A Week at Adobe MAX 2025: My Journey as an Adobe Ambassador
I just got back from one of the most magical weeks of my creative life — Adobe MAX 2025 in Los Angeles. As an Adobe Ambassador, I had the honor of representing our creator community alongside hundreds of other artists, designers, storytellers and renowned brands from around the world.
My longtime producer, German, traveled all the way from Argentina to join me. We spent Monday through Friday together — creating, connecting, and capturing every moment we could.
I flew in on Sunday October 26, 2025 via Delta Airlines, and Adobe hosted us at the InterContinental Hotel (IHG) in Downtown LA. On my way to the hotel, I felt I had arrived at “Adobeland”! I had never seen LA in this way with Adobe’s design, logo and the eye-catching message “Made to Create” everywhere.
The moment I stepped into the lobby, I was struck by how colorful and vibrant everyone looked — creators from every corner of the United States but also Asia, Europe, other parts of North America and South America. The energy was electric.
Everyone was smiling and excited for the week to kick off. It was not difficult to spot Adobe creators just by the way they dressed and walked. In comparison to many who attended the event, I’m a “small” creator by the size my followers (around 50K combined). Not only did I not feel judged by many of the much bigger and even mega creators, I felt right at home with all of them. Watching them create content on the fly, talking about their business success and struggles was relatable and invaluable in so many ways.
I don’t often write these reflective journals. We come home, get busy with our work and everyday life, these moments are rarely captured. But these experiences have always been the most helpful for me as a creative entrepreneur. I hope you are able to spot a thing or two that might help you on your journey too.
The Stay: InterContinental Hotel (IHG) in Downtown LA
The hotel was beautiful, with a sleek gym called Attitude, where I squeezed in a quick workout after the long flight. There I met one of the first Adobe Ambassadors in person, Saunak Shah, who didn’t hesitate to show me how to use a few unfamiliar fitness equipments.
Later that evening, I met up with my longtime friend Steven Thompson, his wife Kim and their son for dinner at Joey DTLA. Steven and I met back in 2017 through Seth Godin’s altMBA, so it was truly special to finally meet in person after eight years of regular catchup and mastermind on Zoom.
Monday: Adobe Ambassador Day
Monday was our official Adobe Ambassador kickoff. This was a private mini-conference from 8:30 a.m. to around 2 p.m.
We gathered at big round tables with coffee, breakfast, and playful touches that brought out our inner kids: colorful pens, stickers, name tags, and gadgets everywhere. Many ambassadors captured content using their smart phones, cameras, DJI gear from every angle. This inspired me to purchase my first Insta 360 X5 during Adobe Max.
We also met Adobe executives and creative leads who gave us a glimpse into the company’s future through a panel discussion. Then we broke into collaboration groups and began co-creating short videos, designs, and experiments together.
I got to meet Rob Balasabas, who I first knew from TubeBuddy and now head of partnerships at Uscreen. It’s always amazing to meet online friends in real life and realize they’re just as kind and passionate as you imagined.
By mid afternoon, German had arrived. We had a quiet room service dinner before I headed out to a private creator party hosted by Adobe. Hundreds of creators gathered to mingle, dance, and connect.
One of the highlights: Adobe’s collaboration with Coca-Cola, where we could print our names and photos on a Coke can. It became one of the most popular experiences of the night!
I also met zoeunlimited, a YouTuber I admire, and we ended up chatting for 20 minutes. After four years of consistent and high-quality content on YouTube, Zoe rose to over 3.4 million subscribers with a loyal following. Her content has evolved a few times and I love her current approach of breaking down pop culture from a marketing perspective. It’s brilliant, and a labor of love.
The private party was magical. I felt fully immersed — just soaking in the creativity, the music, and the joy.
Tuesday: Adobe Max Keynote, Magic and Inspiration in Hollywood
Tuesday kicked off with the official Adobe keynote, starting at 9 a.m. before an audience of over 10,000. The speaker lineup included:
- Shantanu Narayen, Adobe’s Chair and Chief Executive Officer
- David Wadhwani, President of Adobe’s Digital Media Business
- Ely Greenfield, Adobe Chief Technology Officer and SVP of Creative Products Group
- Paul Trani, Principal Director of Creative Cloud Evangelism at Adobe
- Danielle Morimoto, Group Design Manager at Adobe
Featured guest speakers who joined the stage to discuss partnerships included:
- Scott Silver, Vice President of Engineering at YouTube
- Eli Collins, Vice President of Google DeepMind
After the keynote session which ended around 1pm, German and I headed to the Creator Park, featuring many Adobe collaborations including Coca Cola, HomeDepot, Microsoft and others. We also took photos inside the TikTok booth.
