Max of Retro watch
Max has been a long-time watch collector who decided to capitalize on his spare time in quarantine by starting a Youtube watch channel. Today we delve into this young Seattle doctor’s take on watch collecting and life in general.
“I am no watch expert, just a collector who wants to share some of his interesting watches with the community,” was a closing statement behind the first video ever on his channel. Humble and passionate, it would never occur to you that this guy was also a practicing Neurologist.
Max is a hidden gem in the watch community. He’s a new voice working alongside other established content creators on the Youtube platform. While still relatively undiscovered, his style of storytelling is nothing short of amazing.
Watching his videos, it seemed like they were professionally edited and produced. When I questioned him about his background in content production, he admitted that he had zero training and only picked up video editing in February.
“Up until February, this was just all in my mind, but I’ve always really appreciated art and design. I took a lot of art classes in school and was lucky to have lived in cities that had great museums and such. I have also done a lot of public speaking, so I am used to standing in front of crowds and acting like I knew what I was talking about,” he joked.
“At some point, I realized I was buying and selling so many watches as part of the hobby that I wanted to document the journey and possibly help others who are just getting started.”
The inspirations behind his drive for story-telling
“You know, watches are awesome, don’t get me wrong, but watches have to be put into context.
I was once on the outside of this hobby looking in, and I remember not understanding why someone would pay that much money for a watch. But at some point, you realize it’s not “the thing”, but what “the thing” represents. When you explain that a watch went to the moon or how it influenced history, that’s when our hobby really begins to make sense.
When you put a watch on, it should make you feel something, inspire you, and get you out of bed in the morning. That’s what watches mean to me, and those are the stories I want to tell.”
Max’s philosophy on his mini-documentary style videos
“I am inspired by shows like the old Top Gear, with the 3 bickering British blokes. Those shows were ostensibly about cars, but what made them great was that they were much more than that. They had epic cinematography that transported you to different places and taught you something about the relationship between the cars and the people that drove them.
Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, why do I love it so much? It’s not like he was just talking about just shrimp, he talked about cultural and societal perspectives, and he expanded your scope and your vision to more than just the little things, and in some ways I want watches to be that conduit, watches are like the starting off point, you have to go somewhere with that.”
Bark & Jack, Time + Tide, Hodinkee, Worn & Wound, Watchbox, TGV, do you ever feel like you’re late to the game? Do you ever feel like just a drop in the bucket?
“I didn’t start talking about watches with the intent of competing with those guys. In many ways, they are my inspirations, and we all have something to offer. I bought Adrian’s straps when the Bark&Jack shop first opened because I wanted to support him. I even referenced TGV in a recent video because I was worried people were going to judge me for hacking up a SARB033, which by now we all consider ‘Pure Class.’ [Insert skittish laughter]
Again, the main impetus was to document my own journey. I would sell a watch, and months later, I would miss that watch and flip through my photos to look for it. You wish you could keep all of them but at some point you have to let your babies go, and I realized that in some ways, I can immortalize a watch for myself by making almost a tribute video to it.
Sometimes you see a watch that is almost perfect, but that OCD part of you just can’t pull the trigger. Whether the size isn’t right or the lugs are the wrong shape, or you just wish it had a different hour hand. That’s when I started thinking about modding. I’ve always tinkered, and grew up working on cars. Sometimes you can get the look you visualized in your mind by building it yourself with parts sourced from online. Then a whole new adventure starts. I think that’s something else I bring to the table as far as differentiating my channel. Wearing something you built has a whole other level of satisfaction to it.”
I jokingly called him the next Bark & Jack, but Asian
“What I like about Adrian is how relatable he is. He passes what we call “the beer test”, meaning would you get a beer with the guy. Realize, we don’t actually like people who are perfect; it’s great that he’s not just trying to give you a manicured version of himself.
Because you brought up race, I talk about this with my Asian guy friends a lot. Asian boys growing up in the west don’t have a lot of role models. We struggle with social acceptance and issues such as masculinity because of how we are portrayed in western media. I know I did. So if I am able to bring some diversity into the Youtube watch community, then I would consider that a positive impact.”
The Immigrant Narrative and Luxury Watches
“My family immigrated to this country when I was in elementary school. Man, those kids were mean. I think for an immigrant Asian boy, it was really tough psychologically, even tougher when you arrive here not speaking the language, and wearing the wrong clothes.
Growing up, we didn’t have a lot of money. There were times when we could only have ice cream on birthdays. I am comfortable now, and it’s a blessing not to have to rely on my hobby to support myself. I do have to balance my channel with my work as a doctor, but I think about the alternative and realize I’d probably be sick of watches very quickly if that’s all I thought about. As a result of my upbringing, a part of me will always have a hard time justifying purchasing luxury watches and I will be perennially hunting for the next deal.”
The Horological Prescription Subscription you never knew you needed
Thus far this year, we have experienced a plethora of changes to our daily lives, more often for the worse as of late. For those of you who are weathering the storm that 2020 has unleashed upon us, and need a new voice to give you a fresh perspective on the watch collecting hobby, I highly recommend you give Max a chance while you’re in self-isolation. He’s humble, driven, and an overall great character in our community.
A link to his Instagram: Click Here
A link to his Youtube Channel: Click Here
