MatPat draws overwhelming crowd at keynote event

The Loretto-Hilton Center (LHC) was filled with the excited chatter of 750 students and guests, awaiting the arrival of Matthew Patrick — better known as MatPat.

When MatPat made his debut for his keynote, “From 9 Views to 9 Billion Views: Storytelling, Strategy, and Standing Out in the Creator Age,” the auditorium’s decibel level skyrocketed, as the audience jumped to their feet to cheer.

Director of the Office of Student Engagement Jennifer Stewart said that the enthusiasm surrounding the event was out of the ordinary.

“This is out of control,” Stewart said. “I mean, we’ve definitely had people in the past that had a lot of thought and a lot of excitement, but this is so much more than I anticipated it being.”

MatPat is most popularly recognized as the co-founder and former host of “Game Theory,” and in his 13 years on YouTube, has amassed over nine billion views. Stewart noted that nostalgia was a leading factor in student interest.

“There were a lot of people that talked about, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve grown up with him! I’ve watched him forever,’” Stewart said.

The educational aspect of his content was not lost in the decision making. Even during his panel, MatPat explained “edutainment.”

“The goal of Game Theory was to basically be a mix of education and entertainment. Edutainment, if you will,” MatPat said. “We were going to be able to talk about video games, of course, and fuse it together with interesting educational ideas.”

Before the keynote, MatPat met with a smaller group of School of Communications (SoC) students for a Q&A. The building was bubbling with giggles as a line of eager students spilled into one of the common areas while they waited to enter the screening room.

As they sat down in front of the crowd, Eric Rothenbuhler, the dean of the SoC, smiled at the room full of students, telling MatPat that this kind of zeal was present in all classrooms.

”It’s great! What a lively university,” MatPat said.

MatPat’s resume shows that he’s experienced in business. Counting his YouTube endeavors alone, he is the co-founder and senior advisor of Theorist Media and one of several creators of The Game Theorists, The Film Theorists, The Food Theorists, The Style Theorists, GTLive and LoreFi.

Often, MatPat noted, people ask him how to be a successful YouTuber. But MatPat returns the question and asks what their idea of success is.

“They’re asking you like, hey, how do I make money in this industry? How do I make this a sustainable career? And again, that is a very different question because that is not the same as making the best art,” MatPat said.

He had goals for his channel— goals that he could have given up to get more views— but he didn’t want to make that sacrifice. Perfection is a goal many strive to achieve, but not MatPat. In his eyes, perfection isn’t obtainable. He argued that there are always ways to improve content, but you can’t let it consume you.

“There is no such thing as 100%,” MatPat said. “You cannot let perfect be the enemy of the good.”

Pointing out that AI can be extremely dangerous in a time where media literacy is being lost, MatPat acknowledged that it does not help to stay ignorant of its capabilities. He advised students to understand it, to learn it and use it as a tool despite the slow-moving conversations with lawmakers regarding the potential regulation of AI content.

“It’s always slower than it should be and could be. And so it’s going to be a rocky patch for a little bit, but don’t underestimate humans,” MatPat said.

Before he closed his presentation in the LHC, MatPat drove home his point: the importance of storytelling.

“You don’t have to be a YouTuber or a political activist, or the Pope’s favorite Undertale man to tell a compelling story, right?” MatPat said. “All you have to be is you.”