Mathew Stokes grew up in Darwin, Australia, with his parents John and Jennifer, and three sisters Jaylene, Anne-Maree and Amy.

[3][4] His father is a life member of the Palmerston Magpies, having played 148 games for them in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL).

[2] Growing up, Stokes played basketball, cricket and rugby league,[2] but age restrictions limited his involvement in Australian rules football until he was 11 years old.

[2] Stokes' main sporting passion was for basketball, where he played at every junior level growing up and won an under-14s best and fairest award whilst still only seven years of age.

[2][5] When he was finally eligible to play football as an under-14, Stokes forced his way into the Palmerston Magpies senior team[2] at only 14 years of age.

Stokes was overlooked in the 2002 AFL Draft though, and moved to Adelaide to begin playing in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) for Woodville-West Torrens.

[6] Taking up a part-time job as a zookeeper off the field,[6] Stokes continued to establish himself in the SANFL over the next three years.

He was a member of Geelong's 2007 AFL Premiership side, overcoming a dislocated kneecap in the first quarter to make a solid contribution to the team's record 119-point win over Port Adelaide.

[6] Whilst playing in the SANFL, Stokes worked part-time as a zookeeper, and hopes to return to the profession after his football career.

[22] He remained in this role until December 2018, when he returned to the Geelong Football Club as its people and engagement manager.