Topeka teen gets to meet Jack Black

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - A Topeka teen with a rare neuro-muscular disease is reliving his experience after getting the chance to meet one of his favorite celebrities.

Max was born with Friedreich Ataxia a rare inherited disease that causes progressive damage to your nervous system and movement.

In 2021 Max was granted a wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“The first wish that they had offered to us was to go to the Mario Brother’s premier to meet Jack Black but Max was like I want to spend actual time with him and we didn’t think that we would be able to. So Max said no and then we got the call that Jack wanted to play video games with max,” says Max’s Dad, Jarrod Guth.

A few weeks after that call the family was flown out to California to meet the star.

“They had a gaming truck, so we just loaded into the gaming truck and they had all the screens there and everything and that’s kinda when Jack came in. I saw him coming in but Max had his back turned and so once he heard his voice you could see his eyes get really big,” says Jarrod.

The family says Black connected with Max like they were old friends.

“The first thing Jack said when he showed up he said thank you for choosing me and I knew right then when he said that we had a good person that we came to see and he’s everything like his personality on screen and even better,” says Jarrod.

“He was very funny. He was actually more funny than we thought. He made it seem like he was very lovable. I would never trade that experience for anything else,” says Max.

Max got a chance to play video games with Black for 3 hours. Black even ordered the family pizza.

They talked about their favorite movies, gaming and even had a lip sync battle together.

“We got to sing Peaches, well lip sync it, which was really fun. I thought I put 100% effort into that lip sync but compared to him I only did like 50%,” says Max.

The family says Black has no idea what kind of impact he made on their lives.

“I would say thank you because it’s really a highlight of these kids’ lives and an experience they’ll never forget. This is something they don’t have to do. They want to do this and they want to give back and I think it just speaks so much to the character of celebrities that take a couple of hours out of their day to hang out with these kids,” says Tara Moeller, Max’s mom.

Max says one of his goals is to grow his YouTube Channel. Jack Black is even one of his subscribers now.

To subscribe to Max’s YouTube Channel, click here.

Copyright 2023 WIBW. All rights reserved.