Mataio and I met some years back briefly, and via the magic of social media we have kept in touch. I have watched as he has taken on every watercraft that is wind or wave propelled. He is without doubt ‘the master waterman’. A man as comfortable in the water as on dry land. As you will read it is his life’s passion. Mataio is Tahitian, and I have left his answers as he wrote them, if they are a little difficult to understand try reading with a French accent and all will become clear!
Tell us a little about you – where you are from, how you got into so many water sports and why? Your family, wife and kids, work?
Hi Steve, I just wanted to say thank you for reaching out to me to do this interview. As for your question: I have the life that I have always dreamed of. In the past I have had many jobs, most of which were a means to an end to help me surf. Now I am lucky enough to surf and get a pay check for it. My main sponsor is RRD, they sponsor my SUP, wind, kite, and clothing, which is a waterman's dream sponsor. I live with my girlfriend and my 18months lil mermaid called Malia in Papara, Tahiti.
Everyone I know who knows you describes you as a waterman – what does it mean to be a waterman?
I love that simple description, « The one who works or lives on the ocean » A man who lives, breathes and sleeps the ocean life. Also the one who understand it and know how dangerous like the mountain it can be.
Have you always lived in Tahiti?
After a very special childhood, travelling and living in different countries, from France to Vanuatu and Mauritania in Africa, I arrived at French Polynesia when I was 18, directly to Tubuai island before moving to Tahiti when I was 21 to go to the university. I never left Tahiti since this day.
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