Our Story

Hi! I am Max, and I make the baggiest snowpants. I'm from Ashland, Oregon, and grew up skiing at Mt. Ashland. I used to be the only kid with ridiculous baggy pants at my mountain. I got this pair of white military snowpants from World War II from a military surplus store based in Texas. People would either say I looked stupid, or, if they were cool, would ask where I got my pants. I started to get this question more and more, and then I realized I could start re-selling them.

I was 17 at the time, and I had been looking for a way to make money besides doing it the traditional way—getting a boring-ass job, or getting a degree I didn't need and then getting a boring-ass job. I had a small landscaping business at the time, but that wasn't very fulfilling creatively. Creatively. Is that even a word? Anyway, I bought 25 pairs of pants from the military surplus store and started reselling them. Then I started dyeing the pants, and I needed a brand name! So, there in my dining room at the house I spent my middle school and high school years in, I decided it would be MaxReade Apparel. I guess it stuck! I would sell the dyed pants for around $40 apiece.

Rail sliding in baggy snow pants.

I asked my brother, Charlie, if he could help me respond to all of the messages I was getting because the pants were starting to gain popularity, and Instagram DMs and Venmo were where I did business. My brother helped out by reaching new customers and showing me that I was probably underselling the pants, and could make a bit more money to put back into the business.

We continued like this for a while. I would dye the white snowpants, and Charlie would help sell them. I would post pictures of the pants with my friend wearing them shirtless because he was ripped. Around February 2022, I went to order some more pants, and much to my chagrin, they were all sold out. I tracked down the phone number to the store that was selling them, and the kind lady who answered explained that they had about 100 of them total, that they were surplus from World War II to keep soldiers dry in the snow, and that they were all sold out. The product my business was built upon was gone.

So I ripped up some of the old military pants and made some myself. I changed the pattern a bit, so they were baggy in all the right places and fit in the places I wanted for skiing. I started sewing all the pants on my own in our dining room on my mother’s crappy old sewing machine. It took forever. I would spend days or weeks on one pair of pants and then sell them for $150. I did this for a while, but I was getting sick of it.

That summer, I was working as a camp counselor at Mount Hood Summer Ski Camps, and a friend of mine, Henry, was there. He owned another ski apparel brand, JibSkin, and we did a collab. This time, all of the pants were made by a manufacturer overseas. We received all of the pants at camp—probably 60 total—and sold them there together from his website. After seeing how much better it was to have your own manufacturer, I decided I needed to find one.

Catching air in Max Reade's baggy snow pants.

I found out that finding a good manufacturer of ski pants to produce a very low quantity of gear was hard, almost impossible. But one day, he came to me. He was a 20-year-old who had just started his manufacturing business in Pakistan. I was very skeptical about having my clothing made in Pakistan—whether the quality would be good, if the people were treated well—but I gave him a chance. First, I made sure the working conditions were decent and there was no child labor involved. He gave me a virtual tour of his factory, and I was impressed with the working conditions and facilities. He informed me that everyone working at the factory was his family or family friends and that they were all over the age of 20.

This gave me peace of mind and also insight into how similar we were, just living in different worlds. We have since worked together, growing our businesses alongside each other, collaborating to bring the perfect baggy fit for snowpants, and creating jobs in the U.S. and in Pakistan. I am always pleased with his ability to bring high-quality craftsmanship to the table, resulting in excellent products for you. We are still iterating and perfecting the ideal baggy snowpants, but if you have a pair of our pants or have seen any of my videos on Instagram, you’ll know they are excellent quality (if not, I'll make it right). 

Thank you!

Now I am trying to always come up with new ideas for designs and ways to improve our products—testing them on our local mountains and making products for skiers and snowboarders that actually look good and are of excellent quality. I want to give a special shoutout to my first customers, who are still current customers. You guys are dope.

Thanks for reading about my business!

Love, 

Max Reade

Getting some air in Max Reade snow pants.

"Great customer service, very quick to respond. Great quality products."

- Oliver

Photo Credits: Rio Giancarlo

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