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Max Muench

@muenchmax

560K

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1976

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📍 Berlin & Dubai
Global Judge @defender Awards
Crew @germanroamers

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What Sri Lanka showed me ↓

I came here on a last-minute decision. So last minute that I actually arrived before my visa was approved haha. I booked a breathwork retreat without really knowing what I was getting myself into. I just felt like I needed to go.

Turns out, I did.

A few things I’m taking home with me:

● Trust your gut. Not every good decision needs to make perfect sense beforehand.

● Exploration fuels creativity. It’s not a distraction from my work. It’s where my spark comes from.

● Pay attention to the things you take for granted. I’ve been breathing my entire life and never consciously thought about it. Turns out you can do quite a lot with something as simple as your breath. Including apparently holding it for 6 minutes.

● The basics matter. Routine, healthy food, movement, sleep and some structure gave me more freedom, not less.

● Don’t get too attached to your own identity. Apparently this mountain person really likes the ocean too.

● Connection knows no age. Some people just meet you in the right place, regardless of what it says on their passport.

● Energy matters. People, places and situations either give me something or take something from me. I’m learning to pay more attention to that.

● I can create the conditions to heal myself. I can’t control everything that happens to me, but I have much more influence over how I feel, recover and reconnect with myself than I thought.

Maybe the biggest lesson was simply this: sometimes you don’t need to know why you need something before you allow yourself to do it.

Thank you @greenpeaceinn for everything. taken in Green Peace Inn by @muenchmax

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a month ago

I think I need to stop trying to catch up.

Over the past 12+ months I’ve created so much that somehow the amount of unfinished stories itself started becoming a reason not to post them. The longer that pile got, the more I felt like I needed to do every single story justice. and well… perfectionism did the rest haha. You feel me?

So I’m trying something different.

From now on, my Stories will mostly be real time again. Where I am, what I’m doing, what’s happening right now.

And Reels & carousels? That’s where I’ll slowly take you through the adventures, stories and moments of the past 12 months that never made it here.

Not necessarily chronologically. Not necessarily perfectly. Just bit by bit, finding my rhythm again and finally getting these stories out of my camera roll and into the world.

I also wanna use this as a chance to experiment a little. Try new formats, show different sides of my work and life, and figure out what you guys actually enjoy seeing from me.

So consider this a bit of a reset. Less pressure, less perfectionism, more sharing. If I hit pause for too long, send me a reminder.

And genuinely - let me know what you wanna see. What have you missed here? What would you like to see more of? 👀 taken in Berlin, Germany by @muenchmax

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a month ago

Didn’t expect this one 🤯
Comment “Color Mode” and I’ll send you the link.

Anzeige*Ad ✨️ Adobe just dropped one of their biggest updates in years - a completely new Color Mode - and as #AdobePartner I went straight to test it out.

I graded this entire video with it - and even mixed in a bit of Adobe Firefly.

Color grading in Premiere never really felt fun to me.
Too many layers. Too many sliders. Too much guessing.

This feels different. More direct. More intuitive.
You actually see what’s happening while you work.

And it’s not just a tool - it’s a different approach. You’re not pushing sliders anymore. You’re building a look and use modules, styles, and have way better control over where things happen - just a clip or full sequence.

Lumetri stays of course. This just gives you another way in.
Less a feature. More a shift in how you work with color.

#CommunityXAdobe #ColorMode #Premiere by @muenchmax

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5 months ago

What do you say, Pamukkale? 👀

Who knew China has its own version of mineral pools, hidden away in the mountains of Yunnan?😳

Seriously, this place felt unreal. Almost no one around - and we only stumbled upon it by chance while hitchhiking from Shangri-La to Kunming.

We stayed in a small guesthouse nearby and went early in the morning… pure magic.

I guess that’s the definition of hidden gem.🙏
Have you ever heard of this place before? by @muenchmax

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9 months ago

Anzeige | Honestly, this year was a surprise package and I took life as it came. I’m grateful I traveled the way I did – it created countless memories, introduced me to so many new people, and took me to places I’ll carry with me for a long time.

Especially China, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar (which was a bit of a secret unless you followed along on Polarsteps 👀) left a massive mark this year, in the best way possible.

I’ve been using @polarsteps for over 10 years now, and this new Unpacked feature is such a beautiful way to look back on a year of travel. Voila, my 2025, unpacked. I could add 20 more slides but I’ll try to catch up with posting more soon!

If you’re already planning your trips for 2026, it’s worth checking out. Feel free to follow me there as well: @muenchmax

And if you’re already using the app, definitely create your own Unpacked: it just launched this week.

