Max says: "I am insanely stoked on the opportunity I've been given to come and compete at the first world championships and finally meet heaps of my UK and Euro mates."
Freestyle trampolining is a sport that was born in the backyards and gardens of hundreds of kids around the world who used their garden trampolines to create new tricks that combine gymnastics, martial arts tricking and snowboarding techniques.
The sport puts more emphasis on skill development and creativity than the traditional Olympic-style trampoline.
Coined "The Sport Born On Instagram" by the LA Times, freestyle trampolining is booming on social media with lots of athletes sharing their tricks online.
Max says he hopes the world championship event is just the starting point for the new trend sport.
"I'm hoping it will be the start of many more mainstream events for this community that'll put it into the public eye. And I'm stoked for the opportunity to finally meet my mates from that side of the world and throw some crazy tricks with them."
At the world champs, Max and the other athletes will face one another in a trampoline battle to see who has the most creative, difficult and best-executed combos.
Max already competed on the international stage in 2019 when he represented Australasia at the GRTGamesUS in San Diego. Back then, he won the 2-Trick Combo category and was named Most Valuable GTramp Athlete.
He regularly hones his skills on his backyard trampoline and also enjoys training at Queenstown's adventure sports park Site, which he says is the best trampoline park he's been to.
"I will train eight to 12 hours a week and usually start by warming up ... training basics then moving up to harder skills after 20 or 30 minutes of warming up."
Max recently achieved a difficult "Quad Kaboom Landed no double bounce" skill, which is four backflips off your back to your feet without any assistance.
To those wanting to grow or start in the sport, Max says, "Remember it's about doing the tricks you enjoy, not being the best. If you focus on doing what you like you'll enjoy it more and end up getting better as a result of that."
When he's not on the trampoline, Max enjoys being a plumbing apprentice, spending time with friends, snowboarding and training ground flips.
The world champs event will be hosted by the FTA partnered with former Red Bull head of sports Sigurd Meiche.
Meiche says: "Our goal is to create a freestyle competition that is a perfect playground for the world's best athletes, showcasing their very best and pushing the boundaries of the sport."
FTA founder Roe will MC the event. He is a former Canadian National Team trampolinist who is known in the acrobatic world for his stunts on social media and his appearances on TV shows like America's Got Talent.
McGeer is a sports marketing specialist who has 20 years of experience in event planning and management, and was the former team manager for the Canadian Subaru Rally Team.
