Max Styler says he was close to leaving dance music and becoming a ghost producer before advice from his then-girlfriend, now wife, prompted him to make music he personally enjoyed and that audiences wanted to dance to. That change helped revive his career, turning the California-born DJ and producer into a prominent emerging figure in the genre, with releases on major dance labels and appearances at leading festivals.

On 7 August, Styler released his six-track EP, *I Don’t Think I Can Stop*, through Nu Moda, the label he founded last October. Since 2022, he has signed tracks with Spinnin’ Records, John Summit’s Experts Only and Solomun’s Diynamic, and has played Lollapalooza, Coachella, Ibiza and Tomorrowland; he is particularly known for extended DJ sets lasting four hours or more. His interest began in San Luis Obispo, where he discovered dance music through SoundCloud, learnt Ableton independently and secured an opening slot for Above & Beyond at 17 after persistently sending music to a local promoter.