Max Lenz

Max has always been a hands-on kind of guy. Holding, playing, making has been his way of unlocking the hidden perceptions in whatever is in- or at-hand. This way of being, rather than an intellectual construct, and his endless appetite for learning, has lead him into a wide variety of interests.

It started early on when, not satisfied with the normal Jr. High wood and metal shop projects, Max decided to make an electric guitar. It won 3rd prize in the Alameda County Fair that year, and lead to him play music and make things from then on. Music is his heart and soul to this day -- playing guitar every day and singing with his family are the staples of his life.

As a young man he gained a broad spectrum of building experience working with master craftsmen, who instilled in him old world ideas about quality, as well as a do-it-yourself mentality. Especially in reconstructing old houses, he has learned to “reverse engineer” repairs to fully understand systems and to fix problems the right way so they won’t have to be fixed again in the future. From roofing to foundations and all the workings and finishings in between, Max has had opportunity to learn it all.

While being Mr. Mom to two sons, Max also worked for a whitewater rafting company and gained his Rescue Technician certificate. Other experience includes operating a high power laser to cut display materials, driving cars at the auto auction, and converting a gas engine to propane. In the architecture program at Laney College, he developed “Solusive Housing”, a housing alternative built from shipping containers — an idea that has since gained widespread popularity.

As an artist, it’s all is about “making”, and he creates from anything and everything he lays his hands on. Abandoned toys, rocks, bits of stick and hardware, become sculptures and talismans. In addition to art, Max is constantly fabricating ideas, connections, and his own words to express the world he constantly fabricates and re-fabricates.

Max became ordained in 2003 with the express intention of being able to marry people. As a Reverend, he considers himself an agent of Love and Joy, building good beginnings for those who choose to move into the future together.

Max is often heard to say "I AM Burning Man." It's not that he claims exclusive identity with the event, nor is he part of the LLC, but everything that Burning Man stands for and embodies is essential to Max's character and view of life. Radical free self-expression and radical self-reliance are fundamentals of Max's being, and his true heart of gold tends him toward gifting in all aspects of his life.

Max the Maker:

MAKE Music
MAKE Love
MAKE Sculpture
MAKE Connections
MAKE Structures
MAKE Repairs
MAKE Kids
MAKE Toys
MAKE Understaning
MAKE Up
MAKE Due
MAKE Out