I met Marii @bstsurfguide years ago while we were both working at a sushi bar owned by Japanese sushi chef Miki Izumisawa. We were both surfers, but I had no idea Marii was such a standout in the water until Miki told me, “You should interview her.”
The interview was later published in DYLA Magazine, the online publication I launched after college. At the time, Marii was balancing competitive surfing, motherhood, and traveling between California and Japan with her young daughter by her side.
For a while, this article disappeared online, and for a minute I thought Marii had disappeared too. Not literally, just from my orbit. Then I tracked her down on social media and realized she was still out there living her life fully, still surfing, still smiling.
I’ve run into Marii a few times since then, including in San Miguel, Mexico. She now runs a surf guide business for Japanese travelers visiting California and Mexico, which feels like a perfect extension of who she’s always been.
The strangest part is reading this interview now and seeing references to her daughter as a baby. Today, she’s a teenager competing, winning trophies, and following in her mother’s footsteps.
Some interviews end up documenting more than a moment. They capture the beginning of the next generation.
