Max Fosh has probably taken part in more side quests than the average person can even imagine, from getting a presidential pardon for a crime he committed in 2009 to becoming the world’s richest man for seven minutes. The British YouTuber and stand-up comedian has amassed over four million subscribers and is in the process of preparing for his world tour, where he will be presenting his stand-up show, Loophole. So I’m quite pleased that despite Max’s hectic work schedule and impending show dates, he’s decided to take part in one more side quest: an interview with me.
“I’m in London working on the show, writing it, and doing a lot of warm-up nights to try out material for small crowds,” Max explains when asked what he is up to right now. Knowing Cambridge students heavily invested in the comedy scene and occasionally taking part in the odd show myself, I could tell Max was at the point where things finally started falling into place, scripts getting finalised, venues booked, and a show date in sight.
However, Max’s recent escapades in the stand-up world aren’t how his career in media began. As I bring up his eccentric start, where he exchanged a Bachelor’s in Economics for one in English, Max laughingly says, “it’s never been a particularly linear career,” before telling me that where he stands now as a YouTuber and comedian “can be attributed to doing student radio back in Newcastle,” and hospital radio where he broadcasted in the Northeast. The transition to YouTube wasn’t sudden, as Max explains: “I thought, right, let’s pick up a camera and start interviewing students on nights out, and from there [the channel] slowly just kind of grew, and I started earning a bit of money, and the ideas changed a little, so it’s been a real meandering path into what it is now.”
“I’ve always said the audience is my boss”
Despite Max’s zigzag career trajectory, most of his subscribers know that there is one video that blew up in quite a spectacular way: Zac Alsop’s ‘We Faked A Model To The Top of Fashion Week’ where Max himself featured as the debonair fashion model, Maximus Bucharest (from Bucharest). Max tells me how the video “absolutely just exploded, and just was bigger than anything that could have possibly thought was going to happen.” Max went from 1000 subscribers to 50,000 within the space of about four days. He seems to relive his excitement as he tells me, “that was a real moment of like, oh my God, maybe there’s something here.”
With his viewership suddenly exploding to fifty times its original size, I couldn’t help but wonder whether, with the excitement of it all, came pressure to appease his new audience. “I mean, you’re constantly worried that you’re posting enough and what you’re posting is good enough. So it is something that is always in the back of your mind. I’ve always said the audience is my boss,” Max confesses, before declaring that despite the need to make content, he’s “always trying to be very conscious about how to not become addicted” to writing more and more, explaining that it can “get very damaging”.
“It’s like we have the best job in the world. 100% it is such a privilege to be able to do what we do”
“Ultimately, I want to make sure that I’m making videos that I want; if I’m not enjoying making them, it’s a very quick path to burnout, and then you’re not making any at all.” I couldn’t help but resonate with Max; despite Cambridge’s extravagant traditions, buildings, and prestige, burnout is a common occurrence for Cambridge students. So I was curious to hear more about the harsher realities of being an internet celebrity. However, Max is quick to make note of his luck as he says, “I think creators in general need to be very careful when they talk about this because the life of a creator is incredible. It’s like we have the best job in the world. 100% it is such a privilege to be able to do what we do.”
Yet, he confesses some aspects of content creation can be tricky at times when explaining how content is made. “So a normal company is structured like a pyramid; you’ve got the CEO at the very top, and you’ve got various colleagues and workers at the base. It means if one person leaves, then you know that the pyramid is still very strong and can continue to function. Whereas creators work on a model, which is an upside-down pyramid teetering at the bottom on one person, and that’s the creator. And so if that creator then decides to leave or not do any more, then the entire pyramid comes crashing down.” Contrasting the otherwise jovial persona Max typically exemplifies on screen and stage, he maintains a sincere and sober tone as he explains this to me.
Having to sometimes play a character, whether it is to break into London Fashion Week or trick Americans into thinking he is a British Royal, and currently speaking with what feels like profound sincerity, I am curious to know how much of his on-screen persona is real. Quick to answer, Max replies, “I think my on-screen persona is very much me,” although admits it is only “the good bits”. “I like to think that it is just a part of me, and I’d like to keep the other half, or the other quarter or whatever it is to myself.” I nod as I think of Cambridge’s Instagram warriors (myself included) who post the happiest of times whilst the mundane hours spent reading and writing are never documented.
“Maybe the iteration of what I’m doing right now will not be sustainable for me in the next ten years”
As our interview comes to a close, I begin to wonder, with the accelerating speeds at which internet trends are changing, cancel culture, and short-form content such as TikTok and Instagram reels gaining widespread popularity, are long-form creators like Max concerned? Max agrees: “Yes, maybe the iteration of what I’m doing right now will not be sustainable for me in the next ten years,” however his confidence doesn’t waver as he explains, “I have learned a lot about storytelling, engaging people online, and talking to lots of people, so that is going to be worth something in the future. So I’m hopeful that whatever that version of what I do is going to exist, and hopefully I’m going to thrive in it.”
In addition to this hope, Max’s views on cancel culture with regard to his future seem sensible as he tells me, “I think ultimately, you’ve just got to be a kind individual, and you’ve got to try and do what’s right, and if you mess up you apologise.” An obvious sentiment, one would think, contradicted by the onslaught of bad apology videos and celebrity silences we’ve seen. Yet, Max’s words ring earnestly as he tells me that if an apology isn’t accepted, “then time is a healer, and you take some time away and do some reflection.” However, as things stand, Max’s creativity continues to flourish and entertain his audience, whether it is on YouTube or on stage, and given his resilient efforts in content creation since his university days, I feel it will be a long time before I stop watching Max Fosh.
Max’s stand-up tour, Loophole, begins on the 19th of September 2024 in Cambridge. Tickets can be found here.
