by Abel Horwitz
Daily Lobo
Tucker Max is an asshole.
Max, who's been running his personal Web site, www.tuckermax.com, for three years, has made a name for himself through his online writings. Vulgar, rich, drunk and without any inhibitions or morals, the Tucker Max of the Internet is a self-proclaimed asshole.
He writes funny and oh-so-obscene stories about the seemingly hundreds of girls he's slept with and the adventures he's gotten himself into when drunk. He claims the stories are true, and with his distinctive voice and shockingly hilarious essays, Max has found himself a legion of loyal fans. His site has been viewed more than 200 million times, and with pictures of himself plastered all over the site's pages, his recognition and popularity are rapidly growing.
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In January, Max released his third book, I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell, a collection of stories he wrote about drunken adventures he's accumulated.
In conversation, he comes off exactly like he does in his stories. He's quick-witted, self-aware and narcissistic enough to enjoy the celebrity he's achieved through his work.
"The personality in my writing is me," he said. "I usually only write about really funny or really outlandish events. It's a slice of the pie of who I am. Anyone who has any sort of intelligence can understand that my stories are about a guy who's 'on.' When people meet me, they understand that I'm not going to be drunk, screaming and under the table."
Max boasts that he's recognized a lot these days, and because of it, his life has changed.
"There's no question of the level of notoriety that I have," he said. "It's fundamentally changed the way I have to approach social situations. In some ways my life's the same way it ever was. In some ways I'm just a normal dude. Just a guy who likes to do what he does."
The perks of being an Internet celebrity have done nothing but boost his already inflated self-esteem.
"When I'm going to the bars and announce at what time I'm gonna be there, there'll be 10 girls who want to hook up with me and 30 dudes who want to buy me a shot or call me out or whatever," he said.
Through it all, though, he remains very self-aware of the changes in his life.
"It's especially weird for me because I didn't become famous in a normal way," he said. "If you're a star athlete, fame kind of builds up throughout your life. If you're an actor, there's a whole media system designed to make you famous. I took a pretty unique route to fame."
The MTV series "True Life" followed Max around on one of his nightclub adventures. While he boasts of his ability to pick up women, by the end of the show he's belligerently drunk, vomiting in the street and nowhere close to a sexual conquest. He recounts this experience in one of his online writings, "Tucker Ruptures Appendix, Hilarity Ensues," where he claims the reason he failed to pick up women was because during the filming he felt as if his insides were being stabbed. The day after the filming he went to the emergency room to find out his appendix had ruptured.
The discrepancy between the Tucker Max of the printed word and the Tucker Max of the real world might never be known. He said he's not any different from the average guy, it's just that he writes popular stories about his adventures.
"Picture yourself, just taller and with no morals. Now add alcohol. Is it that hard to imagine my life?" he said.
He said his life has become weird beyond comparison since he has gained celebrity status.
"I mean, like three years ago when I put the site up, I was well into triple digits with girls," he said. "That's pretty good for a 20-something guy. Now, I can't even tell you the last time I went out and hit on a girl who didn't know who I was. I don't hit on girls anymore because girls come to me now. Don't get me wrong, not every girl that sees me recognizes me. But it's basically like almost being a like a minor league rock star. It's ridiculous."
Boastful and obnoxious, Max, now 30, has found success by doing the things he loves. He has several reasons why people should buy his book.
"Because it's funny, because it's a good read, because it's the best thing published this year," he said.
