Meet Max and Joseph McNamara: 'The Boys' of Palm Beach

After nearly a decade working with a medical escort company, Joseph McNamara and Max McNamara started Sky Cap Corp because they saw the need for a travel agency dedicated entirely to medically urgent travel planning. Here, they discuss the stylish Palm Beach social scene, philanthropy and Sky Cap Corp.

Meet Max & Joseph McNamara

First off, it is wonderful to interview you both. Many of our readers and residents of Palm Beach see you both about town dressed like you came off a runway, however, clearly, you are not just flash and fashion, but both of you possess enormous substance and philanthropic passions. Tell us about being residents of Palm Beach since 2015 and then having the pandemic change your trajectory into the charity, philanthropy and social scene in Palm Beach.

Thank you, Frank! We moved to this area in 2015 from Lake Worth simply because we loved the area. Our house was built in 1926 and we love the Mizner style of the old homes in this area. Before the pandemic we really didn’t spend much time getting to know or explore our community. Our main office is located in Manhattan and before the pandemic we would travel back and forth to NY several times a month routinely.

COVID was awful, especially from our side of the medical industry, but it did give us a chance to slow down enough to actually explore where we live. Zoom became the new norm and we didn’t have to travel so much. That is when we really started to meet other locals and get involved with many of the local charities, something that we had been wanting to do for years.

Prior to that most of our friends were located in New York, and the majority of events that we attended were business or fashion related and also located in NY. Now most of our time is spent in Palm Beach, and we are both happy to say that most of our closest friends are locals. It’s a big change for us, but something that we wouldn’t trade for anything. We love our life here.

Talk to us a little bit about your company, Sky Cap Corp, which blends business and also encompasses your passions for helping others.

We started Sky Cap Corp in 2011 and we specialize in medical repatriation. We operate 24/7, 365 days a year, globally. If you are traveling and you become sick or injured, we are the ones who work behind the scenes with your insurance company to get you home whether it be commercially, private, or air ambulance.

Because of the nature of our business, we see a little bit of everything and always knew that philanthropy would be a huge part of our future, especially charities that are health related. It’s difficult to see some of these cases and not feel compelled to do more. I think philanthropy came naturally to us because assisting others in need has truly been the bulk of both of our lives for more than a decade.

What are a few of the charity organizations that you feel particularly passionate about and are working with for the 2023–24 season?

We support a lot of the local charities, but if we had to mention a few that have become near and dear to us, we would have to say Cancer Alliance of Help & Hope, American Heart Association, The Lois Pope Life Foundation, American Humane, and St. Ann Place immediately come to mind. All wonderful organizations that we would highly recommend to anyone.

You two, have been married for seven years and have been together for 13 years. Can you tell us the secret of such a successful relationship and business partnership? All of us would love to know your secret!

It is difficult to feel like we are qualified to give relationship advice because it honestly does not feel like we have been together that long, which is probably a good sign. I think for us, most of our success as a couple has come from our business, in the sense that for over a decade we have constantly been forced to work together through difficult situations professionally because that is just the nature of our business.

If I had to give anyone advice, it would be to work at your issues as if the only option was to find a solution. If you are truly committed to someone, your commitment should shine brightest in times of distress. That is when your partner needs you the most. We both love each other and I know that in a perfect world that would be all you need, but the truth is, no matter how much you love someone you still have to put the work in.

What do you find special about the Palm Beach’s and the community in particular?

Palm Beach is a very special, unique place and there is no way anyone could explain why it is so special in only a few sentences, but I’ll do my best. Palm Beach is both frozen in time and ahead of the times. It blends the best of everything together and does so with a style that is its own. Everything from the architecture, the fashion, the people … everything is so unapologetically Palm Beach.

You cannot mistake Palm Beach for anywhere else in the world. It has its own energy and its own vibe and we both fell in love with it instantly. It also doesn’t hurt that most of our favorite people live here and no matter where you are in the world, the company you keep will always be what is most important in life. We love our PB family.

So, most of our residents see a fabulous couple dressed in beautiful designer clothing and carrying amazing accessories, the most notable of which in your signature are these incredible designer handbags, Gucci Prada, Louboutin! I am now going to give our readers the “Scoop” of the 2024 Palm Beach season! Tell our readers, as you told me the secret about those handbags!

Ah yes … the big secret! As much as I don’t want to break anyone’s heart, those lovely handbags are actually mobile offices. Max would probably still carry his handbags either way, but because of our business, we truly are always working and we have to have our laptops, work phones, etc. with us at all times.

If I had a dollar for every time someone picked up one of our bags while admiring it and immediately had a shocked look on their face when they realized how heavy they are, I could probably buy another Birkin with that money. As much as we both love fashion, that part of our wardrobe is a necessity. They are very beautiful offices, but offices nonetheless.

And as Max would say, we use them more than we use our actual offices so it’s okay that he personally has hundreds at this point (rolls eyes).

Finally in one or two sentences. Max and Joseph McNamara are:

Hmm … Max and Joseph in two sentences? Ironically, we don’t need two sentences: The Boys. In Palm Beach, we are simply known as “The Boys.”