A circle of friends connected by gut touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On August 8, story creator Hiroyuki Hikichi of Mountain States Tokyo introduced Max Mackee, founder of Kammui, an outdoor guide, and asked him about Kammui’s activities and the inspiration that led him to found Kammui.
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Living in a dormitory in England, away from parents
Celeina (MC): Let me start with a profile. Max Mackey is a lawyer and entrepreneur based in Tokyo, Japan, who founded Kammui Inc. in 2021, a multi-sided platform that matches users with top guides offering premium nature experiences. He loves backcountry snowboarding and DJing and is passionate about sharing Japanese culture with the rest of the world.
Takano (MC): That’s an amazing breadth, but I heard that you were born in Kamakura to begin with.
Max: Yes, I was. My mother is Japanese, and I was in Japan from the time I was born in Kamakura until I was 9 years old, when my parents were transferred to Europe.
Takano: Where did you go from the age of 9?
Max: My parents were in Paris, but my father is British, so I went to a dormitory in England. It’s a world like Harry Potter, isn’t it?
Takano: Did you come back to Japan from there?
Max: My parents went back to Japan right away, but I stayed in England for a long time. After graduating from university, I continued to live in England and work as a lawyer.
Celeina: Did you go to a Japanese elementary school in Japan?
Max: It was an international school.
Celeina: I see. So there wasn’t much of a gap there, and you were able to live abroad smoothly?
Max: No, there was quite a gap. I was sent to a country I had never been to without my parents, and it was quite a shock. I was suddenly forced to eat baked beans.
Takano: The eating habits.
Max: I think the eating habits are particularly important. I think Japan’s diet is among the best in the world, but it was especially bad in England at that time.
Celeina: When you came back to Japan from England, were there any gaps again? There were a lot of things that bothered me as mixers (laughs).
Max: There wasn’t much of a gap. Since I was in England, I had been working with Kunichi Nomura on “sputnik : whole life catalogue” (a collection of interviews with 86 creators from around the world) and had continued to work on Japanese projects, so I still had friends back home.
Celeina: That is reassuring.
Max: That part was pretty easy.
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Founding Kammui to Innovate Experiences in Nature
Takano:Kammui was founded in 2021, right?
Max: Yes, it was. We launched it a year ago.
Takano: What kind of platform is Kammui?
Max: Kammui’s mission is to connect more people to nature. Nature is originally Japanese culture, and it is also important in terms of health and spirituality. With the recent increase in digital, mental and many other issues, we are trying through our platform to incorporate a little more nature into one’s lifestyle.
Takano: They match you up with people who can guide you through this.
Max: Yes, Kammui is a platform that matches you with Japan’s top guides in various fields, from monks in Kyoto for meditation to “Olympic” skiers, and allows you to book high quality nature experiences in Japan.
Takano: Looking at the website, there are various genres such as SUP (stand-up paddleboarding) and hiking. Among them, there is a genre called “Escapes,” and when I clicked on that, I found a tea ceremony experience, which I thought was a really wide range of genres.
Celeina: Does that escape mean escape from reality?
Max: It means an escape to nature. Not only guides but also accommodations are participating, so it is an experience in nature that includes lodging. There is adventure tourism that the Japanese government is also pushing now, for example, enjoying local food while enjoying nature in Hokkaido, or touring naturals wineries that are of a world-class level. We are innovating experiences in nature so that more people can enjoy them.
Celeina: Listening to you, I feel a strong connection between Max and outdoor activities, when did it all start?
Max: I had been backcountry snowboarding in Europe, but I really got into it when I returned to Japan. I got hooked on the world-class snow mountains in Japan, and through backcountry snowboarding I was inspired by Kammui.
Celeina: The quality of Japanese powder snow is very high, and it’s popular overseas.
Takano: I didn’t know that. From hobby to work, it sounds very idealistic, though.
Max: Yes, it does. From a financial standpoint, I think it would have been easier to have been a lawyer for a long time.
Celeina: It’s hard to make a job out of what you love, though.
Takano: But you have made connections with many people since starting Kammui, haven’t you?
