Minnesota Vikings History: From Linebacker to Photographer (Blair Interview II)

“I’m just looking here, people. Just enjoying the world.”

This is the philosophy former Minnesota Viking linebacker Matt Blair often takes when he pulls his truck to the side of the road and grabs his camera—ready to capture a sunrise, an interesting view or—his favorite—a red-tailed hawk perched in a tree.

Blair’s interest in photography effectively took hold during his earlier years with the Minnesota Vikings. He purchased his first camera prior to a trip to Europe. Although Blair had traveled to—and lived in—Europe as a child, he looked forward to finally capturing the beauty of countries such as Sweden, France and Germany. Following his trip, Blair decided to share his photos with a select few individuals. “A couple of the 100 that I took actually turned out okay,” Blair said, laughing.

Blair explained that it was an Iowa State professor, Bob Johnson, who better trained him in the art. Johnson taught a journalism class at the university, and he allowed Blair to spend some time working in the dark room.

He told Blair, “You work in the dark room and develop the black and white, and you’ll improve your photos because you know how the lighting should be better.” According to Blair, Johnson taught him one thing—lighting is the most important thing when you take a photo.

The young football player continued to experiment with lighting and techniques, and he enjoyed taking photos during the season. After playing with Minnesota for three years, Blair put together a slideshow and titled it “The Third Season.” Blair clarified, “You have preseason; you have your regular season; your postseason is your third season.” The presentation included photos from preseason up until the Super Bowl of the previous season, and Blair shared it with the other players during training camp.

“It was just shots of the guys—teammates and coaches,” Blair said. “Pictures that had captured different locations. It was just something that I wanted to do, and I did it.” He paused for a moment, smiled. “To this day, I can’t figure out why Bud Grant let me do that. I was just a third-year guy, and he let me get away with it.”

In hindsight, Blair speculated that Grant appreciated the constructive hobby that occupied the young athlete’s free time. “At my house, I had a dark room and a studio with lights […] my friends came over and I would take photos, get the lighting fixed up, shoot some portraits. I had some pretty decent ones. That was my way to get away from football.” However, Blair continued—for the most part—to keep his photographs to himself.

It wasn’t until about five years ago that Blair met the opportunity to sell his work. A couple friends of his worked at the Olathe Medical Hospital in Olathe, Kansas, and brought up the idea while the hospital was undergoing a remodel.

Blair showed some of his photos to the hospital CEO—soon he had sold 30 photos, all of them very large sizes. Blair reflected on seeing his artwork displayed for the first time:

“[The hospital] got them framed. When I walk through that hospital and see my photos, I cry. It’s inspiring to see something like that—I created it, and someone else wants to share it with the world.”

Aside from photography, charity work holds a portion of Blair’s heart. Over the years, Blair participated (and still does) in events to raise money for various causes. From riding a bike in Alaska to dog sledding in the John Beargrease in Duluth, he’s done it all. “I love doing things and helping people,” Blair commented.

Blair’s second photography project combined his two interests. He wanted to help raise money for a Catholic charities program in Saint Paul, MN, and he generated the idea of creating a book of celebrity portraits. It wasn’t just any ordinary book, however.

The former Viking photographed celebrity friends wearing costumes of people or characters they would like to be. The cover of the book featured a stunning black and white portrait of Bud Grant dressed as an Indian chief. Other individuals included Grace Lorenzi, Paul Douglas and Kim Jeffries. Paul Majors, who wanted to be Elvis Presley, came to the studio dressed in his own authentic Presley garb. People loved the idea, and the project raised $100,000.

Another charity Blair keeps involved in is the Union Gospel Mission. Every Friday night, he and his wife serve meals at the St. Paul shelter. Blair explained how, as he served weekly, he began to form a relationship with some of the men. “The guys wanted to play football against me, play basketball against me; they always wanted to challenge me,” he remembered.

Out of all the people he met, one in particular stands out. Having heard that Blair enjoyed photography, one of the men approached him with some of his own artwork. Blair found himself genuinely impressed by the man’s painting, and he asked him to paint a replication of the Purple People Eaters shot during one of his earlier seasons. The result was spectacular.  “I have never seen anything so crisp, so sharp, so detailed,” Blair recalled. “Especially in a painting from a black and white to a color.”

The man’s artistic ability sparked yet another idea for the former Viking. The man had suffered from throat cancer, which led to losing his job and his family. Knowing he was down on his luck and didn’t have a home, Blair suggested putting on an art show to raise money. He gave 20 of his photos to the painter for replication, and he added 50 photograph prints to the collection of paintings. The Hilton Minneapolis donated space, and the two men displayed an impressive 72 pieces on large, handcrafted displays.

Needless to say, the show was a success. Blair smiled as he told me, “We made enough money so that he was able to get out of the shelter, and he moved back to Green Bay to finish his art degree. We gave money to the shelter also, and that inspired me to start selling my photos.” Over the last two years, Blair has sold photographs in various art fairs, including the Uptown Art Festival in Minneapolis, MN.  “It’s just so exciting,” he said. “He got me going.”

So where is that man now? “He’s doing well,” Blair reassured. “He’s a great guy, and he has a job.” Blair continues to sell the original painting, and after every sale he sends money back to Wisconsin, to the man who helped a football player share his photographs with the world.