002: MAXV
Los Angeles → Berlin → Los Angeles
Los Angeles born, Berlin + LA raised, Max Ville is a lot of things: Surfer, skater, former actor, designer, DJ. In the 1980’s Max’s mother moved from Berlin to Hollywood, changing the trajectory of his life. Max immersed himself in LA street culture skating and surfing off PCH. He became a fixture of the local scenes in Melrose, Fairfax, and Venice. His schoolhouse days were soaked in graffiti and Southern California sun.
Melrose was Max’s backyard. He worked at a record store on Fairfax, dug at Tower and Amoeba. In the summertime, Max would return to Berlin for school & family visits in Europe, where he was exposed to all types of electronic music by his German cousins. Back in LA, Max attended Dj AM parties and Sarcastic Disco raves, piquing his interest in dance music and broadening his understanding of what a good night of dance should be.
By the mid 2000’s, Max had cut his teeth as an underage jock at the Bolthouse Events in Hollywood. His reputation grew rapidly. Max became known for his knowledge of genres, the diversity of his sound, and the coherence of his style. As Max says, “Range is key”. Never limited to one genre, Max’s ability to curate wide ranging sets catapulted him into some of LA’s finest clubbing establishments. Since his early days of dj’ing, Max has held residencies at The Standard Hotel, Paul & Andres, Soho House, The Mondrian, The Bungalow, and Cinespace, among others. LA street culture continues to fuel his creative passions as a dj and artist.
Not one to be held down, with no dancefloors open in 2020, Max can still be found doing his thing: drinking natural wine, snapping a 35mm, making his own music, skating around town, and pouring his creative efforts into VVSHAPES Surfboards, his self-owned surf company.
Max’s boards are shaped in Los Angeles, handmade and painted by the man himself. From the inception of VVSHAPES, the designs of the boards reflected the retro side of the surf culture of California. Recently collaborating with STAMPD, BATHING APE, SKULLPHONE & FUTURA, Max continues to keep it real, using South LA beaches as the testing grounds for his surfboards.
