West Maui · Olowalu · Est. 2001
From surf camp
to surf campus.
to surf campus.
For 25 years we have operated out of each other's houses, borrowed spaces, and the ocean itself. The time has come to build a permanent home where healing, surfing, and aloha live under one roof in West Maui.
25
Years of Maui
Surfer Girls
Surfer Girls
3rd
Generation of
West Maui surfers
West Maui surfers
100%
Parents recommend
MOM programs
MOM programs
5
Maui schools
in pilot cohort
in pilot cohort
The origin
Third-generation Maui surfer
The ocean has always been home.
Dustin Tester grew up on the beaches of West Maui. Her grandfather helped build the A-Frame cabins at Olowalu -- the same waters where Maui Surfer Girls runs its surf camp today. When her family moved to California after losing her father, surfing gave her back her identity and her sense of place.
In 2004 she became part of the first all-women tow-team to surf Pe'ahi -- Jaws -- one of the most powerful waves on earth. She took that fearlessness and turned it into a movement. Maui Surfer Girls, founded 2001, the first surf camp for girls and women on Maui.
In 2023, Dustin founded Mana O Maui as a 501(c)(3) to ensure every local keiki -- regardless of income, regardless of whether the fires took their home -- could access what MSG built. The ocean doesn't judge. That has always been the point.
"Surfing has always empowered me and healed my heart. The ocean doesn't judge -- and that's a pretty powerful thing."
Dustin Tester, Founder -- Go Hawaii, Hawaii Rooted
Why we need a campus
We have outgrown the living room.
Right now, Mana O Maui and Maui Surfer Girls operate out of Dustin's house and each other's kitchens. Boards are stored in garages. Instructors have no shared workspace. We plan programs around borrowed spaces and other people's schedules. We have built something real. It deserves a real home.
A shared home base
One space in West Maui for MSG and MOM. Staff offices, program planning, team gatherings, and a community hub that is always open.
A gear house
Surfboards, wetsuits, camping gear, and educational materials -- all in one place, organized, maintained, and ready to go every Wednesday.
Staff dignity
Every instructor on our team is local. Many are rebuilding after the fires. They deserve a professional space that honors the work they do.
Program scale
With a permanent base, Surf-N-Turf and Rites of Passage can serve 10x more youth -- year-round, not session by session, not house to house.
Two organizations. One mission. One roof.
Maui Surfer Girls brings national programming -- women and girls from around the world coming to Olowalu to learn to surf, heal, and connect. Mana O Maui ensures the local keiki are always in the water too -- on scholarship, in Surf-N-Turf, or on a Rites of Passage adventure up Haleakala.
A shared campus is not just convenient. It is the physical proof that these two missions belong together -- and that West Maui's ocean culture has a permanent, community-rooted home.
August 8, 2023
The fires changed everything
The town burned.
The mission did not.
The mission did not.
On August 8, 2023, the Lahaina wildfires destroyed the town that had been home to Maui Surfer Girls for over 20 years. Homes, businesses, memories -- gone overnight. Many of our instructors lost everything. The community we had served for two decades was shattered.
Maui Surfer Girls rallied immediately -- raising funds, supporting staff, holding the community together through the grief. And out of that fire, something new took shape. Mana O Maui was formally incorporated as a 501(c)(3) -- built to hold a scholarship fund, apply for grants, and ensure that fire-affected youth would always have access to the ocean, to nature, and to healing.
The fires made the need undeniable. They also made the mission clearer than it had ever been. Nature-based therapy, surf therapy, Hawaiian cultural education -- these are not extras. For kids who lost their homes and their sense of safety, the ocean is medicine.
"She comes home with a joyful sense of confidence and complete contentment with her day. This is a gift."
Parent of a Surf-N-Turf participant, Spring 2026
Aug 2023
Lahaina wildfires
The fires destroyed West Maui. MSG staff and instructors -- many of them local, many with deep roots in Lahaina -- lost their homes and their community overnight.
2023
Mana O Maui incorporated
MOM became a formal 501(c)(3) -- a scholarship fund, a grant-eligible entity, and a permanent commitment that no Maui keiki would be turned away for financial need.
2024
First grants awarded
Fred Baldwin Memorial Foundation and Atherton Family Foundation backed Surf-N-Turf. The program became real. Free, weekly, open to all youth ages 11 to 17.
