MASUIMI MAX TRIBUTE/4
PETER W CZERNICH founder and photographer, Marquis
I COULDN’T BELIEVE the sad news I woke up to on January 26. Masuimi Max was one of the models who impressed me most over the years. Her incredible power, fantastic poses and mimics, her presence on stage.
I was looking forward to meeting her in Las Vegas in Spring, and shooting with her one more time. She was twice on the cover of Marquis, and she will always be remembered. Peter Czernich/Facebook
TISH MARIE dominatrix, latex and pin-up model
THIS IS SO very, very, sad. Masuimi was such a beautiful soul. Her energy was magnetic. She was one of the very first models I ever saw modelling latex. She was sooooo creative. Rest in paradise, love. Tish Marie/Facebook
TORTURE GARDEN Allen, Charlotte and the TG family
WE’RE SHOCKED AT the news of Masuimi Max passing. It’s hard to compute that such a strong and unstoppable life force who has been part of our world for so long has gone.
Truly one of a kind, you got 100 percent Masuimi Max every single time she stepped on a stage. She had that unique something — a way she owned space — that she brought to every show.
We sat in the office swapping memories from working and partying together — she was as much of a character offstage as on it.
Our archive is full of iconic images of her performing and modelling at Mass, Ministry of Sound, Brixton Academy — as well as TG tours and the Erotica shows we produced — going back to the early 2000s. And most recently, TG Las Vegas, the last time we hung out with her.
The world has lost someone special, and our thoughts are with all those that were close to her. Torture Garden/Facebook
ULORIN VEX
fetish model and artist
THANK YOU FOR all the inspiration, my Spider Lady Masuimi Max. I’m having such a hard time processing this and I’m not always the best with words.
She was the very definition of a trailblazer and icon. I was so enamoured with how expressive she was in photos I first saw in the early 2000s.
I remember studying pictures of her in a Marquis magazine she was on the cover of, and copying her make-up for a photoshoot, because I did not have a clue how to do make-up back then, and she was the alt model whose vibe I felt most drawn to.
Much later, when I started focusing on art instead, I loved sketching her facial expressions. When I saw a photo from her Spider Lady act, it was like a light-bulb moment in my brain for things I wanted to draw.
I wonder if I’d have even started my series of insect-creature-women in its current form without that. Ulorin Vex/Facebook
XRIS SMACK!
DJ and fetish event host
MASUIMI MAX, I’M shocked and heartbroken. I was looking forward to seeing you again soon in Las Vegas.
When I first met you in London in 2000, I knew you had a great energy and I wanted to showcase that at my SMack! event in New York. It started our 20-plus year friendship.
You were like no other. You always inspired me with your unbridled energy and passion. A chameleon. A muse. And you always kept it fun.
I always looked forward to the next time I would see you. Fetish Factory in Florida, Boston, Las Vegas Torture Garden, and so many more — our paths crossed countless times.
Every time you performed for us in New York at SMack! was special to me, from the 2004 Femme Fatale, Mischief and Mayhem to the final 20-Year Anniversary in 2016.
Your memory will continue to influence and inspire those who come after you. I miss you dearly. Rest In Peace, Goddess.
Xris SMack/Facebook
STEVE DIET GOEDDE photographer
I WAS IN shock and denial all day when I first heard the rumours of my good friend Masuimi Max‘s passing. I was hoping it was just a rumour that had gone wild, similar to the false death announcement of Julie Strain a few years back.
But man, this is hard to fathom. Masuimi and I met by chance in 1999 in Las Vegas at the International Lingerie Convention at the Tropicana. I was doing a weekend-long book signing with a sponsor, and she was a booth model for a local clothing designer across from me.
We quickly became friends, and our first photo shoot was an impromptu one outside the restroom area of the Convention Center. Because of her fun personality, the photos were goofy and spontaneous. I welcomed this attitude because it was who she was.
I managed to get a few ‘serious’ shots, one of which was published in my second book The Beauty of Fetish: Volume 2 (Edition Stemmle). It was this goofiness and her
uncanny ability to always know what a photographer wanted that made us a great fit creatively.
After each click of the shutter, she would somehow supernaturally adopt a completely different pose and attitude; and they were all good! We did our last shoots in 2014 (seems like only two years ago), and she was the same goofy person as the first time I met her.
We ended up working together for nearly 25 years, and she never disappointed. We have lost a very special one, and she certainly left an impact on the world and all of us who truly treasured her. RIP, my angel.
Since the tragic loss of Masuimi, I’ve had many inquiries for prints. I’ve created a new series of eight 4×5-inch mini-prints to celebrate her legacy. Proceeds go to the Masuimi Max Memorial Fund (detailed in John Feeney’s tribute above). Prints, signed by me and dated on the back,are $12 each.
Steve Diet Goedde/Facebook
Steve Diet Goedde Memorial Prints
MASUIMI IN MOTION by Steve Diet Goedde – the free-spirited soul many of us will remember
BELOW: TWO GALLERIES of larger versions (where available) of the images used throughout the above article. The images are displayed (as far as possible) in A-Z order of the first names of our tribute authors. Photographer credits are included where known.
CLICK/TAP on either preview to open gallery, then click/tap on any thumbnail to start slideshow
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