About

All Plaidout is Max Wastler’s creative repository.

Begun in 2008, All Plaidout quickly earned a reputation for telling earnest, heartfelt stories, honest portrayals of people, places and things Max loves. Max’s unique perspectives on a myriad of subjects is on full display: high quality, well-made goods and the people responsible for them; trends in fashion, entertainment, food and beverage, automotive and travel; efforts to redefine the classics; the state of American manufacturing. All Plaidout was one of the earliest places on the internet to find coverage of the manufacture of well-made things like the L.L. Bean boot and tote bag, the Filson Restoration Department, Quoddy’s handsewn moccasins and Oxxford’s handmade suits.

Named one of Details Magazine’s favorite blogs of 2009, Max has contributed writing, photography and brand strategy to Condé Nast Traveler, Dwell Magazine, Esquire, GQ, Men's Health, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Several exclusive partnerships and products have been developed and carry the mark of All Plaidout. These include a shoe called the All Plaidout with Quoddy, a Blackwatch plaid waxed cotton tie with The Hill-side, the best-selling Shadow Plaid blanket with Faribault Woolen Mill and the All Plaidout Ethiopian Yirgacheffe with Bowtruss Coffee Roasters.

In 2010, Max and his friend Joe Gannon launched Buckshot Sonny’s a Made-in-USA-focused sporting goods store and in 2011, while traveling to document the manufacture of some of their products, Max and Joe shot a pilot for a web series that came to be called Made Right Here. It made the rounds at two production companies before getting picked up by Maxwell House Coffee in 2014. The ten-episode series continues to live on Max’s YouTube channel.

For more than 20 years, Max has been a special kind of storyteller: a renaissance man as interested in last night’s box score as he is in the weekend’s box office. He’s a brand-marketing guru famed for his ability to launch new companies that feel like they’ve always been there and pivot old brands to reach new heights working with employers and clients like: 

Speedo (2003-2004)

Madewell (2005-2007)

Patagonia (2007-2008, 2015-2017)

Gitman Bros. (2009-2011)

Basil Hayden’s Bourbon (2012-2016)

Lands’ End (2017-2019)

Domino Magazine (2018-2019)

Maritz (2019-2020)

Aparium Hotels (2021-2022) 

Ludex (2022-2023)

Max has made his life searching for authenticity in all things. He’s a proud husband and stepdad to a wild bunch of strong women. He currently resides in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois.

For a deeper dive into Max's past experience, you can view an archive of much of his work HERE.