally and professionally. I have learned very early on that it is not good to burn bridges, and I have learned that the hard way. I don’t believe I have missed any huge opportunities, but you have to always be ready to say “yes,” and that is something that I have been learning to do as time goes on. I have poured my life into my passion and career, and overall I am satisfied with where I am, but always hungry for more. Sometimes, though, it’s good to take a step back, rest, and see what you have accomplished over the years.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I believe my on-camera personality really shines and sets me apart from others. I love being on camera, but I don’t consider myself vain. I have a true passion for cars that others might try to fake. Over the last few years, I have been focusing on growing my automotive content and journalism on the side, as a passion project, especially so here in Los Angeles. I am comfortable on camera, I have deep automotive knowledge, and passion for brands and obscure details that others might miss. I am not bilingual, but sometimes I film videos in Spanish, and often have Spanish/bilingual subtitles.

My content is usually exotic/luxury cars (for which Los Angeles has no shortage of), traveling to other cities and countries and taking note of their car scene, and connecting with others. I believe my passion for cars, unique knowledge of obscure automotive facts, and my friendliness and openness to connect with others sets me apart especially in the Los Angeles car scene.

What matters most to you?
I value honesty and integrity most. I think that first of all, honesty and integrity makes you a better person, but it also makes it easy to tell who is faking something, whether it’s a passion, or their life in general. I really value my friends and family as well, and feel that they have similar qualities to me. I value a great friend group, and that relies on trust, honesty, and integrity. I believe the ability to further ones’ knowledge can heavily rely on the group of people they surround themselves with.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.matthew-groner.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matgro1/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@matthewgroner