Our Story

Charis grew up in Kelston, West Auckland, away from her Māori roots in Waiuku. Feeling distant from her culture, at the age of 17, she began building a career through a number of roles with a strong focus on Māori and rangatahi initiatives. This was her way to reconnect with her culture while using her skill set to awhi her community and people. Although she was very passionate about her mahi, her path changed in 2024, when the pair welcomed their first pēpi, Maia. Motherhood wasn’t quite as easy going as Charis had anticipated and juggling full-time mahi as a new mother was not something she felt fit. Shortly after, she decided to explore opportunities of self-employment with hopes it would allow her to spend more time focusing on her new journey as a māmā.

Ariki was raised in Manurewa, South Auckland, surrounded by Te Ao Māori spending his schooling years in Kura Kaupapa Māori. His passion for mahi toi led him to launch Toi by Ariki, a Māori art business, which quickly gained recognition. During his journey in mahi toi, he received a lot of requests for “moko-customised gumboots”. This was something Ariki was eager to explore, but after evaluating the prices of gumboots alone, he came to the conclusion that this project wouldn’t be sustainable for his business in the long-run. He reached out to a popular NZ gumboot brand to explore collaboration opportunities instead but was declined. The pair recognized that gumboots were a staple in New Zealand, especially in the Māori community. Charis and Ariki began a hunt for a Māori gumboot brand which left them stumped when they found none. And so just like that, the idea of MAAIA Boots was born.