ENCINITAS — Family and friends are remembering Encinitas native Micah Jan Mattson, a professional skateboarder, musician and train conductor whose body was found in Lucerne Valley after he was reported missing around his birthday in August.
Mattson, 47, rode for Zero Skateboards, played guitar in the San Diego-area band Kut U Up, and helped encourage the musical careers of his younger twin brothers, Jared and Jonathan. A father of two sons, Mattson was known among friends for his adventurous spirit and support of the people around him.
“He just had a way of making everybody that he met feel special,” said Kut U Up bandmate Chris Coté, an Encinitas-based action sports broadcaster, musician and longtime friend.
According to information circulated during the search, Mattson was last seen Aug. 21 at Mojave Narrows Regional Park in San Bernardino County. A missing-person report was filed with the San Diego Police Department on Aug. 26.
Jared said his brother had been staying in the Victorville area for about two weeks prior to his disappearance.
Friends posted on social media asking for help finding him, including “Jackass” performer Chris Pontius, who asked the public to help bring Mattson home to his family and children.
“My good friend, Micah Mattson, has been reported missing,” Pontius wrote on social media. “If anyone out there has information on his whereabouts, please call the number on this post. Anything to help bring him home to his family and kids.”
Gloria Orejel, a spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, confirmed to The Coast News that Mattson’s body was discovered on Aug. 31 near High Road and Del Oro Road in Lucerne Valley, about 150 yards from his vehicle.
Mattson’s remains showed signs of severe decomposition, and the coroner’s division confirmed his identity, but law enforcement officials did not provide any other information.
“The deceased we located was indeed Micah Mattson,” Orejel said. “It is unknown how long he was there. The cause and manner of death are pending.”
When Jared and Micah’s longtime friend Ryan Wiley later visited the area together, they noticed water and supplies in his brother’s truck, but had no additional details related to the circumstances surrounding his death.
“I don’t know what exactly happened to him,” Jared said.
‘A young rock-and-roll dream’
Mattson grew up in a family of five siblings: older brother Aaron, sister Sarah, Micah and younger twins Jared and Jonathan, near Moonlight Beach and Juanita’s Taco Shop in Encinitas. The family also spent part of their childhood in the Los Osos area on the Central Coast before returning to North County San Diego.
As a student at San Dieguito High School, Mattson became friends with future Kut-U-Up bandmates Coté and Brendan Raasch through their shared interests in skateboarding, surfing and music.
During the 1990s, Mattson became one of the first skaters in their circle to earn sponsorship and appear in skate videos. He rode for Zero Skateboards and was part of the Encinitas Skate Posse, a group of local skaters — Kyle Leeper, Peter McBride, Oli Norris, Chris Lambert and Wiley — who filmed late-night sessions at empty grocery store parking lots and the YMCA skate park.
Another popular hangout was the Santa Fe House, where Mattson lived across from the hospital on Santa Fe Drive. The home became a gathering place for local and visiting skaters and musicians.
Local ramp builder Jeff King expanded the skating setup from the backyard into the rental home, building wooden transitions that let skaters ride up to the kitchen counter and roll down the hallway.
“The whole house became skateable,” Raasch said. “It was like a young rock-and-roll dream.”
As a skateboarder, Mattson was known for his speed, smooth style and willingness to try difficult drops, including attempting to ollie a gap near City Hall before getting “absolutely smashed” on the landing of a “crazy” steep embankment, according to Raasch.
“He was always getting hurt,” Raasch said. “He was on crutches like half the time.”
A band of friends
After high school, Mattson, Coté and Raasch formed Kut U Up. The indie punk band performed at local venues, including the Casbah and Kraken, before touring with Blink-182 and Green Day, where their road experiences became the subject of a cult documentary, “Riding in Vans with Boys.”
During a 2002 tour stop in Atlanta, Raasch and Mattson stepped into a hotel elevator and found themselves riding with Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston.
Raasch started to introduce himself and Mattson, but Brown interjected, informing the friends that he already knew their band. When the elevator doors opened, they emerged chatting with Brown and Houston, which amused their tourmates.
For Raasch, the encounter was one of many memorable experiences with Mattson.
“Some of the best times I’ve had in my life were with that guy,” Raasch said. “A lot of the best stories that I have to tell in my life include Micah, and I’m pretty sure that there’s a lot of other people that would be the same way.”
