Matthew W. West

Matthew West was born in San Antonio, Texas, and moved to the nearby town of Hondo, Texas when he was 8 years old. Matthew's dad was a police detective with the San Antonio Police Department, and his mom, Kathy, was a deputy sheriff with the Medina County Sheriff's Office. In school, Matthew loved music and joined the band in middle school. He played trumpet and baritone, and then when he entered high school, he learned to play tuba. Originally, Matthew was awarded a music scholarship to Tarleton State University but transferred to Southwest Texas Jr. College in Uvalde, Texas, where he signed up for journalism and media classes. Originally, Matthew wanted to enroll in classes at SWTJC for television; however, the college did not have an instructor at the time. Matthew was able to find an internship with a local radio station, KBNU FM, where he began writing scripts for commercials and creating voice overs. With his baritone voice, and years of public speaking he learned in high school, Matthew was asked to co-host a live classic rock radio show. After earning an Associate Degree in General Education, Matthew moved to San Antonio to attend the University of Texas at San Antonio, earning a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies. In the summer of 2000, Matthew Graduated from the police academy and began a career in law enforcement. Matthew has served over 20 years as a police officer and worked a variety of assignments, including K9 handler, firearms instructor/armorer, driving instructor, and working undercover assignments. Matthew traveled all over the State of Texas throughout his law enforcement career. During undercover assignments, he loved the ability to build and transform himself into a character that fit in with the areas he was assigned to work and further peaked his interest in wanting to act.