How a Rock Star Became a Father and an Autism Activist

Former Five Finger Death Punch bassist, Matt Snell, used to tour around the globe rocking it out with his band. Now, he is a family man advocating for autism and striving to help families in the Nevada area who have children with autism.

After he retired, Snell was feeling lost and having trouble figuring out what it was that he wanted. Then, he met Shannon, a divorced mother of two. The two hit it off right away and it wasn’t long before Snell met Shannon’s eldest daughter, Joy, who has autism.

Shannon recalled Snell’s offer to take them out to eat, but she was terrified that he would be embarrassed by Joy’s actions and that she would never hear from him again. “Throughout dinner, the other patrons stared and gave us bad looks during Joy’s behaviors. Matt simply stared back and said, “what?!” He later told me how surprised he was by people’s lack of manners. The whole thing clearly upset him. He said he simply wasn’t raised that way” she said.

Now happily married and looking back, Shannon believes that Joy fell in love with Snell the minute she laid eyes on him. “They developed an amazing bond, which they have to this day. I never thought anyone would or could see Joy for all the beautiful things that I saw in her” she said.

As it turned out, Shannon and Joy were exactly what he was missing in his life. “Joy just brings this kind of energy. I love Shannon, I married her. And Joy has this ability to take all your negative energy away so if you’re having a bad day and you go lay in bed with her for 20 minutes and watch a show you come out refreshed. It’s almost like a spa treatment” said Snell.

Read on to learn more.

Photo: Autismspeaks.org