HEARING Coca-Cola’s famous ‘Holidays Are Coming’ jingle evokes the Christmas spirit in Brits every year.
But for Matt Smith, 36, from Andover, Hampshire, it reminds him of the “most magical day” of his life – and it all came about from a simple Facebook post.
The handyman, who has cystic fibrosis, shared his “childhood dream” to drive the festive Coca-Cola truck on social media during a troubling period when he was “very ill” in 2015.
At the time Matt needed regular two-week hospital stays due to his lung capacity being “just 18 per cent at best” – just walking up a flight of stairs left him feeling winded.
His post, which detailed his health struggles, went viral overnight and led Coca-Cola to make his “wish come true” by allowing him to drive the famous vehicle.
Thrilled Matt was told he was the first member of the public to do so, and to this day “can’t believe it happened”.
Matt tells The Sun: “I was very ill back then. My everyday life was a struggle. I was very limited with what I could do. I was coughing a lot and even walking upstairs would wind me.
“When I made the post I didn’t think anything would come of it. I thought I’d get a few likes and messages but it ended up being shared nearly 100,000 times.
“When Coca-Cola got in touch and said I’d be the first member of the public to actually drive the truck, I was ecstatic. I couldn’t stop smiling.
“On the day it happened I forgot about my breathing problems and all of my troubles. It gave me a break from my struggles and left me on cloud nine for that whole Christmas period.
“Driving the truck made me feel like I was a king of the road. It made me feel like a normal person. I can’t believe I was the only person from the public to get the opportunity.”
Matt, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at 18 months old while living in Zimbabwe, dreamed of driving the Coca-Cola truck ever since he saw the advert at 10 years old.
By 2015, when he was 27, his health struggles had significantly worsened.
Matt, who was a truck driver, found it increasingly difficult to work due to his regular hospital admissions and decided to post about his health battle to raise awareness of cystic fibrosis.
He wrote: “I come into hospital nearly every three months but it has never stopped me from living out my dream job, driving big trucks all across UK and Europe.
When Coca-Cola got in touch and said I’d be the first member of the public to actually drive the truck, I was ecstatic. I couldn’t stop smiling
Matt Smith
“But lately I have had to really reduce the amount of hours a week I drive due to my health slowly declining… I would love to, however, before I stop driving trucks for good, spread awareness for cystic fibrosis and get a chance to drive the famous Christmas Coca-Cola trucks all around [the] UK.”
To his surprise, the following day Matt woke up the next morning to find 51,000 people had shared the post – and that figure soon doubled.
Coca-Cola got in touch and arranged a special visit to an airfield outside Oxford where he would drive the giant red truck around.
Recalling the event, he says: “I couldn’t believe my childhood dream was going to come true and I did feel like a child again when I was sat behind the wheel.
“The scale of the truck was massive – at 5ft 4in I’m only a little person, and so being in charge of this giant 18-tonne rig was incredible.
“There were around three or four steps to get into it, which would have been a struggle for me normally, but I was full of adrenaline and excitement.
“The driver gave me some guidance on how to drive it because it was a left-hand drive truck. He showed me the gears before we set off, it was very exciting when it started moving.
“When I turned on the lights it was amazing. It felt like I had lit up the whole airfield, it was incredible.”
During his two hour stint driving the truck, Matt recalls a moment when his instructor was anxious he might lose control of the sizeable vehicle.
He recalls: “The driver was worried because a car was coming and I needed to steer left pretty quickly.
When I turned on the lights it was amazing. It felt like I had lit up the whole airfield, it was incredible
Matt Smith
“Because the road was very narrow and it was a left-hand drive, he worried I wouldn’t know the right amount of space.”
Despite the weight of the vehicle, Matt insists it was “easy to drive” due to the vehicle having power-steering.
When his time on the road finished he was instructed to drive into a hangar where Coca-Cola had “a huge surprise” for him.
Matt says: “They set off confetti cannons and the song Holidays Are Coming was being sung by a choir.
“My stepbrother, mother and some of my friends had been invited. We all sat there drinking Coca-Cola, eating cakes and biscuits. Then they showed us the inside of the truck, which was huge.”
In 2020 Matt began a new cystic fibrosis ‘miracle’ drug called Kaftrio.
His health has improved and it’s been three years since he has needed to be hospitalised for his breathing.
Matt says: “Amazingly, I’m doing a lot better now. I used to have to go to hospital every few months but now I haven’t been since 2020.”
He adds it “feels like a dream” whenever he thinks back to the experience and anyone he tells is “always amazed”.
“I don’t think it has happened again [to anyone else], which is incredible,” he says.
Eight years have passed but Matt is reminded of the “unforgettable moment” every year whenever the festive Coca-Cola advert airs.
He says: “It takes me back to driving the truck. I watch it over and over, again and again sometimes, just to remind myself of that day so that I know it wasn’t just a dream.”
