Speed flier Joey Mathison dies

Joey Mathison died of cancer July 31, 2025.

Not a lot of the Northwest people knew Joey, but those of us flying control-line Speed knew him, and who could miss him? He stood about 6 foot 5 and over 300 pounds. As big as he was, his heart was bigger. Joey was always ready to help with a contest, help newcomers into the hobby as a mentor and friend.

Joey worked as a plumber in Los Vegas; he was also a union rep and a salesman for a plumbing firm.

I first met Joey at one of the Northwest Regionals. I had just put together a D Speed project and Mike Hazel and I were officially the Louie-Louie Speed Team. As all know, Mike is spread thin at the Regionals so I was pretty much alone in the Seed pits. There were in attendance, the “badass” guys huddled over to one side and as Speed flyers seem to be, were a bit standoffish.

One guy who was huge, came over and was friendly without any preamble. That was Joey. Big, knowledgeable and helpful. For some reason he just loved my project and was thrilled when it torqued the mousetrap dolly into a wheelie, slammed down and rumbled off for the first run by the Louie-Louie Speed Team. He said “I couldn’t believe it when the outboard wheel came off the ground!”


From Dick Hart:

I remember being with John Newton at the 2012 Nats when I won D with Joey on the handle.

We let it go a bit on the rich side and Joey, because of his size and strength, was able to stay out of the pylon until the motor was good and warm (6 laps). As he went into the pylon in his usual style, John said 'watch this'. The engine unloaded and Joey made a perfect run. He knew it and came out of the pylon again at the end and actually skipped around the pylon with the sheer joy of delivering the winning flight. You have to be a great pilot, strong and very generous to do that.