You probably know Maika Monroe as the "It Girl" of modern horror. She's the one staring down a shape-shifting entity in It Follows or hunting a serial killer in Longlegs. But before she was the reigning queen of the unsettling, Maika was living a completely different life. It wasn't in Hollywood. It was in the water.
Honestly, the term "hobby" doesn't even touch what she was doing. We aren't talking about someone who rented a board a couple of times on vacation. Maika Monroe kite surfing was a legitimate professional career that almost eclipsed her acting before it even started.
The Dominican Republic Gamble
At 17, most kids are worrying about prom or SATs. Maika? She convinced her mom to move to the Dominican Republic. Specifically to Cabarete, a windy mecca for kiteboarders. She didn't drop out of school, but she basically ditched the traditional classroom to finish her senior year online between sessions in 25-knot winds.
It’s wild to think about.
She was ranked 32nd in the world for freestyle. That's not just "good for a teenager." That’s elite. She was out there on an F-One Bandit 4 kite, hitting unhooked tricks that would make most people’s knees buckle.
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Why she almost didn't become an actress
There was this period where acting just wasn't happening. She’d go to auditions, get close, and then... nothing. It’s a story we’ve heard a thousand times in LA. But Maika had an "out."
"With kiting, you have to land a trick, and in that instant, you know whether you won or lost. I knew I could become the best in the world if I trained. But with acting... there’s not a right or wrong way. It’s so out of your hands."
That control was addictive. She actually decided to quit acting entirely to go pro. She moved to the DR to live the athlete life full-time. Of course, fate had other plans. Shortly after she committed to the water, she sent in a self-tape that landed her a role in At Any Price alongside Zac Efron.
The decision was brutal. She literally made "pros and cons" lists in her room in Cabarete. Imagine having to choose between being a world-class athlete and a movie star at 18. Talk about high-stakes.
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The 2013 Red Bull Big Air Moment
Most people think her sports background is just a fun bit of trivia. It’s way more than that. In 2013, even as her film career was starting to heat up, she took 2nd place in the International Red Bull Big Air competition.
That is a massive deal in the kiting world.
Big Air isn't just about looking cool. It’s about height, risk, and technicality. It’s violent and beautiful. She was competing against the best in the world while also preparing for film festivals. The discipline she learned in the water—the "fear management" as she calls it—is exactly what makes her so believable in horror movies. When she looks terrified on screen, there’s a grit there that comes from nearly cracking your head open on a board (which, by the way, she actually did in a "terrible accident" that partially influenced her shift toward acting).
Dealing with the "Scream Queen" Label
People love to put actors in boxes. "Oh, she’s the horror girl." But Maika’s athleticism has allowed her to bypass a lot of the "damsel in distress" tropes.
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- She does the majority of her own stunts.
- In Independence Day: Resurgence, that physicality was key.
- In The Tribes of Palos Verdes, she actually played a surfer.
Funny enough, she admitted she’s actually not a great surfer. Kiteboarding? World-class. Surfing? She had to train for it. They're totally different skill sets, even if they both involve a board and salt water.
What it takes to kite like a pro
If you're thinking about trying it because you saw a cool photo of her, be warned. It’s intense. Maika’s setup back in her pro days was built for unhooked freestyle. This means you literally unhook the kite from your harness and hold all that power—hundreds of pounds of pull—purely with your arms while you flip.
The core strength required is insane. It explains why she’s able to handle the physical demands of a 14-hour shoot day where she’s sprinting through woods or screaming her lungs out.
Actionable Takeaways from Maika's Career Path
If you're looking at Maika's trajectory and wondering how to apply that "pro athlete" mindset to your own life, here’s the breakdown:
- Leverage "Transferable Grit": The discipline she learned in 25-knot winds made her a better actress. Whatever "hard thing" you do—whether it’s marathon running or coding—is a secret weapon for your primary career.
- Accept the Lack of Control: Maika struggled with acting because she couldn't "measure" success like she could in kiting. Learning to be okay with the "un-measurables" is a superpower in any creative field.
- Don't Kill Your Darlings: She didn't "quit" kiting. She still goes out when she has downtime. She uses it to "reset" after intense roles. You don't have to abandon your passions just because you've chosen a different primary path.
- Residency Matters: Moving to the Dominican Republic was a radical move for a teenager. Sometimes, to get good at something, you have to physically place yourself where the "best" are.
Maika Monroe isn't just an actress who happens to kite. She’s an athlete who found a way to bring that high-velocity energy to the big screen. The next time you see her in a thriller, look at how she moves. That’s not just acting. That’s the muscle memory of a girl who spent her teenage years being dragged across the ocean by the wind.
To truly understand her filmography, you have to look at her time in the water first. It's where the "It Follows" star actually learned how to lead.