REMEMBERING MAX

Max was good at:

Having fun – We always had a great time together whether we were hanging out in the pool, jumping on the trampoline, playing video games, shooting hoops (basketball), mountain biking or chasing after girls around the barn 😉

Making me smile.

Max was good at busting my balls over how BMW was so much better than any of my cars. Max was also good at helping me through personal issues, whenever I had any.

Providing confidence

Seemed like anything he put his mind to.

Being able to add something special to the day.

I remember:

Him smiling at his pool, he had such an amazing domineer.

Him messing up my hair when he got the chance; comparing our hands to our faces in class (lol); our big bear hug greetings; that time we bumped into each other at a Steve Aoki concert acting so surprised like we hadn’t seen each other in years (when in actuality, we had class together the whole day hours prior) and then jumping and dancing.

His care for the people he knew and for animals. His love of dogs always comes to mind.
I remember Max as a sweet and creative little boy. He and James spent many happy days running around and swimming and creating fantasy worlds to play in. I will always remember him in this innocence of childhood.

When he got Kane never seen him so happy, we took him for and adventure every weekend around Bellingham.

Running around the yard with plastic baseball bats pretending we were Star Wars characters. Playing on many different sports teams together. Going camping every summer. Pretty much doing everything together growing up.

Max would take Kane to the dog park and I remember he came to Kona with another little dog one day. He said the lady could no longer care for him. Max gladly took in the dog. One day the lady went back to the dog park and asked for her dog back, Max gave her the dog. He went above and beyond for a stranger.

His laugh. Especially when he was a teenager. Growing up I lived in a different state and didn’t get to see my cousins regularly, but when we did there was always so much laughter so it’s so easy to recall the sound of Max’s snicker.

Max worked at TBG, the floor in the shipping area was wearing out so I set Max up to replace a sheet of plywood. He loved doing it so much that he wanted to spend his wages on buying more wood and redoing the floor.

He was always riding his Kona bike. Was very quiet but always smiling. I never saw him mad, and he was such a nice person to be around.

What I remember most is the intellectual conversations we shared. Although young, he was mature for his age. He was very confident and opinionated. I enjoyed listening and talking with him. I felt like I could always learn something.

His mischievous little smile as a young boy. It would melt your heart! Also, how he was the only other person who loved Lemon Bars as much as his Uncle Ed.

Sharing lots of laughs at the barn.

How excited my brother was when Max was born

The time when we were in grade 7 and Max and I had a school project in social studies. Some how we thought it was funny too ditch our project and break out into singing Lady Gaga – Alejandro in front of our classmates. Fast forward to years later and he still send me messages saying “Alejandroooo” and I would send back “Fernandoooo”. We did not talk much after high school as we drifted apart a bit but always caught up to see what each other were doing, but not without mentioning the song… lol

the day that Max persuaded Jim to shave his head…lots of laughs on that one.

Every memory of all time Spent with you

The first time he messaged me on tinder. It was a gif of a potato pooping French fries and he said “draw me like one of your French girls.”

Screaming our brains out as we flew across Skaha Lake in an inner tube, with Danger Dan in the driver’s seat of his new boat!

Our times camping in the summer, especially the remote site at Christina Lake

I will always remember the family reunion with Max. He was running around with his long hair and big smile, showing us how to play tennis or giving a tour of the barn. He also just stood there and watched while Dan made us build a fence and cut his 20 acre lawn on our first day there. I respected his willingness not to help us while we were sweating and collapsing from heat exhaustion. It was a true Gerhard move. He’s also how I always pictured kids out West, with their vans and their long hair. He was a joy to be around that week. He was so happy. We were all so happy to be together for a short time.

Our trip to Costa Rica and just all of the fun activities that we had together – From pestering and scaring Julia and Maddy around the house (hehe) to our fun ziplining experience, it was an amazing trip and memory that I’m really grateful for.

We were much younger last time we saw each other, but we always had good memories when we were able to see each other. Kona functions, golf, etc. I do remember us going to see the tall ships all together, which was a great time. AND (i can’t for the life of me remember when) zipping around in little mini-cars. I know for certain Max had a big gregarious smile and it made me happy to be around him.

