We recently connected with Maxim Elramsisy and have shared our conversation below.

Maxim, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Obviously 2020 was a tumultuous year for many people, both in predictable ways as in an election year, and unpredictable ways, as with the pandemic and its devastating impact as well as the unrest surrounding the death of George Floyd. It was also very hard for me personally, as I was devastated first by the death of a lifelong hero, Kobe Bryant, then the death of my brother on the day that I was at Kobe’s memorial service. I felt very compelled to capture the world around me as everything around me changed, because it reflected the chaos and change that was happening to me internally. Working during that time was really what made me feel at ease. It pushed me to get out of bed everyday and grow, in a time when I was pretty depressed.

After the 2020 election, I immediately began to conceive of a project for the 2024 election. Now, about 3/4 of the way through this project, It already feels like it’s the most meaningful project for me by far…

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I began to pursue photography as a creative way to be engaged at concerts and music festivals. In 2019, I began to anticipate the 2020 elections, and started to attend political rallies. Realizing that the atmosphere of these events was similar to concerts, I felt very comfortable going to events across the political spectrum. At one particular rally in December 2019 I realized that I was seeing history in the making. I recognized that I needed to learn how to tell these types of stories, and Immediately I went home and enrolled in an introductory journalism class at my local community college. Then I joined the school newspaper, hoping to get some more experience and guidance. Just a couple of weeks in to the class, the 2020 pandemic started abruptly ending all the concerts and turning my attention to documenting the strange new world around me. Again, I instantly recognized the historic importance of documenting those days, and the seemingly overnight transformation of the the world around me; people wearing masks and gloves everywhere, panic buying at stores, the transformation of public spaces and the nature of human interactions with “social distancing” were all around me, and our school newspaper turned to covering this strange new world around us, as campus and student life was shuttered.

My approach is formed by curiosity. It took a while for me to realize this, and honestly, I felt lost by many standards of society before I came to understand it.

As a kid was fascinated by science. It started with an eclipse, then expanded to planets, moons, and stars, and galaxies. I was captivated by the limitless bounds of the universe. By the time I was in middle school, my parents would take me on the weekends to astronomy lectures at the Griffith Observatory, Caltech or at bookstores or campuses around Los Angeles. Usually after each lecture I would have a whole new battery of questions, invariably leading to the next lecture.

In high school I was obsessed with the brain. A friend at the time introduced me to world renowned brain surgeon and I got the opportunity to shadow him using the summers when I would volunteer at the hospital.

When I arrived at the University of Michigan, I had the goal of becoming a brain surgeon. Each year I would scan the course catalogue for classes about the brain. Psychology classes, biology, chemistry. I never felt compelled to pick a major or follow a track of study, but luckily when time for me to graduate came near, the had just created a neuroscience major, and I realized I was only a couple of classes away from fulfilling the requirements. I also realized I had already completed all the requirements for a minor in Music. Music was my other love, and I would work as a disc jockey throughout my time at college. My academic advisor pushed me to balance my class schedule of pretty hard science classes with, what I felt were easier music classes that would fulfill the other graduation requirements.

It was hard though. I completed my degree after 4 and 1/2 years, but I didn’t have a high enough grade point average to get into medical schools like wanted to, and the economy took a major turn for the worse in that time. By then I had broken up with that girlfriend, but I maintained mentoring relationship with her father. He pushed me to apply for a research grant, which I received, allowing me to get a research job, in a time where there weren’t very many jobs around. I loved doing research. It was very hands on hard science, rather than the type of conceptual work that I did in the classroom. But the environment encouraged questions and discussion, cooperation and discovery in a way that felt like it suited me.

One day I was playing basketball with some friends, and tore a tendon in my knee, requiring immidate surgery then a months long recovery period. During the time, I was bedridden. I reflected on good health of my body and developed a desire to be more active in my daily life. As I laid in bed, I decided that I wanted to come back better than ever and complete a goal that I had before my injury. To compete in a triathlon. I attacked rehab with this in mind and eventually competed and completed a shortened (sprint) triathlon. I ended up finished 4th in my age group, which built my confidence and led me to quit my job in the lab, and begin working as a trainer and triathlon coach. I had always been a comptetitive swimmer, and incidentally swimming was often the weakness of triathletes, so I fell into a good niche. This led me to a whole new world of questions about athletic performance and coaching, but I had the background in biological sciences to quickly gain a fair understanding of exercise science and kinesiology and allow me to work in one of the top tier gyms, in Los Angeles, as a swim coach for the triathlon team that they fielded each year.

After about 3 years of working in that competitive environment I got burned out though. I felt trapped in a cycle of work. I would to the same place every day and the educational opportunities, which the gym encouraged trainers to take advantage of, became farther apart because I had completed so many of them. It was then that I got the urge to travel and explore. I started traveling a lot. I squeezed all of my clients into a 4 day schedule so that I could have a 3 day weekend to travel. I would take really short 3 day trips to Japan, or Costa Rica, or Brazil really anyplace near or far. It was during this time that I started really taking pictures as a way to chronicle these excursions.

I wanted more time though, and I couldn’t have more without neglecting the needs of my clients. I read the “4 hour workweek” by Tim Ferris, and I conceived an idea for a supplement company that I could run remotely from the road. I wanted to decouple my income from my time. Though the vitamin company eventually ran out of money and went under, the dream did not. I wanted freedom to explore whatever tickled my curiosity.

It was a long convoluted road that lead me to photojournalism, but I still see myself as a scientist. I start with observations and questions. The questions prompt and inform my exploration. The exploration prompts and informs my creativity.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

 I pivoted from scientist, to athletic trainer, to nutritional supplement business, to photographer, to photojournalist.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Reading the 4 Hour Work Week pushed me realize the value of decoupling my time from my income.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.maxelram.com
• Instagram: @maxelram
• Facebook: @maxelram
• Linkedin: Maxim Elramsisy
• Twitter: @maxelram
• Yelp: MaxElram Photography

Image Credits

Personal Photo by Akemi Rico, All Other Images by Maxim Elramsisy