Not Your Average Maui Ripper 

At first glance, Braiden Maither seems like yet another uber-talented Maui surfer. 

He excels in windy, rampy lefts, prefers surfing by said lefts by himself, dreams of Indonesia, and if he won the lottery he’d go in on NFTs and Bitcoin (and use the rest to make a surf movie). You know, standard millennial stuff. 

But the Hawaiian’s story is far from standard. He had to overcome a serious challenge most of us will never face. A few years ago at age 18, he was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis, a rare and crippling form of arthritis in the spine. The man could barely walk, let alone thread the kegs he was accustomed to. The doctors said he might never surf again. 

It was a hail mary, but Braiden is used to landing those. Despite the long odds and years of work and recovery, Braiden is still here kicking, laughing and surfing. He’s now got support from Manera, and based on the video above, it looks like that PT is paying off. 

Get inspired and watch Manera welcome Braiden to the team. Video directed and edited by Liam Conrad.