Who is MAI?

MAI is the version of me that embodiment gave permission to become. A version that knows she can get what she wants.

What started as a sport quickly became much more. Surfing gave me confidence, purpose, creativity, and a deeper trust and connection to both myself and nature during a time when I needed it most.

Somewhere along the way, it taught me to stop asking for permission and start pursuing the things I truly wanted. It wasn’t immediate, and I wasn’t fully aware of the journey it was taking me on. But something in me knew. It kept pulling me back to the ocean day after day.

The ocean changed everything.

The simple act of standing up on a board and riding a wave reconnected me with a feeling I hadn’t experienced so strongly since childhood: pure joy. A state of flow. A sense of wonder, freedom, and connection to something larger than myself.

Something alive, always moving, always changing.

The ocean.

"The ocean is an alive loving being. To be able to be athletic in it and enjoy its fruits it's pure bliss. Every day you can go to the ocean and feel reborn."

It hasn't been always there for me.

I had to find my way to it.

I was born disconnected from nature, from life's source, and from my body, as many of us who grew up in an urban, Westernised context were. While I have immense gratitude for the life I've lived, I also recognise the limitations it imposed.

Growing up, my personal development focused almost exclusively on material achievements: getting better grades, becoming more productive, and learning how to monetise my skills to secure a good job. In this context, there was little room for emotions, inspiration, creativity, intuition, or personal expression. These were qualities to admire in the abstract rather than something to actively pursue, embody, and discover every single day. As a child with big dreams, no one taught me how to pursue them, and I ended up feeling suffocated and paralysed by the weight of my own aspirations. I grew up believing that passion and talent were divine gifts reserved for a fortunate few, rather than our innate essence waiting to be uncovered.

The ocean helped me wash away everything I had learned that never truly belonged to me. In the ocean, I was allowed to feel my body without needing it to perform or be productive. In the ocean, my body could simply be. In the ocean, I was allowed to simply exist.

Surfing became the medium that allowed me to spend hours in that space.

How can I create more of this feeling in my life?

I AM MAI was born from that desire.

The brand creates feminine, functional surfwear designed to move with you in the water and support the way you want to feel.

Every piece is thoughtfully designed in small runs, with a focus on fit, comfort, and creating something that feels as good to wear as it looks.

"I now believe that every dream I carry exists for a reason, and that I can trust myself to bring it to life."

- MAITY.

I AM MAI is what I choose to share with the world. It is my way of honouring my life's choices, my passions, and the profound sense of wellbeing that surfing has brought into my life.

But the ocean and surfing were only the beginning.

They didn't just teach me how to surf. They taught me how to trust myself.

Now, whenever something truly calls me—whether it has anything to do with surfing or not—I pay attention. I've come to believe that the dreams you feel in your gut, the ones you feel in your body before your mind can explain them, are there for a reason.

It's as if something inside is quietly saying,

"This matters. Trust yourself. Go."