Max Taylor is quickly becoming just as well known as anyone associated with the Wawasee wrestling program.

It’s the biggest stage in the sport at the prep level, and Max Taylor is expressionless. Staring at the diamond arrangement of mats, Taylor is waiting on just one thing. His next opportunity.

This story could easily be about any of the four Wawasee wrestlers that went to the IHSAA State Finals for the first time, all of them with a similar chapter written in their career books of life. But this story is about someone who wasn’t wrestling, who wasn’t coaching, or really had anything to do but watch. His unique eye and style, however, make for an interesting take as ‘Max Media’ was just as present as any athlete in Indianapolis this past February, and for good reason.

The Taylor last name is a known commodity in Wawasee wrestling lore. Kevin Taylor is a lifer in the program, having served as a coach at numerous levels in the program including head varsity coach two decades ago. Titus Taylor carved his name out this past season, getting his first full-time varsity spot as a junior at 132 pounds and making the most of it, running all the way to semi-state for the first time in his career.

And that swings back to Max, just a freshman, very quiet, his curly mop of hair often covering the tops of his eyes. He didn’t wrestle, he had no intention to, and was happy just being around. But a hidden talent he kinda knew he had began to emerge, and quickly made him as popular with the team as any of the athletes.

Max Media talking over matters with Wawasee 106-pounder Kaleb Salazar at the Penn Regional.

“My first real tournament was the December Duals, I got my camera two days before that,” Max Taylor opened. “I started messing with the settings. I had no idea what I was doing, watched a ton of YouTube videos. I just started filming everything, anything that was out there. All of the matches. When the Al Smith hit, I knew I had a chance do something bigger.”

It wasn’t long before his confidence had him figuring out the right settings and spots to be in. And soon, his work was moving from snappy Instagram reels to being projected on the giant screens ahead of the Mishawaka dual meet that was attended by over 500 people. “I felt right there that was a really cool moment for me. That’s when I started getting DMs and text messages. People now were wanting me to get them some videos made.”

His ability to find a calm within himself had him not intimidated by the environment of an Al Smith Invitational, and later the Northern Lakes Conference and Plymouth Sectional tournaments. And the Wawasee wrestlers were certainly aware of where he and his camera were parked, posing after wins, wanting to see what he was coming up with.

Not too shabby for someone who hadn’t been ‘down front’ much before. Max Media was growing up, both figuratively and literally.

“He left an important part of his journey out of this, and he probably doesn’t even realize,” began Kevin Taylor, Max’s dad. “When the kids were young, I put cameras in their hands. We had something called Taylor Time. It was free reign, and they could just go film stuff. That’s probably where he became comfortable trying things. When he was in sixth grade, he was self taught in Premier Pro and After Effects. He’s been building up for this moment.”

And it wasn’t just for Wawasee athletes. Max Media noted he reached out to a few wrestlers that were going to be showcase athletes at the Al Smith, and picked up some work tickets. Now with clients at Crown Point, the eventual 2023 IHSAA State Champions, it was go time in a big way.

“I’m not where I want to be, not even close, and there’s a lot of trial and error,” Max said. “I tweak a lot of settings, try new things, see what I like. See what the wrestlers like. I started to develop that and they’ve gotten better over time.”

It’s certainly not a refined product, but Max Media is further along than most kids who can’t yet drive a car. The barking from the IHSAA Wrestling Representative dogs on the floor of Gainbridge Fieldhouse didn’t slow him down, he kept shooting despite the constant universal hounding. Sitting in the media room at State, Taylor was as cool as a cucumber, just reviewing content and working through some items on his phone while grown adults across the room kept remarking about how many people were in the arena.

Coming back to reality, Max Media is ready to take the next step, but feels his niche is in athletics.

He is ready for more phone calls.

“He’s got a name in wrestling, for sure,” Kevin Taylor said. “Wrestling is a perfect place to do this, because nobody is out there in the market. One of my favorite things to see is him doing his thing, and he’s doing it in wrestling, which I dearly love. We’ve told the kids, find something that’s hard to do and become passionate about it.”

Added Max, “I don’t mind it at all. I enjoy people calling me Max Media. It means they like what I’m doing.”