Mayella “Maya” Krause
In 2007, a young and fresh-faced Mayella, brimming with curiosity, embarked on an adventure to the faraway land of Utah. As a seasonal foreign worker alternating between Brazil and the United States, she experienced a true winter wonderland for the first time at 19 and took the concept of "study abroad" to the extreme. Four and a half years later, armed with a bachelor's degree in journalism, she thought to herself, "I need more degrees!". Consequently, she returned to Utah to pursue a master's degree in filmmaking.
Growing up between a farm and the beach, Mayella developed an unquenchable thirst for adventure. Her parents nurtured this spirit by taking her and her older brother on wild expeditions from a young age. At 10, wanting to prove her dedication to wildlife conservation, she used her hard-earned allowance to join World Wildlife Fund. The day she received her panda enamel pin was one of the happiest of her life. By 15, Mayella had embraced veganism and dove headfirst into environmentalism.
As one might expect from someone so passionate about nature, Mayella has explored some of Earth's remotest corners. As a divemaster, she ventured into the ocean's depths, witnessing both the beauty and the decline of coral reefs and marine life. Having explored Uganda, Antartica, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Finland, Iceland, the Alaskan and Canadian Arctic, the Amazon and15 more countries, she feels privileged that her travel itinerary reads like an adventurer's dream. Mayella is eager to journey in Madagascar and Nepal, as she's not one to be satisfied with just a casual stroll in the park, though she admits to enjoying those quite a bit.
Moreover, Mayella has a significant affinity for bicycles. She is an ultra-endurance bike racer across all disciplines, including gravel, road, mountain and fat bikes*, and even did Alaska's Iditarod Trail Invitational in 2024. However, her passion extends beyond racing; she travels by bike, travels to ride bikes and bikes to travel. When not doing laps on local trails or leaving tire marks on every continent, she finds time to engage in rock and ice climbing, snowboarding, packrafting, canyoneering, kayaking, hiking and camping, often accompanied by her trusty four-legged companion, Colin Robinson. If dogs could dive, he would certainly be joining her underwater.
Mayella was part of the bike industry before her restless spirit realized that her skills and knowledge were best suited for a company that shared her unwavering commitment to protecting the planet. Thus, Nat Hab became the perfect match for her.
*Additionally, she is secretly training to become the first cyclist to pedal her way to the moon.