Maya Gabeira's Next Wave with the TAG Heuer Aquaracer
What do you love most about surfing, and how did you get started?
I started surfing a bit late – I must have been 13 or 14 years old. I started at my local beach called Ipanema, in Rio de Janeiro. Nobody in my family surfed, they are intellectuals – but my boyfriend at the time and my friends used to surf. So, I started going to the beach with them and I could not just stand or sit there and get a tan – it was too boring. I realised how much fun they had and how addicted they were to the sport called surfing.
I got interested and realised that the boys were not going to take any of their time to teach me. I had to quickly find a surf school in my neighborhood and that’s where I started. Months later, I transferred from surfing in the surf school to being able to join my boyfriend and all of our friends. That was when it became a lot of fun! I then left Rio when I was 17 to go to Hawaii to learn better English and of course, to surf.
You’ve set records for the largest wave surfed. What drives you and what’s your training routine like?
I would love to say that titles do not mean that much, but at the end of the day, they do. In big wave surfing, it is funny because we do not have a title that is immediately recognised as the best one in the field. From a young age, I dreamt of breaking a world record because I just thought that this was the universal stamp of excellence. Although it did not exist for women at the time, I dreamt of it. When I established the first one, it was already a dream come true and it meant a lot to me.
Breaking my own record was not something I really pursued or was thinking about. It was so hard the first time that I was not going to try and take that route again. So the second record was a different route. It is important for athletes to be able to have a stamp – something that allows people to understand that they have given their best and that they have come to the top. At the end of the day, sports are competitive, and we all want to be better than our opponents. So having two world records and reaching the top, like in 2020 with the biggest wave award, is very significant for me, a woman, in a very male dominated sport. Sometimes I still cannot believe it was me, although I am happy it was.
Regarding my daily routine, I have a gym at home, which I use quite often. I also do my pool training with my trainer three times a week, which is mostly breath holds for my lungs and how to survive in the water. I also practice mountain biking and a bunch of different sports in the ocean, such as foiling, kite surfing and wing surfing. I try to keep myself very active and do some specific things to really help me with big wave surfing.
What drove you to continue and get better after the mishap that you experienced in 2013?
It is an interesting experience to have – a near death experience, when you are young. I was 26 at that time and nearly drowned in the ocean in Nazaré. It left me traumatised because I was practicing my job, which was very tricky and it’s not like having a car accident. It was by choice. It was something that I had to really work on and decided years later that I still wanted to put myself in that position. It was a combination of being young, not having enough experience, craving for new accomplishments in a hurry, but somehow not being fully prepared and aware of what I was getting myself into.
That day, it was a very new wave in the big wave scenario so we exposed ourselves to a lot of risk. It ended up the way it ended and it was a miracle that I survived, which I truly feel lucky for. It is a very big experience that you would never wish to have, once you do, you’re glad it happened. It teaches you lessons that you do not choose to be taught, but that you do not want to give away. It was very important for my life and for myself and made me become the person that I am today. However, I do not know if I would choose to live through that again.
Who are some women you admire?
My mother. I admire my mother a lot. There are more and more women leading and changing the world in a great way. From leaders in political environments to athlete champions such as Naomi Osaka and so many others that I could name! I think that this is such an amazing time to be a woman, because we are being more and more represented in every single field. Representation is really becoming popular, and you can see women spreading everywhere.
What do you look for in a timepiece?
It has to be comfortable – that is my number one rule. In addition, I want it to feel and look good. These are two things that are important because sometimes it looks amazing, but you do not want to wear it because of comfort. For me, I need the combination of being super comfortable to cruise and to move, and also to look good.
Tell us about your relationship with TAG Heuer.
I always felt very connected to the slogan of TAG Heuer because of my sport. There is a lot of pressure linked to my sport and very risky consequences such as death. What translates very well to my discipline is not to crack under pressure. Also, I connect TAG Heuer with Formula One, giving me the sensation of speed and risk. It was a no brainer for me. Besides loving the product, it was simply the way that the brand positions itself and the individuals it supports, which is really aligned with what I do. Also, choosing my TAG Heuer for the day is like choosing a piece of jewellery. I can go from the green to the blue, and from the white to the black – I like to play with the colours, they are beautiful. It is really nice that what I use for surfing can also be used when I dress up for a dinner or an event. I think that’s luxury.
What is it about the TAG Heuer Aquaracer that you like?
What I love about the new model is that it went bigger without being heavier and thicker. Sometimes, I like to wear men’s watches, but they are just a little bit too big. My wrist is quite thin and small so it’s just a bit uncomfortable and I would go back to the Aquaracer thinking it could be a little bit bigger. I feel like the new one has gotten to the right size.
How do you most like to spend your time when you aren’t surfing?
I am quite busy, but I like walking my dogs a lot and taking care of them. I love that. I also love watching a good movie or series, and that’s what I do during my time off.
What’s next for Maya Gabeira?
Right now, I am looking forward to surfing in Indonesia and improving some technical aspects of my surfing. I was not able to do this trip last year, which I usually do every year, because of the pandemic. I really miss surfing this kind of waves. They are perfect, hollow and technical. It is very important for me that I surf this type of waves almost as a form of summer surf camp because it is complementary to big wave surfing and quite different from what I do in Nazaré. If I start with this base camp, as I like to call it, it puts me in a nice training transition for the next season. This time last year, we had a very strange big wave season with no competition. So, I am looking forward to starting now and really being able to build and have a strong season again next year.