We couldn’t spend all afternoon at the Creator Park because German and I got invited to something mysterious, a private PR media event in Hollywood at the Roosevelt Hotel. Before we head out to the event, we also wanted to publish a few articles related to the Adobe keynotes and a few new feature announcement right here on our blog.
We didn’t know what to expect at the media event, but it turned out to be a beautifully curated evening. A magician performed for a small group of about 40–50 creators, and German even got pulled on stage!
We also met Katelyn Chedraoui, AI reporter from CNET, part of the Ziff Davis family, where both German and I publish articles as Perspectives writer. Later that night, I found myself deep in conversation with Chris Do, founder of The Futur. We talked for almost two hours about creativity, community, and generosity. It was one of those unexpected encounters that leaves you changed.
We returned to the hotel around 11 p.m., completely exhausted — and completely inspired.
Wednesday: The Power of Firefly and the MAX Bash
Wednesday’s keynote featured two of my favorite creators: Mark Rober and Brandon B.
Brandon did something gutsy — he created a video live on stage using Adobe Firefly, in front of 10,000 people. Watching him work in real time was such a lesson in creativity, courage, and play.
After the keynote, we spent the afternoon continuing to explore the Adobe MAX Expo floor (aka Creator Park), which was massive. Booths from NVIDIA, TikTok, Microsoft, Home Depot, and Coca-Cola filled the space. There were tons of hands-on experiences — from T-shirt printing to designing iPhone wallets with Adobe Express. I even saw a “Puppy Activation” corner I sadly didn’t get to visit (maybe next year!).
That night was the big MAX Bash Party. Food was offered indoors at the Crypto Arena, and outdoor activities filled the courtyard outside of the Arena and Peacock Center.
The food options were limited, and honestly, by that point, many of us were starving. German and I grabbed what felt like mountains of sushi before taking a short break, thinking we’d leave early for dinner elsewhere. But something told us to go back, so we re-entered through the back courtyard and caught the live band performed by St. Paul & The Broken Bones.
It was not the music German and I expected, yet we both enjoyed it a great deal. They were phenomenal — soulful, high-energy, with amazing vocalists and guitarists. The music was unexpectedly perfect. We danced, laughed, took photos, and just lived in that moment. It was the best possible ending to the night.
Thursday: Art, Friends, and Farewell
On our final day, German and I treated ourselves to a proper breakfast at Sancouch Cafe in Downtown before heading back to the LA Convention Center. We picked up our printed merch — the Coca-Cola can for German, our custom Adobe Express iPhone wallet, and a T-shirt printed at the Microsoft booth.
We also completed the Adobe Passport experience, which felt like a creative scavenger hunt across the event — so fun and clever.
After that, we took an Uber to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). I brought along a copy of my mother Xiang Li’s art book to leave for the curator. Although I didn’t get to meet him this time, I had a wonderful time exploring the museum’s four floors.
The only disappointment was learning that all Chinese art pieces were temporarily put away due to renovations. I would have loved to see them. LACMA has over 4,000 years of Chinese history in its collection, which I plan to return for.
That afternoon, I finally met Nick Wolny from CNET, who joined us at the InterContinental’s 70th floor bar. We talked for over an hour, shared stories, took photos, and toasted with our favorite drinks and tea (for me, heh).
To close out the trip, German and I had sushi again — this time at a peaceful restaurant overlooking the LA skyline called Takami. It was a perfect, quiet end to a week that had been full of movement, creativity, and human connection.
Reflections: Why Adobe MAX 2025 Felt Different
What made Adobe MAX 2025 truly special wasn’t just the technology — it was the people. The ambassadors, the creators, the staff, the spontaneous conversations, and shared laughter.
It reminded me why I love what I do — storytelling, teaching, connecting people through creativity.
I also came home with a clear realization: I want to do more of this — to speak at more conferences, connect with high-quality communities, and continue helping creators grow, learn, and share their voices with the world.
German and I both look forward to many more years of Adobe Max together, and certainly the one coming up in Miami in 2026. We also want to attend and speak at events such as VidSummit and VidCon. More to come on this!
Thank you, Adobe, for making this possible.
Thank you to my producer German, and to every person who smiled, waved, danced, or talked with me that week. You reminded me what it means to belong in a global creative family. We are all Made to Create.