My fondest memory of Max will be of him as a young boy. The boat rides and tubing in Blaine and on vacations, with him and sister Julia. Dan hammering down the throttle of the boat, hoping that Max would get the most air possible and flinging him off the tube…and also being successful. Those were the best times. Happy, innocent times. This is how I will remember you, Max. May your memory be a blessing.

I remember when Max used to send me text messages about any new BMWs that came out or any car related news. It would always end in how BMW made better cars than Toyota. I remember at one point I was ignoring him about it, so he sent me a message over PlayStation on how BMW was better.

Dropping everything and driving to Canmore and San fran

His passion for life. He had a great ability to let you know he appreciated the time you were spending with him.

When he taped the ceiling with sticky notes to make the world see how it could be a better place!

I wish: 

He was here now.

I kept in touch with Max more after high school.

I could have one more conversation with him about absolutely nothing, so going back and forth like we used too, to take one more random adventure to go get another car to work on with Kane along for the ride.

I had reached out to Max to see how he was.

The Gerhards well and hope you feel surrounded by love during these times. My thoughts are with you, and I am wishing you moments of peace and comfort as we remember Max.

He was at this party with us.

He was still with us!

I wish we could share one more conversation and one more laugh. I wish I could pick his brain one more time. Sit face to face and chat about fast cars and the stock market.

He knew just how much he was loved.

I wish I could have lived closer so I could have seen him more and known him better.

I had more time to talk with him.

We wish you the peace that was elusive in life. In our hearts & thoughts

We go back to Hawaii together

I could go on one more dog walk with him and Kane.

That Dan, Brenda, and Julia are able to find peace in the beloved memories of Max held by people all around the world.

That the Gerhard family is able to remember the good times. Goofy games, tubing wars, camp fires.

I wish I would have made an effort to know Max better. I wish we could have been friends. Most of my memories of Max are as a little kid. We followed each other on social media, but we never had a close relationship. I watched him grow up from afar, always thinking one day soon we would come up for a visit. For that, I am sorry and I’ll regret it forever.

I got to keep in touch with Max some more throughout the latter years of High School and University. We were so close when we were young but drifted apart later in life.

I got to see him again. it would’ve been awesome to catch up after such a long time.
I wish Max didn’t feel so alone and isolated. I wish I could have visited Max over these past 2 years. We chatted over text but it wasn’t the same as being there with him in person. I wish he had more shoulders to lean on and more smiles to see in person. I wish he knew how loved he really was. I wish he is in a better place, void of any pain that he used to feel.

The obvious

I had more time to get to know him better.

He was here with us on the lake ripping it up on the wakeboard.

A way that knowing Max impacted me positively:

His smile was contagious!!! And his laugh, wow, his laugh would make you spontaneously laugh too or at least giggle …

Never judge a book by its cover. During high school, Max was someone who helped build my confidence up – he always made me feel welcomed and accepted, and I never felt judgement from him when I talked about crazy or silly things. One of the most easygoing guys I’d ever met.

Again, his smile and sincere concern for people and animals

When I needed someone most, Max was there, there are too many things to list that Max has been there for me and will probably never meet someone like him again, a true friend.
The amount of time we spent together as kids, I know Max played a role in shaping the person that I am today.

Because it is more recent and top of mind, I wanted to mention the positive impact Max has had on me as it relates to investing. Max was an advocate of crypto and real estate investing. I saw this interest mature in the last ~3 years. We got to connect over this, and I loved hearing about his latest endeavors. He shared new perspective on investing and advised the right times to enter the market. The only difference is that he actually had the balls to do it!

For whatever the reason Max always looked up to me, I had taken him under my wing and helped him along when he was a kid coming into TBG. That feeling of a kid’s trust is remarkable and always makes me smile.

He gave me his Kona longboard back in grade 8. I held on to it for like 8 years. It was such a nice gesture because I didn’t have anything like that.

He was always eager to learn about and support what I was doing in life. He genuinely wanted me to succeed.

