Matt can’t look back on the trajectory of his comedy career without crediting his late grandfather, Steven Rife. Speaking with Hola Aloha Magazine, the comedian opened up about their special bond and how Steven introduced him to the world of comedy. 

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Matt’s late grandfather, Steve, helped him launch his comedy career. When Matt was starting out as a teenager, he would perform in various comedy clubs during open mic nights. The clubs required comedians to sell five tickets — and his grandpa would buy all five. “In his eye, I could do no wrong,” Matt shared on the “2 Bears, 1 Cave” podcast.

A World War II veteran, Steven died in November 2022. In an emotional tribute to his late grandfather, Matt thanked him for being “my best friend in the entire world” and “the greatest man I’ve ever known.”

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“Growing up without a dad, he was my father figure. He taught me every single thing I know and gave his entire life for me. He was at every baseball game, he took me to every comedy show, he made me blueberry waffles every morning, and he’s the first person I’d call whenever anything happened,”

Matt captioned a sweet photo gallery of him and Steve. “Words can’t describe what he meant to me or hope much I’m going to miss him every single day for the rest of my life.”

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Matt added, “Thank you so much for being my best friend, my teacher, my father, my grandfather, my inspiration, my soul, my everything.”

His 2023 comedy special, Matthew Steven Rife, is dedicated to his grandfather. "His name was Steven and my middle name is Steven. I was named after him, so it felt like the appropriate title for a special,” he told Numéro Netherlands.