At the beginning of his sold-out Edinburgh Fringe run, I had the privilege of talking to internet sensation Max Fosh. While most people know him for his ludicrous YouTube videos, his sold-out Edinburgh run would suggest YouTube is just the beginning of Max’s comedy heights.
Whilst fairly new to the stand-up scene, Max seemed very confident before embarking on his international tour, Loophole. After the success of his first comedy tour Zocial Butterfly, I posed the question: In your first show you mixed the worlds of YouTube and stand-up. Have you gone for the same approach with this show?
Answer: It’s about all the loopholes I’ve discovered while filming videos, as well as a loophole that I discovered that I thought we should write a show about rather than put into a YouTube video… a loophole that I think is too good for a YouTube video.
Though he refused to give away any of his material, Max has proven before that he is skilfully able to combine the treacherous world of stand-up with the more familiar online sphere, leaving much to be anticipated from his new material.
With his career reaching new heights, it could be expected that Max would step away from social media and focus on larger projects. With this in mind, I posed the question: Do you think YouTube will remain your main focus, or now you have this platform, are you more interested in branching out?
Answer: Absolutely not. I’m very much sticking on YouTube, though there might be a couple months gap in video uploads whilst I’m on tour. But YouTube is still the number one priority.
When asked he would consider working with Netflix, or perhaps starting a podcast, his response was that ‘the world doesn’t need another straight white man starting a podcast.’ Fans of his videos therefore have no need to worry. Max is far from abandoning YouTube, and if anything, we can expect bigger and better things from him in the future. A couple of the ideas raised in our conversation were; competing in the 2028 Olympics, and water-skiing behind a cruise ship. One thing is for certain, nothing is off limits:
Is there anybody too big that you wouldn’t dare make a video about them, or is anyone safe?
Answer: The bigger they are the harder they fall. I want to do a video with the Prime Minister but again I’m not quite sure what that would be. I think I’ll have to get through quite a few loopholes to get to him.
Writing for a student magazine, I took the opportunity to ask Max about his own experiences as a student. Whilst studying English Literature and Economics, it appears most of his time was spent working on student radio. Max credited his radio work as the beginning of his social media career, highly encouraging others to do the same and to ‘keep writing and keep creating.’ The largest takeaway from my interview with Max was our combined passion for the arts. Max spoke profoundly about his love for the theatre and how amazing it is to see venues filled with audiences. An experience which we have all learnt, in recent years, cannot be taken for granted.
