Square Roots
Square roots: Matt Chambers
Baseball, football grounds and delicious food! Find out what our Senior Account Manager Matt Chambers, gets up to in his spare time...
04/12/2024
First question
Who are you and what is your role?
I’m Matt Chambers, a Senior Account Manager on the SITA B2B team and the company’s only Bradford City fan.
Second question
You’ve spent five years in the industry now, coming to Square in the Air from InterGame. How has the industry changed since?
The main changes that stick out are the opening up of the sports betting market in the United States and the increasing (and completely correct) focus on responsible gambling. The pandemic obviously had a massive impact too, increasing the focus on digital solutions and really bringing esports betting to the fore. What hasn’t changed is, I still can’t back a winner at Cheltenham and people all over the world still love to play Starburst, for some reason.
Third question
Last year you went white water rafting with your twin girls, did you drag them along or was it their idea?!
It was very much my wife’s idea. I believe as humans, we evolved to get out of the water and don’t belong back in it. That conviction was cemented when our instructor decided to suddenly shove me in the River Dee to then demonstrate how to effect a rescue. The girls loved it though and the scenery as we headed downstream into Llangollen was stunning. Once dried out, I can also recommend a walk across the nearby Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, a world heritage site which is an amazing feat of engineering.
Fourth question
You’ve so far ticked off visiting 64 professional football grounds in England. That’s pretty impressive - which were your favourites and why?
My previous life as a football reporter took me all over the country and it was a privilege to have visited so many weird and wonderful places. I’m a big fan of the traditional ground and for that reason, I would pick out Hartlepool’s Victoria Park as right up there with the best. Perched on the edge of the North Sea, it was the last professional venue to give in to modernity and install floodlights in the 1960s and it has a wonderful old-fashioned vibe, right down to the fans’ hostility towards their own players. I have a similar love for Yeovil Town’s Huish Park, which is picturesque, comically inaccessible and always full of exceptionally friendly people.
Fifth question
Your colourful instagram is littered with pictures of good food from around the world, what’s your favourite cuisine and why?
There isn’t much you could put in front of me that I would turn my nose up at, with the exception of kidneys and Brussel sprouts. In terms of national cuisines I would pick out Thailand for its full-on but balanced assault on the senses and Spain because I had an Iberico pork loin dish a few years ago and it was the best thing I’ve ever eaten. As a city, New Orleans takes some beating with its po-boy sandwiches, gumbo and crawfish boils, but Sydney is also excellent.
Sixth question
You also love baseball - do you have a team or do you just love the sport?
I was first turned on to baseball after reading Don DeLillo’s Underworld, a sprawling novel that uses the sport as a canvas to describe the American dream. I love the rituals, the nostalgia and the obsession with statistics, which are all reasons why I also love cricket. I was lucky enough to visit Yankee Stadium on my last trip to New York which was a fantastic experience. Go Yankees.
Seventh question
You are a big film fan, with framed posters decorating the walls of your home office. Can you recommend some obscure gems?
I’m a big fan of Nicolas Cage, so we can start off with him and a couple of the great man’s lesser-known movies: Mandy, a dreamlike revenge story featuring a wronged lumberjack and a demonic biker gang; and Ridley Scott’s brilliant black comedy Matchstick Men. Debra Granik is one of my favourite modern directors so we could also throw in a double-bill with Jennifer Lawrence’s break-out role in Winter’s Bone and Leave No Trace, a beautiful film about a father and daughter living in the wilderness. I would also recommend a couple of lesser-known films starring Steve Martin: Bowfinger (I have never laughed as hard) and The Spanish Prisoner, a twisty thriller where Martin plays it straight. Watching that lot across a weekend would be a good way to spend some time.
Final Question
And a quickfire one to finish, if you could be anyone for the day, who would you pick?
I would love to know what it’s like to run an elite restaurant so I’ll go for Alain Roux of The Waterside Inn. Unfortunately for him, they would lose a Michelin Star overnight with me in charge.
First question
Who are you and what is your role?
I’m Matt Chambers, a Senior Account Manager on the SITA B2B team and the company’s only Bradford City fan.
Second question
You’ve spent five years in the industry now, coming to Square in the Air from InterGame. How has the industry changed since?
The main changes that stick out are the opening up of the sports betting market in the United States and the increasing (and completely correct) focus on responsible gambling. The pandemic obviously had a massive impact too, increasing the focus on digital solutions and really bringing esports betting to the fore. What hasn’t changed is, I still can’t back a winner at Cheltenham and people all over the world still love to play Starburst, for some reason.
Third question
Last year you went white water rafting with your twin girls, did you drag them along or was it their idea?!
It was very much my wife’s idea. I believe as humans, we evolved to get out of the water and don’t belong back in it. That conviction was cemented when our instructor decided to suddenly shove me in the River Dee to then demonstrate how to effect a rescue. The girls loved it though and the scenery as we headed downstream into Llangollen was stunning. Once dried out, I can also recommend a walk across the nearby Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, a world heritage site which is an amazing feat of engineering.
Fifth question
Your colourful instagram is littered with pictures of good food from around the world, what’s your favourite cuisine and why?
There isn’t much you could put in front of me that I would turn my nose up at, with the exception of kidneys and Brussel sprouts. In terms of national cuisines I would pick out Thailand for its full-on but balanced assault on the senses and Spain because I had an Iberico pork loin dish a few years ago and it was the best thing I’ve ever eaten. As a city, New Orleans takes some beating with its po-boy sandwiches, gumbo and crawfish boils, but Sydney is also excellent.
Fourth question
You’ve so far ticked off visiting 64 professional football grounds in England. That’s pretty impressive - which were your favourites and why?
My previous life as a football reporter took me all over the country and it was a privilege to have visited so many weird and wonderful places. I’m a big fan of the traditional ground and for that reason, I would pick out Hartlepool’s Victoria Park as right up there with the best. Perched on the edge of the North Sea, it was the last professional venue to give in to modernity and install floodlights in the 1960s and it has a wonderful old-fashioned vibe, right down to the fans’ hostility towards their own players. I have a similar love for Yeovil Town’s Huish Park, which is picturesque, comically inaccessible and always full of exceptionally friendly people.
Sixth question
You also love baseball - do you have a team or do you just love the sport?
I was first turned on to baseball after reading Don DeLillo’s Underworld, a sprawling novel that uses the sport as a canvas to describe the American dream. I love the rituals, the nostalgia and the obsession with statistics, which are all reasons why I also love cricket. I was lucky enough to visit Yankee Stadium on my last trip to New York which was a fantastic experience. Go Yankees.
Seventh question
You are a big film fan, with framed posters decorating the walls of your home office. Can you recommend some obscure gems?
I’m a big fan of Nicolas Cage, so we can start off with him and a couple of the great man’s lesser-known movies: Mandy, a dreamlike revenge story featuring a wronged lumberjack and a demonic biker gang; and Ridley Scott’s brilliant black comedy Matchstick Men. Debra Granik is one of my favourite modern directors so we could also throw in a double-bill with Jennifer Lawrence’s break-out role in Winter’s Bone and Leave No Trace, a beautiful film about a father and daughter living in the wilderness. I would also recommend a couple of lesser-known films starring Steve Martin: Bowfinger (I have never laughed as hard) and The Spanish Prisoner, a twisty thriller where Martin plays it straight. Watching that lot across a weekend would be a good way to spend some time.
Final Question
And a quickfire one to finish, if you could be anyone for the day, who would you pick?
I would love to know what it’s like to run an elite restaurant so I’ll go for Alain Roux of The Waterside Inn. Unfortunately for him, they would lose a Michelin Star overnight with me in charge.
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