SANTA CRUZ — Do you think it’s intimidating to ride a 3-inch-thick piece of fiberglass across the face of a stunning wave so big and powerful it can smash a body into a million pieces? Try to put pen to paper as a first time author.
Iconic big wave surfer Maya Gabeira, a seven-time World Surf League Big Wave Award winner and two-time world record holder, has done both. And she will tell her story on Wednesday at 6 pm at the Santa Cruz Bookstore, when she presents her first children’s book “Maya and the Beast”.
The book is a kind of autobiography. “I am very connected to it. It comes from within, from the heart,” Gabeira said.
“It’s a way of sharing some of the lessons, the history, the challenges, the fears, with the kids, so of course it’s the story of my life, but it’s changed in a way that the kids can relate to it. and keep getting the message of resilience and never give up,” he said. “I adjusted a few things to make it more magical. But in a way surfing in the ocean for me is magical, so it wasn’t that hard.”
The book is nearly 1,000 words long, a high word count by most picture book standards, and features illustrations by Ramona Kaulitzki. Working through the Sumba Foundation, Gabeira read her book to children ages 2-16 in Indonesia and feels it was well received. She thinks it’s a great read for kids ages 4-10.
“And the teachers loved it,” he said. “I feel like it’s relatable to a lot of ages, but of course my main goal was to make sure young kids could get the message.”
The protagonist, a kind of superhero, turns out to be the author.
“A super heroine who is not perfect, who grows up with asthma, who has fears, who is challenged, who doubts herself,” Gabeira said. “Superheroes are human; they are super but they are human. So we have all these things that we have to overcome to achieve our goals and our dreams. That is what she wanted to share with the children. The road to the top was not easy, it was blocks and falls, but (I) always got up and did not give up.
Gabeira is featured in the 2021 documentary “100 Foot Wave” on HBO Max, which features her nearly losing her life while attempting to ride Portugal’s infamous towering wave at Nazare. Three spinal surgeries and six years of rehabilitation later, Gabeira returned to the same waters and made history, riding a 68-foot wave in 2018 and a 73-foot wave in 2020.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, she lives very close to the port of Nazare in Portugal.
He experienced nerves in the water, and also in front of his computer.
“Oh yes,” she said. “They are very different nerves. Obviously, I’ve been training to deal with big wave surfing for the last 15 years, so there’s some kind of control; I know the way, I know what I’m going to face and I prepare for it. But writing my first children’s book, I was in the dark.
“It was all new. So it was very uncharted territory, different from waves, surfing and being an athlete. I was in a non-professional field and had never been trained for it, so it was a humbling creative experience full of ups and downs, with a team that helped me bring my vision to the world. But challenging, very challenging.”
By writing the book, he has impressed his colleagues. She counts Santa Cruz big wave surfer Peter Mel as one of his fans.
“Maya has been through a lot,” Mel said. “She knew dark experiences and came back. She has shown a lot of strength. It’s a great way to share that story and inspire women. Is awesome.”
Said Nat Young of Santa Cruz, who has a daughter: “I’ll have to check it out. She’s a loader, so that’s cool.”
Gabeira said she fell in love with surfing through a boyfriend at school when she was 13 or 14 years old. She joined a surf school to gain proficiency in the water so she could join him and his friends. He first surfed Mavericks near Half Moon Bay when he was 19 years old.
She said she hopes the book will inspire youth.
“They are the future,” Gabeira said. “What we start feeding them now is what they will take for life. It is such an important phase in their lives to bring inspiring stories and reassure them that they must follow their dreams, that they can be anything and do anything.”
Getting published was rewarding, but there is another stage that makes writing rewarding.
“I think the achievement comes when you read it and when you see the reaction of the children. For me, that’s where it really is,” she said.
IF YOU GO
Book launch by surfer Maya Gabeira in SC
Where: Holy Cross Bookstore
When: Wednesday, 6 p.m.