Scottsdale’s Matt Haugen is a professional drift driver with Haugen Racing, a car racing team and entertainment company, as well as a popular YouTube content creator. “Right now, we are building a new drift car to compete in the Formula Drift Japan championship drifting series in 2022.” Learn about Matt Haugen…
Hometown: Scottsdale, Arizona.
First job: Wakeboarding instructor.
Favorite ways to spend your free time in AZ: Working out, going to Old Town Scottsdale, playing video games, going to the lake and snowboarding.
Your biggest accomplishment and why: Earning a Master’s degree from the University of Southern California. I am not sure if this is my biggest accomplishment but it is one of my proudest. Education has always been important to me, and USC is a very prestigious university so it feels great to have earned my Master’s degree there.
The biggest obstacle you overcame: I am still dealing with this today so I have not overcome it but my biggest obstacle has been building Haugen Racing while dealing with severe depression and anxiety. For those of you that have experienced similar mental health issues, you know how hard it can be to even complete daily tasks. I believe that I can make Haugen Racing successful even while struggling with my mental health and, in the end, that will be quite the accomplishment.
Someone who inspires you and why: Anyone who has found true happiness. I used to be inspired by successful people and other entrepreneurs but now I am truly inspired by those who are happy, no matter what they have accomplished.
Advice to someone pursuing a career path in what you do: Drifting is not a money-making career. You have to supplement it with something else such as another business or content creation, like YouTube. YouTube is also highly competitive, and it’s a long process to build a channel. Think about what is really going to make you happy and figure out how to make money doing it.
Favorite quote: Live with no excuses.
Something someone would be surprised to learn about you: I never planned on drifting being my career.
What makes someone fabulous: When they dare to do exactly what they want in life and believe in themselves, no matter what others say.