We recently had the chance to connect with Max Beiler and have shared our conversation below.
Max, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
When it comes to losing track of time, I totally get absorbed in my hobbies, particularly rock climbing. It’s like I enter this flow state where hours feel like minutes. As for ‘finding myself,’ I actually need to hit pause and just chill. I’m a really introspective person, and having that dedicated time to sit with my thoughts is so important to me, I’ll even skip sleep for it.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hey everyone! I’m a creative through and through – an actor, photographer, and filmmaker.
My photography centers on portraiture, mostly in the studio these days. What I really love about it is connecting with people, helping them feel confident, and then capturing their true, authentic selves. There’s something incredibly rewarding about that.
Then there’s acting. For me, it’s this endless journey of self-discovery. You’re constantly digging deeper, learning new nuances about life and purpose. It feels incredibly vulnerable, like facing a mountain that never shrinks, but I absolutely thrive on the challenge and the grind of it all.
And finally, filmmaking! It actually started as a way for me to create my own acting opportunities. A friend from acting class and I write and produce projects together, and we definitely aim to make people laugh. I tend to see life through a comedic lens, and filmmaking is such a fun outlet for that. Plus, it’s the ultimate collaboration, and getting to share that creative process with talented friends and an audience is truly a blessing.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Honestly, I think I’ve always been the black sheep, someone who needed to forge their own path. Call me a nonconformist from the start. I remember high school, learning about transcendentalism – Thoreau and Emerson instantly resonated. Even then, I just felt a pull towards something different than what everyone around me seemed to be chasing. I didn’t know what it was, though! It wasn’t until after I finished business school, ironically, that I completely dropped out of the expected ‘rat race.’ I moved to Austin, took a bar job, and basically just stopped doing what I knew I didn’t want. By clearing that space, I believe the things I was truly meant for started to find me.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
I think in today’s world, everyone’s so focused on immediate gratification, wanting to be good at things right away. But I’ve always held myself to a high standard in whatever I pursue, and not being instantly ‘good’ doesn’t deter me. It actually makes me dig deeper because I know what I want. Especially in the arts, your taste often develops much faster than your skill. When people say, ‘Oh, your camera takes really good pictures,’ they have no idea where I started! So many people shy away from things they’re drawn to out of fear of not being good enough, or failing.
Even now, in my photography business, it’s the most difficult clients who teach me the most. They highlight areas in my process or business that need to be strengthened and fortified. You learn when to stand your ground, and how to navigate challenging situations to ultimately make the client happy without compromising your integrity.
And acting? My first job was a big commercial, and everything went so smoothly. They told me, ‘Just be cool and do this activity,’ and even though I felt totally uncool, they loved it. I remember thinking, ‘Man, if I just had lines, this would be so much easier and more specific.’ Boy, was I wrong. When I first got into acting classes, I quickly learned how infinitely challenging it truly is. There’s a lot of suffering involved – people only see the good parts, they don’t see what really goes into it. But that’s exactly why it’s so rewarding; because it is so hard.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
For better or worse, the public version of me absolutely is the real me. I just can’t get down with phoniness – it’s honestly the most unattractive thing to me. It even circles back to acting, actually; that’s another reason I’m so drawn to it. You’re constantly searching for the truth in every moment.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
When I’m gone, I truly hope people say that I really saw them. More than anything, I want to be remembered as someone who genuinely connected with others, someone who took the time to truly understand and acknowledge them.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.maxbeiler.com
- Instagram: @maxbfly
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/headshotsbymax/
Image Credits
Max Beiler
John Paul Dingens