Bandmates described Mattson as a creative guitarist and singer who also became an early member of Yovee, a melodic indie rock and folk-inspired band with a mellower, Americana-style sound.
“Micah wrote some of the coolest parts of the music for our band,” Coté said. “He was a really unique guitar player.”
Mattson’s musical influence extended to his younger brothers, who went on to form the instrumental psych-jazz duo, Mattson Two.
Jared remembered listening to his older brother play along with Metallica and Smashing Pumpkins and sneaking into his room to listen to his CDs, a catalog that helped shape the twins’ early musical tastes.
Mattson also pushed his younger brothers to spend less time playing video games, often taking them outside to play football in the rain and encouraging their mother to arrange guitar lessons.
By 15, Jared recalled spending an entire day learning the guitar solo from Ozzy Osbourne’s “Diary of a Madman” when Micah’s truck pulled into the driveway.
Micah came into the room, put both hands on his head, stared wide-eyed at his younger brother and said, “Oh my god,” before declaring that Jared had surpassed him as a guitarist.
“That moment was a huge deal for me, something that I remember to this day,” Jared said.
Micah later introduced the twins to Thomas Campbell, a self-taught artist, filmmaker and skate photographer who was also co-owner of Galaxia, an independent Santa Cruz record label that released music by Tommy Guerrero, Ray Barbee, Bonnie “Prince” Billy and the Black Heart Procession, among others.
During a band rehearsal, Jared recalled Micah walking into the twins’ room, holding out a phone, smiling silently and giving them a thumbs-up. Campbell had been listening on the other line and visited the next day to hear them play in person. Thus began a relationship that helped the brothers continue developing their music and reach new audiences.
Campbell later bought them about $100 worth of CDs at Lou’s Records in Leucadia, introducing the twins to a wider range of musical influences, and invited them to perform at an art show in Los Angeles featuring artists Barry McGee and Stephen Powers — marking the first performance by the Mattson Two.
Jared credits his brother’s introduction to Campbell with helping put the brothers on a path that eventually took them to Chicago to record at the home of Tortoise drummer John McEntire.
“Micah just had a huge impact on my life,” Jared said.
A rolling stone
Mattson also worked for years as an Amtrak conductor, a career that grew from his love of travel, touring with the band and the writings of Jack Kerouac.
“He just liked to live on the road. I think that’s where he preferred to be,” Raasch said.
But Mattson’s railroad career also exposed him to traumatic experiences. Jared said his brother struggled with post-traumatic stress after encountering deaths on the tracks while working as a train conductor.
Amtrak engineer Philip Lombardo, who worked with Mattson, expressed sadness for Mattson’s death on behalf of his railroad colleagues.
“I worked with Micah at Amtrak, and wanted to express how sad I am, and everyone at the railroad is feeling,” Lombardo wrote in a message. “Really, really loved being his engineer. GREAT guy. The only guy I’ve ever met that in the middle of a railroading crisis would turn to me and say, ‘Phil, did you ever experience beantooth?’”
Outside work and music, Mattson spent much of his time surfing, camping and riding his bicycle. Coté recalled trips to Baja California and long-distance bike rides, including one from San Francisco to San Diego.
Mattson’s vehicle was often packed with a bicycle, surfboard, skateboard and camping equipment, always ready for another adventure. If he wasn’t driving, cycling or skating, Mattson was known to keep friends company on long drives.
“He was so curious about everything, and just down for whatever,” Coté said.
Since Mattson’s death, social media messages from friends around the world have shown how many people felt a connection to him, including some who had met him only a few times. Friends have also started an online fundraiser to support the Mattson family and help with funeral expenses.
“Micah was a sweetheart, and it was awesome to film him around Encinitas at spots he’d been skating and dreaming about since he was a kid.,” wrote Jamie Thomas, founder of Zero Skateboards and longtime friend of Mattson. “I’m grateful for every moment we shared, and he will be dearly missed.”
Local surfing legend Joel Tudor also shared his condolences on social media.
“Rest easy, Micah, lots of great memories skating around the greater San Diego and Encinitas YMCA with you! You’ll be dearly missed by your friends and family,” Tudor wrote.
As a silver lining, the loss of Mattson has since prompted friends to check in more often and make a greater effort to stay involved in one another’s lives, Coté said.
For Jared, the memories have only reinforced the admiration for his older brother.
“Micah is my hero,” Jared said.
The Coast News intern Christopher Bacon contributed to this story.
