Matt Shepherd originally hails from Brisbane in Queensland. He moved to Melbourne in 2011 and has ingrained himself into the rubber community down here. Matt became the third Melbourne Rubberman in 2018, replacing his predecessor John Cheshire as the reigning titleholder.

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During Matt’s reign he successfully raised close to $8,000 for the David Williams Fund, a charity that directly benefits the lives of Victorians living with HIV. This was achieved by the 'Save or Shave' campaign spearheaded by Matt - two teams competed against each other. Team 'Shave' was victorious and therefore all the boys, including Matt lost their iconic facial hair.

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In 2019, Matt competed in the 23rd Mr. International Rubber Competition in Chicago – placing as 1st runner up out of sixteen competers behind Mr. Rubber Netherlands Adalberto Rubbadam. He believes that the backing of the Melbourne community helped with his placement in this competition. All he heard from people overseas at this event was "What the hell is in the Melbourne water there? Everyone's bloody great!"

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Matt featured as a prominent judge in the 2019 Melbourne Rubberman competition and was a part of the 'Fetish Australia' Float Committee for Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in Sydney in 2019. Matt has since joined the Melbourne Rubber Committee and has been a pivotal support behind the growing of the community. Matt has always been an advocate for diversity, change and growth in the fetish community but this was nowhere as important to him as in Melbourne.

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Come say hello to Matt the next time you see him around! In the Laird, at Mollies, in the public toliets... he would never shy away from a conversation. #stillrelevant