About Matt Cogin

International Speaker, Facilitator,
Coach, and Founder of Levelling Up

Hi, I’m Matt Cogin.

When people ask, “What do you do for work?” and I’m feeling cheeky, I usually say; I speak, I listen, and I ask questions.

But for those who want to know more, here’s my story.

It all started when a 12 year old challenged me to a rap battle at South Maroubra’s infamous “Lexo” in Sydney. The words he shared during his rhyme changed my life.

“My mum’s white, my dad’s black, I can’t live with my mom cuz my mum smokes crack”.

How we got to the rap battle on a sunny Saturday afternoon is a story for a different time. I do know that in that moment I discovered my WHY and knew I wanted to make a difference. This specific conversation sparked the beginning of my 13-year journey on making a positive impact on people, groups, and communities throughout the world.

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Post motorbike crash. If I was a cat, I used all 9 lives.

My backstory

I grew up in Maroubra with a love for rugby league, surfing, and the ocean. I wish I could say I was a cool kid in primary school, but it was quite the opposite. On the playground, I knew all to well what it’s like to be pushed around and be relentlessly bombarded with words that stung. In the classroom, I had to work really hard to be an average student.

High school was a breath of fresh air for the youngster that lacked confidence and got picked on. I excelled in sports more than I did academically. Later, I was selected to play for Junior Rabbitos in rugby leauge and represented my school in swimming and running. From a young age, I captained teams across multiple sports.

I was a high-octane teenager. I loved pushing the limits and started chasing and surfing big waves, cliff jumping in the ocean, and I was quick with my fists. Looking back, I was also entrepreneurial, and I started my first business hustling DVDs in the playground at 12yrs old.

While I didn’t always pay attention in class, I learned a whole lot about communication, influence, sales and business both on and off the playground. From selling DVDs, I learned quickly that I could make money selling other things… which led me to sitting in front of a judge at just 14 years old.
The next five years were a whirlwind, culminating in a motorbike crash, a trainwreck of relationships, and many close calls with prison. The pain and heartache I caused my family was the final straw.

That was the turning point for me, I knew if I didn’t shift, I’d either end up behind bars or in a wooden box.

A new chapter began

I have a deep curiosity about unlocking potential and performance in people and groups. This is why I chose to study life coaching, facilitation, business and youth work.

Alongside my invitations to speak internationally, I gained invaluable first hand experience working as a youth worker. I designed and delivered programs throughout Sydney and worked with at risk young people and adults.

At the same time, I launched a business called MTC Coaching & Consulting. Here I began mentoring and coaching the teenagers of some of Sydney’s most successful executives. This chapter marked a significant shift in my journey. I was no longer just sharing my story, but helping others navigate their own.

It was the beginning of something much bigger than I could have imagined.

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Post delivering a workshop in Armidale for Backtrack Youth. Unforgettable stories of courage and resilience were shared during the two hour session.

Discovering a passion for learning

I realised the pen was in my hand and I am the author of my story. Finally, I was ready to make some drastic changes and chart a new path. I thought, “What if I could use the mess of my life to become a message for others to inspire hope and change?”

Fast forward 9 months, and I was being invited to speak at schools, conferences, prisons and even travelling overseas to inspire others and share my story.

I found myself leading programs in schools, juvenile detention centres, and mentoring young people, helping them navigate their own challenges. Looking back, it’s almost surreal that I failed public speaking in Year 9, yet found myself on an international stage in my early twenties speaking to a stadium filled with 7,000 people—a pinch myself moment.

Now, I’ve had the privilege to share my story all over Australia and in 14 countries, speaking at conferences, schools, remote villages, prisons, and places I never imagined I’d visit.

That journey has shaped who I am today, and it continues to inspire my mission to help others level up their lives.

Mentors along the way

I was invited to work alongside Tom Harkin, one of the most inspiring facilitators and speakers that I’d ever seen.

As they say, “Success leaves clues,” and working with Tom was a defining moment. It led to joining Tomorrow Man. It is an organisation dedicated to transforming lives through delivering workshops about healthy masculinity, improving mental health and suicide prevention. During my time there, I delivered close to 1000 workshops throughout Australia and helped scale the business.

I transitioned into Tomorrow Architects, the parent company of Tomorrow Man. This organisation specialises in culture transformation, building high-performing teams, and people/leadership development.

I found myself in rooms helping deliver workshops, offsites, and conferences with clients such as, McKinsey & Company, PwC, KPMG, Dexus, AstraZeneca, and John Holland Group.

After 5 years of rewarding work with the Tomorrow teams, I had a similar rap battle experience that reminded me of how much I loved working with young people.

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Tommy Harkin, the one and only!

Chloe Gillian Cogin, my little cherub

Levelling Up

MTC Coaching was ready for a rebrand and Levelling Up came to life.

I’m in a new school each week delivering keynotes, coaching youth and building and delivering programs. Through my journey, I’ve come to realise that assisting young people in developing communication skills, emotional intelligence and confidence is the one of the keys to transforming lives.

Levelling Up isn’t just a business. It’s a mission to inspire others to embrace growth and transformation—to rise above their circumstances and create lives filled with purpose, passion, and fulfilment.

Empowering people to find their voice and unlock their potential is a privilege and an honour, and it’s exactly what I’m here to do.

Becoming a father for the first time on the 13th of September, 2024 to my beautiful daughter Chloe has injected a fresh dose of passion for Levelling Up. I often think about the world I want her to grow up in and how I can play a part in shaping it.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
With gratitude,

Founder of Levelling Up