I was listening to The fast life garage while I was cooking, it tripped me out to listen to max schaaf and his view on how he approaches building bikes, the craftsmanship and how he approaches the business side of things. I know him from skateboarding, really falling in love with his personality after watching his epicly later’d. He seemed like a smart dude, passionate about skateboarding, opinionated. He has a point of view. He rubbed shoulders with some of skateboarding’s greats and still is cool enough to film the homie on the vert ramp.
Though he could probably make more money, making trendy shirts for his company 4Q and what not, he’s here for the bikes. When he got into his love for bikes years ago, it was a difficult journey figuring it out, banging his head across the wall. Taking courses, talking to people, and a little divine intervention, just chasing after, it got him here. Continuing to the old ways of sharing information and building relationships with people who actually know what the hell there doing out here. It’s not all business with him, how big corporation influenced us to believe it needs to be to have a successful business.
There are actual people behind these “products”.
His approach towards bike building and craftsmanship aren’t as money hungry. It’s passion first.
Listening to that got me fired up, it reminded me of why I do the things I do. Why I got into things in the first place. For me. To get me to tomorrow. It’s not about what the other guys think, whether he’s the elder on the block or the young buck. It’s about making something, anything that you can look at and be like, “fuck man, I made something cool with these two hands” I didn’t exist and now it does. Doing it the way you believe it should be done.
But it what tripped me out was that he’s authentically open minded, meaning he might not like someone approach towards bikes or whatever but he can recognized that guy or gal is just chasing the same thing he is. Maybe not in the same way, but to the best of their ability. He willing to admit he’s wrong even if he feels different personally.
You can’t change everyone to think the way you think. You just end up pigeon holding yourself.
Which today is a rare thing to come across. Most people feel a type of certain way about something and believe that it should be like that for everyone. As long as that person isn’t in your face about it, and even then, does it matter?
Shoutout to Max Schaaf, keep killing it!
Burning in paradise 