Pushing me forward

He inspired me to work harder and strive for more in life. He taught me so much. Most of my basic knowledge on cars, stocks, and home ownership came from him. Max was incredibly supportive of me and helped me out a lot while I navigated my early 20s. He was my best friend and I’m lucky to have gotten to know him so well.

He was a beautiful, innocent, little boy with interesting view on what was going on around him
Max’s care-free attitude taught me to enjoy the small things in life and live in the present.
Always made me laugh when we were together.

Max impacted me a lot. He recently helped me through some personal issues that I was struggling with. He took time out of his day and went out of his way to find some great solutions for me. He was always there for me to chat, to help me with my car troubles, or just to shoot the shit.

Max was a mentor thru encouragement…always pushed me to my goals and told me he was proud

I mentioned this but how appreciative he was of collaborating in ideas or just life shit.

His smile that twinkled all the way up to his eyes.

Something that makes me think of Max is: 

Biking, pools and sunshine.

Bicycles, the thought of being chill, Steve Aoki, teal/blue bmws

Sunny days and happy dogs

The cartoon Dexter’s Laboratory! Max had a very vividly imagined laboratory that was accessed from his bedroom in your apartment in Monaco that James was completely convinced was real, but was too afraid to go into 🙂

His beautiful boy Kane that I’m so grateful to have in my life.
When ever I hear a Sum 41 song I think of all the times we spent listening to his CD and dancing, playing, and running around to those songs.

Longboards 🙂

Being brave. Being fearless and inspired to take risks. You can’t win the game if you don’t play. I think that’s an outlook we both shared.

Going to the Steveston bike park every few days in our youth. I will always remember our times on the mounds playing around off the jumps. We met here religiously

Laughing

Chocolate croissants, those were his favorite treats.

Birch Bay, Spontaneous goofiness, Lake side camping

Funnily enough – Shoes! Max always had a great sense of style and had all sorts of cool lookin’ shoes that he would bust out. From the classic air force ones, phat farms and skate shoes to the nostalgic and oh so practical heelys – When I see or put on a nice pair of kicks I’ll often reminisce about Max.

Kona!

Every time I see a E46 BMW M3 in Leguna Seca Blue it reminds me of Max. Something as small as seeing this car reminds me of him and his M3. He always wanted me to drive his car and enjoy it when he wasn’t.

Beamer’s…every BMW I see reminds me of his passion for them

BMW’s.

His caring towards all living things. His incredible lightness of being. X0

Something else I want to share:

He was so loved; Dan would do anything for his kids.

Max was lovely and I’m happy that our paths have crossed. He will be very missed.
Sending love and hugs on this emotional day. My heart is with you all…

I’m so sorry Dan Brenda and Julia, I loved him like a brother, deep down inside he was the most caring, thoughtful and genuine person that loved everyone he knew. I’m here for you guys, whenever you want to come and see Kane just show up and he will be here like the good boy he is.

I think I spent more time with Max than anyone else during my childhood and I know that his impact on my life will stay with me forever. It makes me sad that we drifted apart after elementary school and never managed to reconnect. I really hope that he is in a better place. Rest easy Max.

It is so sad to lose you Max. This has been a hard loss and continues to sit with me. Your friendship has been greatly appreciated over the years. Even though I haven’t been able to see you face to face in some time, we have managed to remain close. I think this is largely due to a bond that was struck early on. Even though we were at a distance, you have always been great about communicating things that were important to share. I loved hearing about your progress and new endeavors. You will be missed greatly my friend. Rest in peace. Much Love.

He was always so observant – his tinkering, strategic mind always working. It was not a surprise to me that he got so into cars.

There was always mutual respect between us and what we were doing in life. I’m proud of what he accomplished in his time on our planet. I hope we can converse again one day and share ambitious ideas about life.

I think what sits most with me about Max is his quiet and contemplative nature. When he moved to his house on Euclid Avenue, I’d often see him walking Kane in the woods by himself. He loved my dog Roscoe and was so friendly to him, with such a gentle nature that it was hard not to find it so incredibly endearing. He didn’t give rough pets like so many people do. He always kneeled down to have a conversation with him, like he was one with him. I think Max had a special place in his heart for nature and animals and enjoyed the simple joys of each. He looked at home on those quiet walks, and I’ll forever remember him enjoying that solace that only the quiet forest can bring.

