A few familiar faces joined motor yacht Bravado in Barcelona, Spain for the Season 10 premiere of Below Deck Mediterranean, including deckhand Max Salvador. Despite his shocking confession to Captain Sandy Yawn in Season 8 that he “might leave” with just two and a half weeks left on charter, Sandy decided to give him a second chance for Season 10 —but she wasn’t letting that moment go easy.
“You’re not gonna wanna leave, right?” she jokingly asked him as the two greeted each other in the Sept. 29 episode. He assured her he was “ready.”
In a September 26 interview with The Daily Dish, Sandy opened up about working with Max again. “Max is passionate. Max is French. I love Max and the passion he brings,” she said.” Max is a very different human being than he was the other season. He’s done a 180. I’m like, ‘Who are you?’ I like this Max. Very different Max. “
What happened with Max Salvador on Below Deck Med Season 8?
When Max made his Below Deck Med debut in Season 8, Episode 3, he admitted, “I have been fired [from] all the jobs since I’m 18,” but claimed he was “misunderstood.” But when his work ethic was questioned throughout the season, he had no problem saying goodbye.
“Finally!” he shouted in his Season 8 finale confessional. “Freedom! Liberty!”
But flash forward to Season 10, and Max claimed he’d seen the error of his ways and returned to “showcase his growing maturity,” according to an announcement for the new season.
“I was in Bali for a year, because [Season 8], you know, my energy was there, but my motivation was on the edge,” he told Sandy.
He added the secret to his change of heart and work ethic came from hypnosis.
“In Bali, I discovered hypnosis. Like a snap, everything changed,” he said in his confessional interview. “It blew my mind how powerful it was like for me to go to his new age of inner peace. I’m the new Max. I’m the new brand.”
He assured Sandy his “devotion is to the maximum [level] now.”
Captain Sandy Yawn reacts to Max Salvador’s work ethic on Below Deck Med Season 10
When the Bravado crew found themselves temporarily without a bosun just hours before the first charter, Sandy asked Max to help lead the only other other deckhand on board: Christian Trimino.
“I’m a natural leader. I like to go like rude, rough at the beginning,” Max said in the Sept. 29 episode. “And I want to lead with fear.”
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Although Max exclaimed, “Let’s do it for Captain Sandy!” Christian didn’t approve of his leadership style.
“The guy has more experience than me,” Christian admitted. “But, it’s like he really, really wants to be the boss. I mean, we’re in the same position, mate. You’re a freaking deckhand as well.”
But Sandy approved of the new and improved Season 10 Max, telling him at the end of Day 1, “I’m impressed. You came back a changed man.”
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What can viewers expect from Below Deck Med Season 10?
Besides returning crew members Captain Sandy and Max, Aesha Scott is back as chief stew. Season 9 deckhand Nathan Gallagher also returns after being promoted to bosun for Season 10. Viewers can expect to see top-of-the-line hospitality from the crew as they navigate some tricky charter guests with the “vibrant energy and artful cityscapes of Barcelona” serving as their backdrop, according to an announcement for the show.
Aesha teasingly promoted the new season on her social media on Sept. 20, posting a photo of her with new stews Victoria “V” SanJuan and Kizzi Kitchener, and captioning it, “Ten days until we air and I can’t wait to see you there” with three blowing kiss emojis.
Don’t miss Aesha debuting her stunning engagement ring to Below Deck Med producers.
