📍Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1987 – 2004“Maya Gabeira was born in Rio de Janeiro in April 1987 and grew up in Ipanema, the famous beach neighbourhood between the lagoon and the Atlantic, with the Two Brothers mountains at the end of the beach. Her father, Fernando Gabeira, was a journalist, writer and politician, and her mother, Yamê Reis, a fashion designer. Funnily, she has said, her family did not much like the beach, even though they lived in Ipanema. She was an asthmatic child, but at about thirteen she changed schools and made friends with a group of boys who were all surfers, and their love for the sport got into her heart. She started surfing in the waves of Ipanema and Arpoador, often the only girl in the water, determined to keep up with the boys. She fell in love with big waves, and at seventeen she left Rio to chase waves around the world, living in Australia and Hawaii and working jobs to pay her way. She became the leading female big-wave surfer of her generation, winning several big-wave awards. In 2013 she suffered a terrible wipeout at Nazaré, in Portugal, and nearly drowned, but she came back after years of recovery, and in 2018 and again in 2020 she set the world record for the largest wave surfed by a woman, at Nazaré. She has campaigned for women's recognition in big-wave surfing and for ocean protection, and she has written about her journey. Rio and Ipanema are proud of the girl who learned to surf with the boys at Arpoador.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
🛰️ Satellite view · © Google