Matthew Berdyck is an Romani American comedic writer, filmmaker, activist, gonzo journalist, founder of ToxicWasteSites.org, and source for New York Times. He is most notably known for his environmental campaigns which have engaged over ten million independent readers, in the United States. He no longer gives a fuck and has retired to write humorous counter culture literature because this world has lost it’s God damn mind and cannot be saved from its own unavoidable, self destructive, implosive yet oddly satisfying demise.

Pronouns: Hey/asshole

A bit about my career:

In my film, activism and journalism career, I’ve traveled to over 2,800 cities and have been a professional touring artist for close to 14 years. I’ve worked with the best of the best and I’ve been honored to do so:

Mad Magazine’s Sergio Aragones, Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, 2022 Grammy Winner Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), Pulitzer Prize Winning New York Times journalists, CNN, FOX, NBC, ABC, Weather Channel, and many more.

I’m also a multi-award winning visual artist and former child prodigy musician that plays five instruments; guitar drums, bass, piano, and mandolin.

I’d previously not listed most of the above on this website because I didn’t really think any of it was that big of a deal but due to aggressive political attacks and disinformation, as a result of my very controversial activism career, I’ve decided to include a bit more about my artistic past, for veracity.

At the bottom of this page, you’ll find photos of me with various celebrities, legendary rock journalists, television stars, and select images from the thousands of cities I’ve traveled to and equally thousands of restaurants where I’ve dined. While I think it’s patently absurd that I have to share any of this just to exist, this is the internet and some people are very adept at manipulating it as a cruel means to therir own sadistic ends.

When we expose corruption and speak to truth to power, we often end up the victims of the very corruption which we fight. It is what it is.

References available upon request.

News

February 2023:

Matthew Berdyck Signs National News Videography Contract

For the past twelve years, I’ve independently covered and filmed breaking news stories all over the United States: 2011 Sparks, Nevada Amtrak Crash; 2012 James Holmes Theater Massacre; 2014 Ashville, North Carolina CTS Toxic Waste; 2016 Flint Water Crisis; 2021 Tamarack & Caldor Fires; 2023 Pescadero Flooding; and hundreds of other news stories. I am excited to have been finally recognized for my years of hard work and commitment to the craft of video journalism.

February 2022:

Matthew Berdyck Triggers Inspector General Investigation Into LAPD Internal Affairs Group For Falsifying Investigation Into Officers Inciting Violence At Black Lives Matter Protest

In 2020, during the Los Angeles Black Lives Matter protests, Matthew captured footage of LAPD officers repeatedly running police cruisers into a group of peaceful protesters, attempting to incite violence against themselves. After the incident, he reported the incident to the LAPD Internal Affairs Group.

Two years passed with no word, until February of 2022, when the IAG released a document claiming the incident “did not happen,” even though they’d made no attempt to contact Matthew to ask for evidence.

Matthew finally released the now viral video of the incident, sent it to the police commission, and it’s triggered an LAPD Inspector General investigation into the IAG and the officers who were inciting violence.

December 2021:

Matthew Berdyck Busts California Central Coast Mountain Top Bulldozer Vandals

Read The Article

January 2021:

Matthew Berdyck Leaks Pentagon Biden Inauguration E-Mails To New York Times

On 1.12.2021 The National Guard leaked e-mails to me about the arming status of the troops at the Biden Inauguration. I sent them to Pulitzer Prize winning journalists at New York Times, resulting in the international news story Troops To Be Armed At Biden Inauguration, which was featured internationally and generated over 5,000 news stories around the globe.

November 2013:

Matthew Berdyck Tours With Grammy Winner Jordan Rudess To Make Experimental Live Music Video

The video was filmed on tour with 2022 Grammy Winner Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), and Rod Morgenstein (Winger, Dizie Dreggs, Berklee College of Music), on their 2013 east coast reunion tour. The video was the idea of myself and Jordan Rudess, who filmed parts of the video on a head cam, as a three way jam between myself, Jordan, and Rod, with me on lead video editing. This was a ground breaking video in which I invented several new video effects and changed the industry.

