Schneider was raised in Woodstock, New York. He began performing at age three and acquired his first agent at the age of 14. Schneider was a swing
understudy in the Broadway musical
13 covering 4 roles in 2008 and 2009, and modeled with
Madonna for an international
Dolce & Gabbana campaign. He was the 2010
YoungArts Theater Winner, and released his debut
extended play First Encounters that year. In 2012, Schneider co-wrote the song "Show You How to Do" with Ben Charles for the Disney series
Shake It Up (2010). He portrayed Zander in the
Nickelodeon TV series
How to Rock and also co-wrote a song for the show, "Last 1 Standing" with Matt Wong and
Claire Demorest, which he sold to the show—the song featured in two episodes of the series. Schneider also starred in the Nickelodeon original film
Rags, in the lead role as Charlie Prince. Later that year, he toured with
Victoria Justice on her
Make It In America Tour, and co-wrote the song "Standing in China" for
Cody Simpson's debut studio album
Paradise. Schneider featured on two tracks from
Hoodie Allen's debut album
People Keep Talking in October 2014. In February 2015, he released an album titled
NWL. Originally planned to be an EP titled
The Nothing Without Love EP, the album was funded by donations through
Kickstarter. Its first single, "Nothing Without Love", was originally released together with an accompanying music video on May 21, 2013. The singer's 2014 single "Mug Shot", also included on the album, was his first to be released under the stage name Max. Schneider has since gone by Max musically because he "[wants the name] to be more of a vehicle for the music". On February 19, 2015, it was announced that Max had signed with DCD2 Records and would be releasing new music under the label. Throughout June, he toured with
Fall Out Boy,
Wiz Khalifa, and Allen on the Boys of Zummer Tour. The album ''
Hell's Kitchen Angel, his first under DCD2, followed in April 2016. It featured the singles "Lights Down Low" and a "Young Pop-God" by GQ''—the former later earned double platinum certifications in the United States and Canada. Max became the lead singer of a new soul group called Witchita, formed with
Tim Armstrong, that same month. The group's first single, "Mrs Magoo", was released via
Hellcat Records on April 21. In June, he was picked as
Elvis Duran's
Artist of the Month and appeared on
NBC's
Today show, hosted by
Kathie Lee Gifford and
Hoda Kotb, where he performed the single "
Gibberish". Max released the collaboration single "Team" with
Noah Cyrus in 2018. During the summer of 2019, Max's new single "
Love Me Less", featuring
Quinn XCII, reached the top 20 at Top 40 Radio. Max was named an iHeart 2019 Best New Pop Artist nominee, and labeled by
Billboard as a number one Emerging Artist. Since then,
Love Me Less has been certified Gold in the US and Canada.
the Today Show, and
Live with Kelly and Ryan. In 2020, he released "Missed Calls" with Hayley Kiyoko, and featured on the mixtape
D-2 by Korean artist
Agust D, the solo moniker of
Suga of the South Korean boy band
BTS. His third studio album,
Colour Vision, was released on September 18, 2020. On 16 February 2024, Max released his fourth studio album titled
Love in Stereo. In October 2024, the song "I'll Be There" was released by South Korean singer
Jin, which Max co-wrote and co-produced. ==Personal life==