Meet the team
Raquel Heckert
Raquel was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She started surfing when she was thirteen years old. She started surfing at Itacoatiara Beach because that was the closest beach she could go to without a car. That beach is famous for bodyboarders but not so great for surfing. She started traveling when she was seventeen and decided she wanted to pursue big-wave surfing as her career. She moved to Hawaii when she was twenty years old.
Raquel has been a finalist in recognized arenas such as the WSL big wave awards, Triple Crown, Red Bull Magnitude, Brasil big wave awards, etc.
Raquel has been invited multiple times to The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational.
She travels the world as a free surfer and also creates content for brands for a living.
Currently, Raquel resides in Hawaii.
Michaela Fregonese
Michaela was born in the city of Curitiba, Brazil. She started surfing when she was fifteen years old and was a weekend warrior as she lived one hour from the nearest beach. When Michaela was twenty-one, she went to Hawaii for the first time. She was one of the few women to surf big Pipeline and Waimea Bay at that time. When Michaela was twenty-five, she became a mom and decided to dedicate time to her son, Vittorio. After taking a break from surfing for a few years, she returned to the scene in 2016 with a WSL nomination for the biggest wave paddle by a woman. She dedicated the next seven years to chasing big swells all over the world. Michaela's biggest achievements are second place in the WSL XXL Big Wave awards "Ride of the Year" category for her huge barrel at jaws and second place in Red Bull Magnitude 2022 season. Currently, Michaela splits her time between Nazare, Brazil and Hawaii.