July 2012:

Matthew Berdyck releases short film from Aurora mass shooting

In July 2012, I was at the James Holmes Massacre, in Aurora, Colorado. It stands out as one of the most traumatic moments in my film career. I made this short film to help raise funds for outside charities who were proving aid to the victim’s families, and surviving victims.

November 2011:

Matthew Berdyck pitches solicited pilot to Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim

The show was me dressed up like a Big Foot, hoping concert and event gates to get interviews with celebrities, without telling them they were coming, in “Big Foot languge.” The show featured Sergio Aragones from Mad Magazoine, who loved the idea and helped us get our pitch with Adult Swim. It was my second major cable network project and led to several more pitches, over the following months.

Blame Reagan (2013)

Hailed as the first-ever, first-person immersion documentary about homelessness in film history, Blame Reagan is an eye-opening look into the hidden world of homelessness. Matthew lived on the streets of cities all along the west coast, for eighteen months, to create this film, risking his life and digging in the dirt to hand the world a gritty, disturbing but very real account of the suffering of a homeless disabled person living in the richest country in the world.

Blame Reagan Wiki

Blame Reagan Reviews:

“A look straight down the barrel of homelessness. Great work.”

— Jacob R.

“I love it...this is extremely heart touching.”

— Erin W.

“Amazing work. Really eye-opening. Thank you for making this..”

— M.L.

“Everyone needs to see this film.”

— Edwin S.

Environmental Activism & Journalism

“If you placed a hot dog stand on top of every Superfund toxic waste site in the United States, you’d immediately have a restaurant chain the size of Denny’s.”

-Matthew Berdyck

Poison in the Grapes (2013)

Short film about the Summit Equipment & Supplies Superfund site in Matthew’s childhood neighborhood of Castle Homes, in Akron, Ohio. This film exposed corruption at the Region 5 EPA that later was found by the US EPA’s Inspector General to be responsible for the Flint Water Crisis. The US EPA has still not responded to the allegations in this film.

Burbank TCE Vapor Campaign

San Fernando Valley is home to the largest ground water plume in the United States. The ground water is filled with Chromium 6 and Trichloroetheyne, the latter of which causes harmful vapors to rise up through the soil and gather in people’s homes and businesses. The plume is 7 miles wide and affects 1.3 million residents of Burbank, Los Angeles, North Hollywood and surrounding cities.

Matthew on ABC News Cleveland

In 2014, Matthew appeared on ABC News Cleveland to educate the public about the Summit Equipment & Supplies Superfund toxic waste site and the US EPA’s controversial Superfund project, a government program which encompasses over 1,300 massive hazardous wastes sites that are scattered all over the United States.

Warren County Economic Development Scandal

Matthew was credited in the Roanoke Times for exposing the largest corruption scheme Virginia history, over the redevelopment of the Avtex Superfund site.
Moab Cancer Cluster Investigation

Matthew investigated and exposed a cancer cluster in Moab, Utah, the home of a former yellow cake Uranium processing plant which is part of an UMTRA uranium mill tailings clean up.
Morris Operation Investigation

Matthew located and uncovered the Morris Operation, the nations only permanent storage facility for high level transuranic waste, spent nuclear fuel rods from nuclear power plants
Utah Lake Toxic Algae

Matthew investigated and uncovered the previously unpublished toxic algae bloom in Utah Lake. The body of water was previously subject to a PCB clean up effort.

Travel

&

Food

850,00 miles of travel to 2,800 cities

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Featured In:

Fillmore Street Films

Fillmore Street Films is a vanity brand for the film work of Matthew Berdyck (experimental documentaries, short films about toxic waste, music videos for Grammy Nominees)

E-mail

Personal: Berdyckmatthew@gmail.com