Max is a poet + filmmaker telling stories that matter.

​How  did you get started?

  • A poet came and performed in my friend’s living room and then I started writing on the way home. The first two lines of what I wrote happened to rhyme and I thought… I can do this!

​What has been the most challenging moment in your career?

  • Navigating pricing for performances

 ​What was the most braggable moment?

  • Startup world: Raising 500k from Mark Cuban by messaging him on CyberDust (his disappearing texting app)

  • ​Poetry: all three of these both going viral and being staff picked by Vimeo: 

  • Subway Love: See top of this article.

  • This Panda Is Dancing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf9ZhU7zF8s

  • Stop Making Murderers Famous (Made to be watched on a phone): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KICPLRdPzAA 

 The last one inspired a policy to be established by digital journalists on how the stories of mass shootings are told in the media.  

What would you say is your biggest weakness?

  • Discipline/doing the work

And your greatest strength?

  • Insightfulness

What was the greatest lesson you’ve learned from a mistake?

  • Be honest in the moment when it’s uncomfortable if it’s the right thing to do. 

 

What do you love most about what you do?

  • Speaking and performing in front of attentive crowds 

 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

  • No matter how much talent you have, there’s no replacement for doing the work

 

How do you define happiness?

  • I think happiness is the wrong question and fulfillment is a better thing to strive for. 

What book are you currently reading?

  • Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

What’s a personal habit that you believe contributes to your success?

  • Meditation 

Have you collaborated with another business/artist in the past?

  • I collaborate with visual artists to make my videos, it’s been essential to getting my messages out to the world.

Max’s work consistently goes viral, has been featured by the majority of major digital publications, by Lincoln Center, and has been written about in 12 languages. Before entering the creative world, Max spent 8 years creating social media strategies for fortune 500 brands and building social networks. The merging of these fields allows him to provide a fascinating perspective on modern culture and how technology is impacting humanity.