Growing up in rural Michigan has its perks. There’s trees to climb, lawns to mow, wood to chop and long rolling dirt roads for heading nowhere. Max’s first custom build was a backyard fort, ah the golden days. After graduating from Michigan State with a Packaging Science Degree, he packed his bags and headed west… to build… trails? Trailwork in National Forests turned into a deep love for long days outside covered in dust and dirt and nights spent stirring up some questionable canned goods around a campfire and sleeping outside. Somewhere along the way, building trails and bridges in the woods turned into remodeling historic homes. Soon he set his sights on ski bumming and dedicated a couple years to the Mt. Baker parking lot. He heard whispers of a company that paid you to build forts… in trees. After sending a portfolio of past projects and builds to Nelson Treehouse and Supply, he got a job traveling the country building custom luxury treehouses with good folks who became fast friends. It was on the road that he mastered his craft and learned the importance of good wood and attention to detail. Fast forward 6 years and he found himself with 20 acres up a dirt road headed nowhere that he’d call home in the Methow Valley.

Between ski bumming and building things there was also some island time in the San Juans. It was there that he and his wife lived in a run down cabin… with a dilapidated sauna they brought back to life. They quickly fell in love with the art of sauna and have built one in every place they’ve lived since. When Max found himself ready to settle in and leave life on the road he knew he wanted to continue to build creative wild things and Sundog Sauna was born!

When you choose to build a custom sauna with Sundog Sauna, you’re not just saying ‘yes’ to Sauna (which really is life-changing), you’re also supporting a lifelong dream of building creative spaces designed for connecting, relaxing and reviving.