“Yes, having a hobby you´re really passionate about is awesome, but turning this hobby into your work might be way harder and less awesome than you’d expect. Don´t expect it to be only 100% fun — it won’t!”
Susi Mai is no stranger to the wind, water and adventure. To put it simply, she is one of the best and most inspirational kitesurfers in the world.
Beyond that, she is also constantly in pursuit of innovative and impactful projects such as the MaiTai Global events; exclusive kiteboarding camps for creative and visionary entrepreneurs in the TEDx style, which Susi organizes with VC and Angel Investor Bill Tai and guests like Richard Branson. Together with Branson and Felix Baumgartner they are now kickstarting a mind-blowing start-up competition for remarkable entrepreneurs. Find out more in the story below.
If not chasing the winds, traveling the world or striving to get the number of girls to outnumber boys on the water, Susi lives in the Dominican Republic, where she has a dog, a closet and her lovely family.
Epiclist: Let’s take a look back. When have you discovered your passion for kiteboarding?
Susi: When I was born, my parents, who were both windsurfers, were living part time in Germany and part time in southern Italy, where they ran a windsurfing school. For the first six years of my life we would spend the summer season down in Italy living in a trailer on the beach and then return to Germany in the winters where my dad shaped windsurf boards for the following season. We were total beach hippies!
The reason my dad chose this lifestyle was mainly because he lost one of his legs at the age of 17. He realized that you can never know what might happen in life. And so that’s the mindset I grew up with. My parents have been always very open about everything, telling me, “So you want to do this? Cool, just go for it!” I guess this was one of the biggest motivators to pursue my dreams, so thanks mom and dad!
Though my dad always tried to teach me windsurf, it never really grabbed me. In the same time, the kitesurfing scene was just about starting here in the Dominican Republic and the only thing you could see, were people trying to hold the kite, stand up, fall down, swimming back and forward. Everytime you crashed on a kite, your day was over! Everything looked very buggy back in the days! But when the first worldcup competition took place here in 2002, I was really inspired to see the real Pro´s in action, showing how it really looks like to kitesurf!
As I turned 18, someone opened a kite school here so me and my best friend quickly decided to check it out. Though everything was really tricky, we went back to the beach every day after school to go kiting. My dad shaped me a board and I borrowed gear from my boyfriend.
I was hooked and picked up new skills very quickly. After nine months the PKRA competition took place. I entered and came second, which was very surprising for me and everyone else. I really thought I’d come last but my dad said, “Who cares, its just about fun!” So I did. It went really well.
The next epic moment for me was winning my first King of the Air in Maui, which was considered one of the most prestigious events in kiteboarding. Afterwards everything went very quickly and after a year or so I joined the Cabrina team. I’ve been with them ever since!
Epiclist: What advice would you give to someone, who wants to commit fully to his or her passion, for example becoming a Kitesurfer?
Susi: You´ve just said one of the most important things: commitment. You need to really give 100%. Sometimes, people don´t realise the hard work behind it. Yes, having a hobby you´re really passionate about is awesome, but turning this hobby into your work might be way harder and less awesome than you’d expect. Don´t expect it to be only 100% fun — it won’t!
I’m not lying on the beach and surfing all the time I´m constantly organizing things and doing a lot of project management, which is an essential part of my daily work. Though dedication and hard work might bring you down, your commitment and passion will bring you through. You just have to believe in it!
Epiclist: Have you ever had a Plan B, if things didn’t work out with kitesurfing?
Susi: Most of my friends went to university after school, so first I was thinking about taking a year off just in case. Surprisingly, most of my friends quit university after a year or two and decided to do something else, so I felt kind of lucky, deciding to follow my own path and continue kiting.
Epiclist: Great story! Which goals and dreams do you pursue now on your own Epiclist?
Susi: I´ve started to build MaiTai together with Bill Tai, which is a big dream of mine. I´m the president of this non-profit, building an amazing community of successful entrepreneurs all over the globe who like action and taking risks in life. Just this year we organized nine events, raising nearly $2m for social good. And the events are really awesome!
Everyone and everything is so open minded, smiling as they kite and enjoy water and sports. There are no name tags or anything, so you never know if you’re kitesurfing, lunching or chatting with the Skype co-founder or one of the early Facebook employees. There are always people approaching us to pitch and launch their projects at one of the MaiTai events. This was really surprising in the beginning, but now it’s become an essential part of MaiTai.
Being surrounded by these people feels incredible. Bill is so passionate about tech and startups, so every time he talks, he shines. This is so inspiring for me. I guess becoming a successful entrepreneur myself with MaiTai and being involved more with the tech community is the biggest dream I’m pursuing right now.
Epiclist: What was your most scariest moment in life?
Susi: Once I almost landed in a restaurant, being pulled from my kite. That was scary. The other time I woke up in a hospital in Thailand after I tore my knee and heard the doctor telling me that I couldn’t kite for a whole year. I was so angry and frustrated. I thought my life was over. You know that kind of feeling, when you realize that everything you´ve worked for so hard is taken away from you. But I would never change it even if I could and now I can laugh about it.
Epiclist: Susi, thanks a lot for your time. You´re definitely a big inspiration for us and lots of girls out there. We can´t wait to follow your adventures on Epiclist and hopefully kitesurf together one day!
Susi is currently kickstarting the Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) is a unique competition, designed to find and fuel the world’s top emerging tech entrepreneurs and accelerate their success. Entrepreneurs enter for a chance to present LIVE on stage at semifinals at CES, and to pitch Sir Richard Branson at his Necker Island home, get infrastructure and investment to scale their companies. Find out more here.
Join other explorers on Epiclist and tell your own story!
If you liked reading this story with Susi Mai, please hit the recommend button below to suggest this story to other readers on Medium!
