From beauty, privilege and pain, 23-year-old Maya Gabeira is a burgeoning big wave temptress blurring the lines between fear and love.Feeding off temerarious swells reason can only guess is rooted in an inestimable about of courage that walks that fine line between bravery begging at sanity. Seemly reckless, stop, this isn’t the typical making of a big wave hedonist.
At 14 years old, Maya was just another hell-raising teenager on the streets of Rio De Janeiro. The daughter of a well-known fashion designer and an iconic politician, she grew up privileged but tormented by her parents’ divorce when she was 11. After a period of drinking, smoking and adolescent rebellion, she discovered surfing. And while her infatuation with the sport was immediate, her ability to actually do it was not.
What she did have was hell-bent determination, collateral to travel, and the ideal tow-in partner and mentor Carlos Burle. 5 years later, Maya has superceded the sport’s expectations. She has won four consecutive Billabong XXL Big Wave awards and an ESPY; she is arguably the most well rounded female big wave surfer in the world.
