Mat Armstrong is a name that rings bells within the car enthusiast community all across YouTube, with millions of subscribers to his name and a dedicated audience anxiously waiting to see his next project. The core of Mat’s channel thrives on his unending passion for cars, detailing, restoration, and the irregular adrenaline-fueled drive. His content, which varies from educational to purely entertaining, shows a breadth of interests that helps him captivate the attention of many different audience types. Naturally, the one question that often comes up in the comment sections and forums around the web regarding his success is – ‘How much?’
Mat’s foray into YouTube began as a hobby but quickly evolved into a full-time career due to his growing popularity and the engaging content he provided. However, all of this success was completely unplanned by the star himself. He carved his first path towards success as a professional BMX rider at the age of 16, mentioning in one of his videos that mastering this discipline was his coveted career. It was a choice that brought him international travel, new friendships, and a relationship with his girlfriend, Hannah. But the video editing skill that he greatly improved throughout that process was instrumental, which without his knowledge set him up for a high-quality content creator.
While his love for BMX riding was untouched, the financial benefits that he was earning through it were simply not enough to afford basic living. Sponsors covered his world-wide travel, but all other expenses had to be taken care of through other means. Coming from a family that couldn’t finance everything he aspired to do, Armstrong found himself clocking in hours at an Indian restaurant called Spices 45 by night, and offering his budding car mechanic services in daytime. It wasn’t long before he found himself working around the clock, as more and more vehicle owners recognized his mechanical talent. Throughout the grueling process, Mat began to develop and slowly recognize his immense passion for and ability in car modification. As time passed, his role expanded diversely into building websites and managing social media for Graham Goode Motors – a preview of what his life was going to become, and highly relevant pre-YouTube experience.
The future star’s daily dealings weren’t restricted to only wheels and engines, as he plunged into the property market at just 21 years of age. His method was to buy a house, renovate it, remortgage, and rent it out. It was a rather complex yet effective strategy, that allowed him to significantly tilt the business in his favor, effectively turning a significant profit from the endeavor. At this point he was doing pretty well for himself, with multiple sources of income, a fulfilling lifestyle, committed relationship, supportive group of friends, and thriving business opportunities.
Unbeknownst to everyone, least of all Mat, it was the repair of a crash-damaged Audi TT for his girlfriend that started an unforeseen snowball effect that would grow into the channel millions know and love today. Documenting the rebuild on YouTube, Armstrong unlocked an avenue that harmoniously aligned both his love for cars and video editing. Even without a significant audience, making the video felt incredibly rewarding on an emotional level for Mat, and which he wasn’t going to stop thereafter. Over time the channel bloomed from a hobby into a full-blown career, having become a stage on which he shone past thousands of his fellow automotive aficionados, gaining so much traction that it earned him enough to abandon both the restaurant job and other professional engagements.
LAMBORGHINI INSPECTED THE MURCIELAGO I REBUILT pic.twitter.com/dXLgjdQy5i
— Mat Armstrong (@thematarmstrong) June 30, 2024
Then another stroke of luck for Matt, if not for others – he was pushed into this massive change by the onset of COVID-19, with the lockdown taking away numerous in-person jobs from millions of people. He was fortunate enough to find his new hobby both fulfilling and lucrative, especially with so many having to satisfy their car passion through the screen instead. The lockdown gave Armstrong a chance to refocus his career plans and take a leap of faith towards stardom, investing everything he had into fixing a Bentley Continental GT and hoping for the best. The gamble paid off big-time, and led to ever-bigger projects, allowing him to fully venture into luxury car rebuilding. Armstrong eventually purchased his first Lamborghini, sharing immeasurable joy with his massive audience and confirming his success to the world.
The journey finally came full circle, as he transitioned from a makeshift outdoor garage setup in his ostentatious yard to owning a space where no neighbor could complain about the roaring engines anytime of the day – a dream home representing the fruits of relentless hard work, his refuge with Hannah, and the main reason to create his channel-featured video about success that even earned a comment from YouTube itself, stating ‘This is sooo motivating.’
Armstrong’s simple motto states that if you put 100% of yourself into something, you’ll get 100% back. His channel, which started around 2013, features a mix of detailed tutorials, exciting project reveals, and a bit of British humor, with content that is not only helpful but also thoroughly entertaining. He showcases the trials and triumphs of each car’s meticulous rebuilding process, giving an honest look at the craft that viewers can appreciate, whether they’re experienced mechanics or just starting with their first car project. The channel’s videos are especially popular due to his hands-on approach, whereby he dives into each project with honesty and openness about the work involved in car restoration and modification. Instead of simply showcasing the glamorous side of car modernizing, and editing the videos to show him performing only the smoothest, most satisfying work, Armstrong aims to provide a realistic view of the time, effort, and challenges that come with these endeavors. As a result, his educational content is particularly valuable to viewers looking to learn about car mechanics and DIY repair techniques, meanwhile also representing him as a down-to-earth aficionado no different from his viewers.
When it comes to his personal life, there is limited information available to the public, not least due to his generally reclusive nature. Like many content creators who discover fame online, Mat values his privacy, and separates his personal and professional undertakings, leaving a lot of information about the former to be desired by curious fans. As far as everyone is concerned, his relationship with Hannah is as stable as ever, and she can often be seen around the garage as a helpful aide throughout most of the content on his channel. It’s hard to tell what the rest of his family is up to, as Mat remains laser-focused on his profession and only shares relevant details pertaining to each individual build.
As for his earnings, Mat boasts almost 370 million total video views over the 11 years that his channel has existed, with 457 videos and over 2.8 million subscribers. While it’s safe to say he isn’t scrambling to pay the bills, a more detailed look comes from several websites dedicated to answering such questions. The main go-to is Social Blade, which puts Armstrong’s monthly income at up to $120,000, equating to as much as $1.5 million every year. A similar website, Speak RJ, estimates these values somewhat higher, with respective ranges of up to $185,000, and $2.3 million. His net worth is assumed at close to $1 million, according to the latest prognoses.