The Good Life – January-February 2024

Being able to count his kids as
his primary source of inspiration
is perhaps Mastrud’s leastknown
triumph. He finds in them
glimpses of their own unique
brilliance, which he’s come to rely
on as a source of creative energy.
“I have a son named Levi and a
daughter named Ivy,” he said,
“and they’re both super creative,
which inspires me to keep
cranking out fresh work. When
you’re around those types of
people, you get fired up to create
more stuff. Just a ten or fifteen
minute hangout with them and
I feel charged up, and it snaps
me out of any dark doldrums I’ve
been in.”
And so, he did it. Matt “Punchgut”
Mastrud grew up to be the
firetruck he’s still often scared
to drive. He’s found contentment
in his craft and learned to live
peacefully with that all-toofamiliar
voice in his head. Try as
he may to demur, his continued
success proves the world does,
indeed, need art.
“For me, the good life is
contentment,” he said. “To quiet
that anxious brain and find
peace, whatever that means for
you, that’s the good life.” •
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