Max grew up in Columbus, Ohio, where he has always been interested in archaeology, attending his first field school at the age of seventeen. After receiving his B.A. in anthropology from the Ohio State University in 2013, he worked as a cultural resource manager and field archaeologist throughout the eastern half of the U.S. After working several years on the mainland, Max received his master’s degree at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where his thesis explores the prevalence of oceanic tuna fishing throughout the history of Eastern Polynesia. He continues to pursue his interests in the history of nautical technologies through an investigation of the effectiveness of cultural preservation laws. Max enjoys getting underwater whenever he can, as a divemaster and SCUBA technician. Max has worked as a field archaeologist and has a studied a variety of cultures ranging from colonial America, Amerindian groups such as the Erie and Chumash, and ancient Rome. His work primarily focuses on Hawaiʻi today, but he has worked throughout the mainland U.S., Spain, and Portugal.