Time flies by so quickly and there would be many days that would pass that we hadn’t heard from Max. It was always a treat when his Uncle Ed would get a text saying hello, or hey, can you help me with a project Uncle Ed? No matter what the text was about, Max would always end it by saying ” I love you guys and please give Dianne a hug for me.” In fact, these were the last words we received in a text from Max and they will forever remain in our hearts.

My last interaction with Max came from him reaching out to me with news of my brain cancer. His overwhelming positivity and kindness is something that I will never forget. My thoughts are with the family.

I remember Max being sweet and shy. He adored his big sister.

You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers ?

I’m thinking about and writing this from a context of a course I’m taking- ‘Writing about Images.’ The images in question are paintings, photographs, and advertisements of illness. Some of the images are of recovered health, and some are of the destruction of disease, some are of the finality of death. I didn’t know Max very well, and I’m looking at the 16 images of him on maxgerhard.com, trying to see what I don’t know about him. What is there to know from those images? I have questions that are unknowable, unanswerable because he isn’t here to address them. Who was the last person who has kind to Max? Who was the last person who was cruel? What memory sustained him in hard times? What memory haunted him in the bad? What goal is left undone by his passing, and what goal did he accomplish but did not share or celebrate with others? On the more trivial side, did he wake up cheerful in the mornings? Did he read non-fiction or fiction? Perhaps he preferred podcasts and pollical news. Did fart jokes make him laugh, and what are his thoughts on the taste of Cilantro? What I do see from these 16 images is a direct gaze, unselfconscious of the camera or photographer. There is wrinkling around his eyes with a smile. I see a life lived in his body, a body and mind sustained by relationships with others and his dog. There is physicality, movement and the outdoors. Many photos are by water, which can either erode or wash clean landscapes, bodies and souls. In the end, I’m not sure I know anything more than I knew before I started this exercise. I wish for Max some peace and to be remembered fondly. For all the people who knew him, I wish for the blessing of good memories about Max that bring forward laughter and the moments of connection that make life worth living’.

I love you bro

He had such a big heart. He sometimes struggled showing his love, but just know that he spoke so highly of his family and close friends. He loved you all more than anything. He was a sweet, caring goofball.

We’ve known Max since his birth. He was a long, lean baby with beautiful hands. We thought he was destined for basketball. In fact, at Nathaniel’s 3rd birthday party, he was already shooting hoops with his Dad. We remember him as thoughtful, observant and aware. At Kona, he was an incredibly hard worker, who was always willing to help everyone and anyone out. Mostly, we wish Max was still here to hear all the wonderful things people are saying about him. We wish he could feel all this love, and hope that he does wherever he is. We will hold Max in our hearts forever. We want Dan, Brenda, Julia and their extended families to know our family is here to support them in any way we can.

I remember Max as a kind and sensitive soul, whose gentleness was far more pronounced than the average teenage boy, even if he hid it behind Nerf guns and mountain bikes!
Max was mischievous in a playful was, a good friend to our boys Evan and Colin
Max was a beautiful young man who is gone too soon. I feel so much sadness for Dan and Brenda and Julia. To lose him this young is heartbreaking. I hope we can give him a worthy celebration this weekend and cherish the time we have together. I love you, Max. I will miss you.
I feel so fortunate to have experienced so many fun adventures with you and your family, Max – Those memories will never be forgotten and your story lives on. Wishing you a peaceful rest. From you old bud, Patty

I am so sorry for this loss. My heart goes out to the whole family during this tough time. But, Max will live on through your stories and your love for him and each other.

Max struggled with a lot of things in his life. He had his ups and downs, I tried to be there as much as I could for him. He felt very isolated and hopeless. I wish that there was a better support system that could have been there for him and helped him out in his later years. I know he is in a better place now without any of the pain he endured during his stay with us.

I remember the first time we( I ) gave Kane an ice cube and kept feeding him them Kane made a mess. You were not impressed ? sorry brah! Miss you! Love you!

Max was an intelligent, sweet and loyal friend. He is forever in our hearts to gain strength from. Love you Max xo