Utility safety managers aren't usually known for generating autograph requests, but Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative's "Matt the Safety Guy" has become an unlikely local celebrity while helping the co-op engage with and educate members.

In his trademark plaid shirt and hard hat, SSVEC Safety Manager Matt Riesgo is the public face of preparedness and safety at the Willcox, Arizona-based co-op. As host of the co-op’s popular "Matt the Safety Guy" public awareness campaign on Facebook, X and YouTube, Riesgo’s “ability to connect with audiences has made him one of the most recognizable faces of safety education in the region,” said SSVEC Media Coordinator Kate Cox.

“The campaign lets our neighbors know that we’re real people, and we care about the safety of our employees, our members and our community,” said Riesgo, who has signed shirts during annual meetings and hands out autographed cards to members.

An informal conversation between Riesgo and the co-op’s communications team several years ago led to the creation of the persona. As Cox explained, safety is the co-op’s top priority, “and we wanted to express to members how safety can be important to them, too, and how they can put our ideas to use.”

Matt the Safety Guy started off as a series of social media posts for National Co-op Month and gradually gained steam when the campaign developed an unexpectedly large viewership and level of engagement. Recognizing his knack for connecting with people, the co-op “wanted to capitalize on his popularity and get more people engaged,” Cox said, through an all-out social media campaign.

"6 O' Clock Safety with Matt the Safety Guy" runs on Wednesdays on Facebook, and the videos are also available on YouTube. Themes of the 30- to 45-second spots are aligned with annual safety observances such as National Co-op Month (October), National Electrical Safety Month (May) and National Safety Month (June). Riesgo also gives seasonal tips, such as safety during monsoon season. Each segment ends with his signature sign-off: “Remember, safety never takes a day off.”

Matt the Safety Guy has a regional fanbase outside the co-op’s immediate service area of southern Arizona. Riesgo got a sense of that recently while attending a meeting of the Grand Canyon State Electric Cooperative Association in Flagstaff, nearly six hours north of Willcox, on the other side of the state.

“There were co-ops from all over the state, as well as New Mexico, Utah and California,” he said. “People were like, ‘Oh, man, what you’ve done with Matt the Safety Guy has been super-awesome,’” Riesgo said. “And to think when we first started this, it was just going to be for our folks.”

Riesgo was coaching at his son’s wrestling match earlier this year when students called out to him from the mat.

“There’s nothing better than being at a wrestling tournament and kids from across the community say, ‘Hey, aren’t you Matt the Safety Guy?’ This has evolved into is something more than we could ever have imagined, and, now, the sky’s the limit.”