Maya Higa

Maya Elaine Higa[7][8] was born to a Japanese father and an American mother in Northern California[9] on May 24, 1998,[8] and grew up there on a farm as the youngest sibling with her parents, two brothers, and a sister.[10][9] She attended California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, graduating with a bachelor's degree in agricultural education and communication in June 2020.[11][12]

Higa began streaming on Twitch in February 2019. Her streams consist of various activities such as music and falconry, along with spreading conservation awareness.[13][14] Early in her streaming career, she saw significant growth after a falconry video with her juvenile red-tailed hawk named Bean went viral on Reddit. After she celebrated her 21st birthday by holding a charity stream for 5 Cities Homeless Coalition, a local homeless coalition that she previously volunteered at, she gained media attention from local news.[15][16]

In July 2019, Higa started the Conservation Cast, a podcast where viewers learn about animals and gather information from experts such as conservationists, wildlife enthusiasts, and scientific communicators.[6] The first episode of the podcast raised US$3,000 for the American Eagle Foundation. The podcast has also featured speakers from organizations such as Save the Rhino, the Exotic Feline Rescue Center, and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.[17] Conservation Cast has raised more than US$80,000 with 63 episodes for wildlife protection organizations around the globe.

In October 2020, Higa became a part of the Board of Directors for a wildlife rehabilitation center in Central Texas. Her role focuses on raptor rehabilitation and husbandry.[18]

On February 10, 2021, Higa held a 21-hour charity stream for her newly founded non-profit exotic animal sanctuary and virtual education center known as Alveus Sanctuary.[1] The stream was highlighted by an auction that sold off items such as a golden shovel owned by Sodapoppin, Gucci loafers owned by T-Pain, and a signed jersey from xQc. The most expensive item auctioned off was a 1-hour gaming session with streamer and former professional CS:GO player Shroud, purchased by fellow streamer Ludwig Ahgren for $53,000.[19] Shortly after reaching her goal of US$500,000, Higa shaved her head, fulfilling a promise she made a few weeks prior. All together, she raised US$578,000.[20]

In February 2021, Higa officially joined the Make-a-Wish Foundation in Central and South Texas as a governing board member.[18]

In November 2021, Higa began to co-host the Wine About It podcast alongside her friend and fellow Twitch streamer, QTCinderella.[21] Wine About It went on hiatus in September 2022 after Higa announced her “indefinite” break from online content creation, a decision which stemmed from the backlash she received of her alleged involvement in covering up a sexual assault scandal.[22][23][24]

On March 12, 2022, Higa co-hosted the first Streamer Awards show with QTCinderella at The Fonda Theater in Los Angeles, California.[25]

On March 30, 2022, Higa started Conservation Uncharted, a travel series of live streams focused on different aspects of wildlife conservation, with a whale watching trip joined by Whale and Dolphin Conservation, raising over US$4,000 in under 2 hours.[26][27]

On September 19, 2022, Higa and Mizkif were accused by fellow Twitch streamer Trainwreckstv of downplaying and covering up an incident where fellow streamer CrazySlick allegedly sexually assaulted female streamer AdrianahLee. Maya released a public statement on twitter via twitlonger apologizing for involvement and stating that she did not cover up sexual assault and would take leave from streaming.[28][29][30][31]

After a two month hiatus, Maya Higa returned to streaming in November, 2022. Higa stated her intentions to stream less on her main channel and reorientate efforts into producing educational conservation content for Alveus Sanctuary.[32][33]

Using her platform on Twitch, Higa has raised over $1,000,000 collectively from viewer donations.[18]

On January 21, 2023, Higa was announced as an ambassador for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation. [34]

Higa began dating fellow Twitch streamer Matthew Rinaudo, also known by his online alias Mizkif, in 2019.[35] On September 14, 2021, Rinaudo announced on Twitter that he and Higa had ended their relationship.[36]