Max: Yes, I have. This is the second time I’ve started a venture, and I’ve been introduced to people whose mission fits what I personally enjoy, and meeting new people is an inspiration.
Celeina: Meeting people. That’s a key word.
Takano: Now, I would like to do a song here. I asked Max to choose a song that we would all like to listen to together on the radio at this time. What song would it be?
Max: It’s a song that I like to play at the end when I DJ. It’s an upbeat song written by two great artists, Brian Eno, a British artist whom I respect the most, and John Cale, who was a member of The Velvet Underground. “Spinning Away” by John Cale & Brian Eno.
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The Yurufuwa Gang shocked me at “Fuji Rock”.
Celeina: We’ve been asking about your work, Max, but you were at the “Fuji Rock Festival ’23” just recently, weren’t you?
Max: Yes, I was at THE PALACE OF WONDER (the free area in front of the entrance gate that was suspended during the Corona Disaster) for the first time in four years, running a bar called “Legacy Milk” with friends. I’ve been doing it for about 20 years now.
Takano: Were you a DJ there?
Max: Yes, I was. I was DJing every night.
Takano: I might have been dancing (laughs). I wish I could have greeted you.
Celeina: On the topic of “Fuji Rock,” what was the best act of the year for you, Max?
Max: The act that made the biggest impact on me was YuruFuwa Gang, a band I saw for the first time and who performed before I started DJing at THE PALACE OF WONDER.
Takano: Yurufuwa Gang, yes. I heard a rumor that they were playing live, but it was a secret.
Max: They were not on the lineup. I heard they were going to start a live show out of the blue, too.
Takano: How did you feel when you saw them for the first time?
Max: I was very impressed with Yurufuwa Gang, a young Japanese generation that seems to resonate globally within the hip-hop culture. They mixed punk, rap, and electronic music, and their live show was great.
Takano: I wish I could have seen them!
Max: It was a lot of fun.
Takano: They have an established worldview, don’t they?
Celeina: What was your best act?
Takano: You want to ask me too? (laughs) But it’s difficult. (laughs) But it’s difficult, because there are various categories, such as “Emotional” or “Emotional”.
Celeina: Putting those excuses aside, please tell us your best act (laughs).
Takano: A mysterious rehearsal at the RED MARQUEE behind THE STROKES! I don’t know who it was; they were doing some kind of VJ check, but the sound and images were really cool. I don’t know who it was, but isn’t it good to keep that moment in your mind without knowing?
Max: I think the best thing about “Fuji Rock” is that there are bands you want to see, and that kind of discovery you make while wandering around. Who was the best act?
Celeina: There are many, but Rickie-G was the best. I had heard the soundtrack, but this was my first time seeing them live. I hope this doesn’t sound rude, but it was a live performance. Of course she played well, but she sang really well, too. I would like to see them live again.
Takano: What all three of us have in common is a sense of chance: Celeina had heard the soundtrack but saw the band live for the first time, and Max had never heard of YuruFuwa Gang but saw the band live for the first time.
Celeina: Takano-san didn’t know who they were, but he saw them rehearse (laughs). We had such a “Fuji Rock” roundtable discussion.
Takano: Thank you very much for the wonderful talk.
Celeina: “FIST BUMP”, a circle of friends connected by goofing around, and you are introducing your friends to us, who are you introducing to us, Max?
Max: It is Yurisa Ueno of ULTRA STUDIO, who introduced me to Kammui when it was launched.
Takano: What kind of work does she do?
Max: She is an architect at ULTRA STUDIO and also works with an organization called TŌGE on various activities through culture and art. It’s hard for me to explain.
Takano: I see. Let’s talk about it tomorrow.
Celeina: If you had to sum it up in one word, how would you describe yourself?
Max: Innovator. I wanted to be an architect, so I am an innovator that I admire.
Takano: Tomorrow, I will connect with Yurisa Ueno of ULTRA STUDIO.
Celeina: “FIST BUMP”, today we have Max McKee, founder of Kammui, an outdoor guide. Thank you very much.
Max: Thank you very much.
GRAND MARQUEE
J-WAVE (81.3FM) Mon-Thu 16:00 – 18:50
Navigator: Shinya Takano, Celeina Ann
