About Maria Souza

Maria Souza was born in Recife, Brazil. As a child Maria trained competitively in gymnastics until she fell in love with surfing at age 13. She travelled the world surfing and then settled on the North Shore of Oahu to build her big wave surfing skills. Maria was the first woman ever to tow-in to the powerful waves of Peahi, Maui, also known as "Jaws". She moved to Maui when the sport of tow-in was born. In Maui she gave birth to her daughter Bela. And soon after the birth of Bela, Maria began to train hard again for tow-in surfing. Maria, along with Andrea Moeller, finished first on the first ever stand-up paddle channel crossing in 2005, 2006, amd 2008, a 7-hour crossing.

Maria went to college for marketing and she designs her own line of swimwear. She practices tow-in surfing, foil surfing, windsurfing, kiteboarding, Hawaiian canoe, longboarding, tandem surfing and stand-up paddle. She teaches surfing, longboarding, kitesurfing, windsurfing, and stand-up paddling. She is also a personal trainer for athletes worldwide.

Big Mahalo to Maria's family and close friends for their constant support. Big Maholo to Issak Torrell and Upcountry Fitness for their personal training sponsorship.

Her goal is to keep learning and studying so she can continue to live her dream and enrich the lives of others.

 

CERTIFICATIONS

• National Academy of Sports Medicine
• NASM Personal Trainer
• Paul Check's - Swiss Ball Training,
• High Performance Core Training
• IKO - Kiteboard Instructor
• Thai massage - Lomi Lomi
• Yoga - Hatha, Asthanga
• Meditation Visualization
• Nutrition - Metabolic Typing Diet
• Spinning Certified
• Pilates
• Associate Degree Marketing & Business
• PADI, Certified Scuba Diving
• Lifeguarding and Waterfront CPR / AED
• First Aid, Nurses Aid