Spring 2026
Pilot succeeds
9 keiki. 5 schools. 4 sessions. 100% of parents would recommend. 86% reported positive mood and behavior shifts. The proof of concept is complete.
Two organizations, one mission
Built together.
Stronger together.
Stronger together.
Maui Surfer Girls
Founded in 2001, Maui Surfer Girls is the original surf camp for girls and women on Maui -- and one of the most beloved in the country. 25 years of waves, sisterhood, and transformation. MSG runs national programs at Olowalu, drawing women and girls from across the world to learn to surf, heal, and connect with Hawaiian ocean culture.
Est. 2001
National programs
Women and girls
Olowalu, West Maui
Mana O Maui
Founded in 2023, Mana O Maui is the community arm of the legacy. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit built to hold a scholarship fund and ensure every local Maui keiki -- especially those impacted by the fires -- can access surf therapy, nature-based healing, and Hawaiian cultural education. Free. Weekly. Open to all youth ages 11 to 17.
Est. 2023
501(c)(3)
Youth ages 11 to 17
Free programs
New release 2026
Saltwater Sisterhood -- Maui Surfer Girls Stories
Dustin's 355-page coffee table book documents 25 years of MSG -- the waves, the women, the wildfire, and the healing. One of ten essays covers the Lahaina fires and what came after. 100% of proceeds support the Maui Surfer Girls Scholarship Fund. A published artifact of everything this campus would stand for.
The roadmap
25 years of roots.
The next chapter starts now.
The next chapter starts now.
From the A-Frame cabins at Olowalu to a permanent campus in West Maui -- this is where we have been, and where we are going.
2001
Founded
Maui Surfer Girls launches at Olowalu
Dustin Tester launches the first surf camp for girls and women in West Maui -- on the same waters where her grandfather helped build the A-Frame cabins. A legacy begins.
2004
Milestone
First all-women tow team surfs Pe'ahi
Dustin becomes part of the first all-women tow-team to surf Jaws -- one of the most powerful waves on earth. Fearlessness becomes the foundation of everything MSG teaches.
2023
Founded
Fires. Then Mana O Maui.
The Lahaina wildfires devastate West Maui. MSG rallies to support staff and community. Mana O Maui is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) -- a scholarship fund and a permanent commitment to local keiki.
2024
Funded
First grants awarded
Fred Baldwin Memorial Foundation and Atherton Family Foundation award MOM its first grants. Surf-N-Turf becomes real -- free, weekly, open to all Maui youth ages 11 to 17.
2026
Right now
Pilot succeeds. Book published. Six grants in sight.
Spring 2026 pilot: 9 keiki, 5 schools, 100% parent satisfaction. Dustin publishes Saltwater Sisterhood -- 25 years of stories, including the fires. MOM targets $163,000 to $188,000 in new grant funding before year end.
2027
Next chapter
Site identified in West Maui
MSG and MOM begin the search for a permanent home near Olowalu -- a lease, a lot, or a partner with property and vision. The capital campaign launches.
2028
The dream
The campus opens
A permanent surf campus in West Maui. Gear house, staff space, program hub, and community gathering place. The home that 25 years of work has earned -- built to last another 25.
How to be part of this
If a wave ever
changed your life --
this is for you.
changed your life --
this is for you.
We are actively seeking partners, funders, angel investors, and property owners who believe in West Maui's recovery, the healing power of the ocean, and the right of every local keiki to access it.
This is not a pitch. It is an invitation. 25 years of proof. A community that needs a home. A legacy worth building.
Capital campaign lead funder
Help us secure a permanent home in West Maui. Lead funder naming rights available. This is a legacy gift.
Property or land partner
Do you own or know of property near Olowalu or West Maui? A lease, a lot, or a long-term partnership -- we are open to creative structures.
Angel investor
Invest in the ocean wellness economy. MSG and MOM together represent a proven model with national reach and deep community roots.
Strategic partner
Brand partnerships, in-kind support, gear sponsorship, or program collaboration. If your mission aligns with ours, let's talk.
Ready to start a conversation?
Reach out directly. Every partnership starts with a conversation -- and Dustin is always happy to talk story.
"You can genuinely see how much they care about what they do."
Parent of a Surf-N-Turf participant, Spring 2026