Hi, I’m Matt — a self-taught full-stack developer and C5 quadriplegic.
Six years ago I was a commercial fisherman. A diving accident during a morning swim changed everything — I broke my neck. I Became paralyzed collarbone down and lost hand function. Eventually I ended up in a nursing home, alone, broke and powerless.
I needed to take back control. So I taught myself how to code — day after day, typing one key at a time on an old Windows PC. It was slow. Frustrating. But I kept at it.
With persistence, discipline and focus things evolved. The self-doubt was replaced with ability.
Today, I build beautiful things with a MacBook, voice commands, styluses, and AI. And I’d love to share what I’ve made.
🔧 Projects I’m Most Proud Of
🌐 MatthewRaynor.com — My Flagship Portfolio Site
- Full case study portfolio with interactive project pages
- Motivational blog (cross-posted to Substack)
- Online store for my artwork & memoir
- OpenAI-powered chatbot I developed (and open-sourced)
- Google SSO, Stripe Checkout, mobile-responsive
- Dockerized, PostgreSQL, Whitenoise for static files
🚛 Art Mover App — For My First Client
- Django-based CRM & logistics system
- Work orders, invoicing (PDF), calendar scheduling
- FullCalendar.js integration + dynamic AJAX forms
- Custom auth model, client side facing
- Admin dashboard, status tracking, and more
🤖 Django AI Chat Widget (Open Source)
- Drop-in Django app to embed OpenAI-powered assistants
- JSON-configurable knowledge base
- Custom UI with Bootstrap + ChatGPT backend
- Packaged and published on GitHub
💸 Matt’s Fundraiser for Freedom – To help me escape the nursing home
🌐 Live Site
- Custom donation platform (Django + Bootstrap 5)
- Embedded YouTube documentary, blog, and AI chatbot
- Live contact form, Heroku-deployed, donation CTA
- First practical application of my programming skills
- Just dropped in my open source AI Widget and trained it to assist visitors
🔄 Django + React Work Orders App
- Separate Django REST API backend + React frontend
- PostgreSQL database, Gunicorn, Dockerized
- Tailwind-powered React UI built with Vite
- Token-based authentication
- Dynamic CRUD work order management
- FullCalendar integration for event scheduling
- Optimized build and deployment workflows
I’m Open to Feedback & Opportunities
I’m currently working with my first client, but I’m actively looking for freelance work, collaboration, or employment.
If you’re a developer, I’d love your feedback — whether it’s code architecture, design, UX, or ideas for growth.
If you’re someone hiring or mentoring — I’d be grateful to talk.
And if you’re someone just trying to turn your life around like I was… never stop pushing.
My Stuff: