Braiden Maither does not surf for a living. But surfing is his life, despite it being nearly taken from him. At 18, he was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a rare arthritis that can, over time, cripples the spine to the point where one can’t even walk. That’s what the doctors thought would happen to Braiden.
But the goofyfoot from Maui is stubborn as well as talented. He battled the condition and other injuries to stay in the water. The 29-year-old just dropped a self-made surf part filmed over the past year on Maui and Fiji. Whether it’s stubbornness or just an unapologetic love of surfing, we can get behind a grassroots charger like this.
Braiden Maither/YouTube
“It’s funny how you hit a crossroads from your mid to late 20s, where you’re still trying hard, making parts, trying to get clips, but you’re not making money on surfing,” Braiden said. “You’ve stacked up injuries, got businesses at home, relationships to manage, and all the responsibilities of living a normal life. And you’re still stuck in your head thinking about the next clip you’re going to get. Even though it feels like you’re over the hill.”
Hence, the title of the project: “Over the Hill.” But old habits die hard. Braiden still gets after it, particularly at punchy left wedges or wide open tubes rolling through Cloudbreak. Most of the Maui sessions are filmed by his sister, who proved to be a steady hand. “I pay her pennies on the dollar for how good her work is,” Braiden said.
To pay the bills these days, Braiden runs a food truck with his fiancée and operates a surf school in the summer. He spent time in the editing bay, cutting and pasting all the clips himself. A pure passion project, funded on his own dime. It’s not hi-fi cinema, but it’s damn fun, just the way he likes it.
Related: First-Time Eddie Invitee Got Warmup Reps at Pumping Jaws