Iceland review - 2013, Page 20

18 ICELAND REVIEW
ADVENTURE
ADveNturouS LIfe
María Birta describes herself as an adventurer. Her New Year’s
resolution for 2012 was to acquire as many licenses as possible.
“I qualified for skydiving, diving, hunting and tried different stuff
like archery. I’m also training to become a private pilot, hoping to
get the license this year, along with a license to drive a motorcycle.
I wanted to do it last year but skydiving costs quite a bit. I’m also
aiming for a batwing license [a form of skydiving, also known as
wingsuit flying] this summer and I want to improve my surfing
skills. I first tried it in California a few years back.”
It’s skydiving that she’s most passionate about, though. When we
meet, María Birta has only recently returned from a skydiving trip
to Florida with Icelandic parachute club Frjálst fall. “I’ve jumped
107 times solo. It’s exhilarating. I’ve never jumped tandem. I fig-
ured that if I was going to do this, I would only risk my own life
and limbs.” María Birta says the skydiving community in Iceland
keeps growing with more than 130 people having passed the A
examination. “We jump every weekend in Hella [South Iceland].
There only has to be five of us to start a plane for it to be afford-
able, so sometimes when we feel like jumping we call each other
and head off.”
And if she doesn’t sound busy enough, María Birta is also plan-
ning on taking summer courses to graduate from junior college,
which she quit at 18.
MovINg oN
María Birta is moving to L.A. in the coming months and is work-
ing on hiring a U.S. agent. “I want to do something different. I
came to realize that it’s been seven years since I dropped out of
[junior college] MH and founded my business, so I have no time
to lose.” Seven years ago, during a two-week sick leave, she decided
to do something about all the clothes in her room that she didn’t
use anymore. “I started an auction website to sell my old clothes.
The reaction was incredible and I started getting all these requests
about shoe sizes and such … so I started ordering clothes. Business
kept growing and a few months later the Christmas shopping sea-
son began and I had to focus on it 100 percent. I dropped out of
school; I didn’t have time for it anymore. One year later I opened
Vintage on Laugavegur,” she says of her first clothing store which
later merged with Manía, originally founded by María Birta as a
shoe store.
Even though she’s moving abroad, María Birta is not about to
give up her business, which is going well. “I’ve arranged to be in
Iceland during the busiest months of the year: May, August and
December. I have very good and loyal employees that I can trust
with my business when I have to be away for longer periods of time.
I figured that if I don’t move now I never will.” When I ask why
she’s in such a hurry, María Birta responds, “I’ve always been like
that. I’ve always wanted to do everything.”
But where does María Birta picture herself in five, ten years? “I
picture myself living abroad. I don’t know if I’ll be acting. Maybe
I’ll become a professional in everything,” she laughs. “I really have
no idea. I don’t like to plan too far ahead.” 
María Birta in her role as Æsa in Xl, the young lover of alcoholic MP leifur
(in the pink wig), portrayed by ólafur darri ólafsson.
María Birta excelled as dagný, drug trafficker and femme fatal in
black’s game, winning the award for Best Supporting actress at
the 2013 Eddas, the icelandic film and Television awards.