Meet Max – nine years old, army kid, adventurer and vlogger. When he was just six, he started Max Survival, a blog about all things outdoors which he shares on social media, vetted by mum and dad of course.
When the pandemic hit, the vlog picked up pace and the family enjoyed using it as a tool for home schooling during their posting to Wales. He’s often joined by his elder brother, Wild Will, who also has lots of knowledge about nature. We caught up with Max, now living in Scotland, to find out more…
Tell us about yourself and your army family…
I was born in Yorkshire and have lived in Mansfield, Brecon, Chepstow, and Edinburgh. I like Warhammer, taekwondo, going outdoors, canyoning, swimming in rivers and foraging for yummy free food like nettles!
Why did you start vlogging?
Bear Grylls inspired me to get outdoors, go foraging for wild food and share my tips on surviving in the wild.
Do you think it helped you to settle in when you first moved to Scotland?
I was excited to go to more remote countries, where there’s more wilderness. In Scotland there’s lots to explore. When I moved here we found lots of new wild food to forage.
Your followers must learn so much from your videos, you must do lots of research…
Yes, Bear Grylls has useful tips on survival. Steve Backshall has interesting facts about animals from all over the globe. I hope that I eventually get to meet one of them because I’m a huge fan and I want to squeeze all the juicy facts out of them.
You’ve done some things for charity too – why do you think that’s important?
It’s good for the world. I raised enough money to protect four acres of rainforest by doing a sponsored camp in my garden in lockdown. We sold sunflower seeds recently and raised £300 for Ukraine to help people. I’m thankful to all my followers for helping me raise money.
What feedback have you had from other military families?
When I’ve gone into dad’s work his friends said ‘wow, its Max Survival!’ In Chepstow, two kids already knew who I was as soon as I got there because they had seen my videos, which made it easier to make friends.
People have been getting outside to the places I’ve been to because they think where I go is really cool and they want to explore it themselves.
What do your friends think?
They think it’s epic.
Have your teachers seen it?
Yes, they think it’s great that I’m getting outside – they are actually quite impressed with how much I know about the wilderness.
What are your plans for the future?
I hope I can go to the Amazon rainforest and learn about the amazing wildlife. Hopefully I can spread what I learn around the world. I hope this can be a job for when I’m older, to be an actual survivalist and study animals in South America.
Follow Max at @maxsurvival151 on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.