Tag @polarsteps and me, I’ll have a look ✌️

So, thank you. For your continuous support, your patience and wonderful messages every time I haven't posted in a while. Here's to 2026, to great health, pure hearts and the best version of ourselves 🫶 by @muenchmax

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9 months ago

Anzeige| I caaan’t!! The colours 😭💙
Never seen a post about this place before but we stumbled upon it in real life!! Isn’t that what traveling is all about?☺️

We instantly fell in love with the view, the atmosphere, and just couldn’t stop looking around. We even went for a dip and I swear it’s the first time ever I didn’t find the water cold or had a problem getting in 😂

I also tested my new HOVERAir self-flying drone @hoverair_global, and I’m really happy with the shots🙏 feels liberating not having to control it manually. 😁

Leaving this place was really hard … but in a different way 😅🫣 Both our bikes refused to start in the morning, and let’s just say it wasn’t exactly the best spot to be pushing them up and down trying to kickstart them 😂😂 But that’s a story for another day haha taken in Kyrgyzstan by @muenchmax

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a year ago

2 motorbikes, 2 travelers, Mars-like landscapes, and a whole lot of vroooom vroooom 🏍️💨💨💨

We rode from the east to the north and down south, constantly blown away (literally and figuratively) by the epic scenery here in Fuerte Ventura. Volcanic landscapes, open roads, and those wild desert vibes. Luckily, Max caught some of it on the drone (more in the next video!).

Bikes here aren’t exactly budget-friendly: 50–150€ per day is normal. We were definitely spoiled by those $5 scooters in Southeast Asia 😅. For comparison, we paid 50€ for a whole week for our rental car here. Still worth it for the adventure!

Traveling by motorbike really changes how we experience places. Maybe it’s the wind in your face, the smell of the road and wildflowers, or just being able to stop wherever you want, but it’s a totally different way to explore.😊🫶

What do you think? taken in Fuerte Ventura by @muenchmax

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a year ago

Anzeige | While roadtripping through northern Spain, we were reminded just how fragile and precious our natural world is. From rugged coastlines to untouched mountain valleys – places like these deserve to be protected.

The Defender Awards 2025 support the people and projects doing exactly that: protecting communities, wildlife, land and sea.

The 7 winners receive €120,000 in funding, a @Defender vehicle, and two years of professional mentorship to help take their mission even further.

✨ Know someone or a fitting organisation doing important work in the field? Tag them below - there's just one week left to apply.

📅 Deadline: June 16
🔗 Link in bio

#defenderawards (Anzeige) taken in Spain by @muenchmax

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a year ago

Almost forgot that this (sharing photos on Instagram) *was* the whole point 🙃

Sometimes I forget that I started posting photos on this platform over 10 years ago.
Somewhere along the way, I lost that habit - or maybe I just became too much of a perfectionist, too selective, or simply not motivated enough to share my work anymore. Oversaturated? 🦦

I have terabytes of images sitting on drives that I wish I’d post.
But I don’t.

What do you think - is it just me? taken in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain by @muenchmax

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a year ago

Manifesting our Atlantic crossing 🌊
I had zero experience - but still fell in love with life at sea.

Anzeige | Together with @journeyious & @lifeandpauli, we sailed from Los Gigantes to La Gomera and back, spotted dolphin whales, cooked during rough waves (not recommended 😅), climbed the mast, swung into the sunset and even saw bioluminescent plankton at night. Oh, and yes - we took the wheel ourselves too.

We booked it all through @clickandboat - no license needed, no stress, just us and a skipper guiding the way. Where would you sail first?

Big thanks to @clickandboat for making this adventure happen ⛵️ taken in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain by @muenchmax

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a year ago

⛵ GIVEAWAY - Win a Boat Trip!

Ad | We’ve teamed up with @clickandboat to give you the chance to win a €500 voucher for your
dream boat trip! 🚤⛵️

Whether you spend a week sailing through Sardinia’s turquoise bays, or you enjoy a sunset cruise in the Greek Islands, or snorkel in Croatia’s hidden coves by motorboat - the choice is yours. ☺️
Click&Boat connects sea lovers with unforgettable boat rentals. You can book anything from a skippered catamaran for a full week to a relaxing one-day cruise. No sailing experience needed! 💙

We chose a sailing trip around the Canary Islands and absolutely loved it! ⛵️🥹 But what would you choose?

👇🏼 To enter:

1. Follow these accounts:
@clickandboat
@journeyious
@lifeandpauli
@muenchmax

2. Comment where you want to go
+ Tag the person you want to bring with you

✨ Bonus: Multiple entries = higher chances!

📆 Giveaway ends June 8 at 12:00 CET
The winner will be announced via our Instagram profiles.

Terms & Conditions:
- Minimum age to enter is 18.
- The giveaway closes on June 8 at 12:00 CET.
- The winner will be selected at random and notified via DM (by us personally) on June 9.
- Please do not trust any other messages or accounts - scammers sometimes impersonate
giveaways.
- This giveaway is not affiliated with Instagram in any way.

GOOD LUCK FROM ALL OF US 🥹🍀🙌🏼 by @muenchmax

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a year ago

Maybe you? Or someone you know?

Anzeige | What is it actually about? I’m honoured to be on the jury of the @defender Awards 2025 - a global award supporting those who protect what truly matters:

🌍 our lands
🦅 our wildlife
🌊 our seas
🤝 and humanity itself.

It’s the award’s first year and is meant for small, purpose-driven charities and non-profits in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Africa and the UK - with an annual revenue under £500k.

If your or an organisation you know creates impact on land, at sea, in the wild or among people, this is what to expect in case it’s one of the 7 winners:

🚙 a Defender for 2 years
💷 €120,000 in funding
📣 extended PR support
🧠 expert mentoring

This is your chance. Nominate now. Let your mission be seen
🖱landrover.com/defender/defender-awards taken in Spain by @muenchmax

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a year ago