hey, I’m matt!
I’m the face behind Gluten Free Street Gang. It’s great to meet you!
About Me
If you don’t count years lost due to Covid, I’m 32, and I live in London, UK, where I’ve lived for the past (almost) 5 years.
When I’m not on Instagram or writing here, I work in customer success at a software company, I play in a dodgeball league, dabble in tennis, and love taking walks in the countryside with my boyfriend on the weekend.
I also love trying new restaurants in and out of London, but figured that’s a given!
My page is all about showing that just because you can’t have gluten (or wheat, barley, or rye), that you can still travel the world and eat like royalty.
I also strongly believe that laughter is the best medicine, and is a great way to cope with the gluten free diet!
M A T T X
Why I eat gluten free
The short version is, I eat gluten free because of IBS, and because my problem FODMAP are fructans. These are found in, among other things, wheat and rye (which is why the gluten free diet works so well). This has its quirks that are different than an allergy or an autoimmune disease - for example, I can tolerate fermented fructans well, and I can handle cross contact. The question “allergy or preference” really gets to me for this reason; I don’t have an allergy but I sure don’t prefer this!
I say I’m gluten free to this day because, well, both the diet mostly meets my needs and also it’s infinitely easier saying “I’m gluten free” than “I have a fructan intolerance”.
The long story? Well, the diagnosis process for me was long and stressful. Back in 2012 after coming back from a summer university semester abroad I became quite sick with gastrointestenal issues, brain fog, and abdominal pain, among other fun and attractive symptoms. After about a year of being sick on and off, I was told it was probably celiac, though I didn’t have much of an understanding as to why - my primary care doctor didn’t immediately give me a referral to a gastrointestinal doctor.
Being in university is not a great time to have an illness - mystery or diagnosed. I don’t think I encountered a professor I explained brain fog to who took the symptom seriously, and it was even harder to explain to friends why I couldn’t go out on a Friday night and was opting to stay in my dorm with a heating pad on my stomach. The hardest thing, though? Explaining to people in a ratchet basement party why I’m drinking chardonnay instead of beer from the communal keg!
some more about me..
Most likely to be found at:
Libby’s in Belsize Park
can’t stop eating:
The tapioca wrap with mushroom and chicken from Beijummy at White Cross Street Market, London
bucket list travel destination:
Australia
favorite gf travel destination:
Barcelona
Bucket list gluten free food:
Afternoon tea at a properly posh London hotel
Cocktail of choice:
Aperol Spritz - drink for the weather you want x
biggest food hot take:
Vanilla is an elite flavor, and we only think of it as “boring” because of societal norms
best travel story:
Taking a night train, not realising the train split in two in the middle of the night, and waking up in the wrong country.. but I’ll save that for another day
The story of Gluten Free Street Gang
I started Gluten Free Street Gang way back in 2018. To set the scene, I’m living in Boston, no one had heard of Covid-19, I’m having a hot girl summer, life is good. At the time, my favorite gluten free treat was the gluten free breakfast sandwich from Starbucks. It’s one hungover weekend day and after I finished up a spin class at my favorite studio - Cyclebar at Assembly Row in Somerville (IYKYK) - and I went to the Starbucks across the parking lot for a breakfast sandwich and an iced coffee. The usual. The barista was perfectly nice, but told me they no longer had the sandwiches. I asked, okay, when are you getting them back? Only to be told, sorry sir, your hungover listening skills aren’t great, the sandwich is gone.
Let me tell you, the news of the sandwich being discontinued was a punch to the gut. Why, on this particularly fragile, hungover day, the universe took this away from me, I do not know.
Sidebar: the real lesson in here is, for the love of whichever deity you believe in, support your favorite snack brands!
I realised, I need a coping mechanism. So, I started making gluten free memes. It was the perfect outlet to cope with this ridiculous diet. I decided to make an Instagram, and the name comes from a football/soccer team I played on with friends at the time - we were the Retirement Home Street Gang. We all had various joint problems that prevented us from being fully competitive, hence the name. Swapping out “Retirement Home” for “Gluten Free” had a fantastic ring to it.
Well.. Apparently you all thought the memes were great, too. At the time the gluten free humor niche wasn’t really well developed. There were a few other gluten free humor accounts out there, and one infamous video called “How to be gluten intolerant”, but that was about it. Posting good quality memes with a modern meme format is what got me my initial traction.
Around the time I moved to London, I decided I had more to offer than just memes. I began to put my face on the account, started talking about favorite places to eat on both sides of the ocean, and talk more about how you can still travel the world on a restricted diet and eat extremely well. With plenty of memes included, for good measure.
I’m looking forward to where the account can go from here, and I’m excited that you’re along for the journey!