Max’s Moves: Igou Embraces Family’s Relocations, Discovers the World & Rowing

LA JOLLA, Calif. – With each move that Max Igou’s family made came a flurry of emotions. Shock and awe accompanied their move from New York City to Mumbai, India. Disappointment and sadness were Igou’s initial sentiments when moving from Mumbai to Corte Madera, California. Despite the many adjustments over the years, Igou, now a sophomore on the UC San Diego men’s rowing team, looks back and realizes he wouldn’t have wanted to grow up any other way. 

Igou was born in New York City and grew up with his family in the West Village, a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan. A self-described “city kid,” Igou lived with his younger brother, Grant, and parents, Mark and Genevieve.

When Igou was 9 years old, his parents announced that the family would be moving from New York City to Mumbai, India.

“We’d actually traveled to India twice before we moved there and I thought it was fun, but I never thought we’d move out of the country,” Igou shared. “My dad worked as an architect at the time and was flying back and forth to India every week, and he thought it’d be better if he opened a branch of the architecture firm in India so he could bring our family. I was 9 and my brother was 7, and we all packed up and moved to India.”

Although Igou had visited India before, moving to the country was a culture shock. The Igou family started settling into their new home, and Igou and his brother started school at the American School of Bombay.

The school soon showed him a new side of India that he hadn’t experienced on his prior trips.

“I’ll always remember my first field trip in India,” Igou recounted. “I was in fifth grade and we went to the biggest slum in Asia, Dharavi. The slum actually recycles the city’s trash and they took us through it to see that process. That was only a few weeks after I moved, and I was blown away. Being from New York City, it was incredible how different it was.”

Igou recalls that the first few months were a difficult adjustment for him and his family. He and his brother missed the foods and other day-to-day things that they were used to from growing up in the United States. However, one thing made the adjustment easier: the people. 

“I quickly noticed how nice the people in India are,” Igou shared. “Even though we didn’t speak the same language, I actually picked up cricket because some kids taught me how to play on the street. 

“They live differently than we do in the United States, but we’re all just people, and the people of India are some of the nicest people I’ve met in my life.”

One of the people who welcomed the Igou family with open arms was his family’s driver, Rehan Kahn.

“We couldn’t drive in India so we had to hire a driver, and our family became very close to him,” Igou said. “He took us to his sister’s wedding. I remember when we walked into that wedding, everyone was greeting us. People thought I was Justin Bieber because I had a really bad haircut at the time. The people were just so nice and that was a big part of my experience.”

After spending more time in India, Igou began reflecting on the differences between Indian culture and American culture. 

“There’s a culture of perseverance in India and they persevere through their challenges,” Igou explained. “I came from New York City where there’s a lot of wealth and an emphasis on the things we buy, but in India it’s not about what you own or the things you buy; it’s about the relationships you have with people. It’s the daily interactions that mean the most. You’re not judged on your wealth, but the quality of your person, and that was a huge takeaway I had.”

When Igou was in the middle of seventh grade at the American School of Bombay, he found out that his time in Mumbai would be coming to an end. His parents had decided that the family would move to California.

“We loved India and we were sad to leave,” Igou described. “It was very emotional for my entire family. We developed all these relationships with these wonderful people and then we had to move. I initially wasn’t looking forward to going to California that much because I really enjoyed my time in India.”

Igou struggled at first to adjust to life in California. At school, it was an adjustment to fit in because his classmates already knew each other. Although it took time to settle in, Igou eventually came to appreciate Corte Madera, particularly since it introduced him to a new passion: rowing.

“For me, moving to California was one of the best decisions my parents made because I picked up rowing,” Igou shared. “Rowing means so much to me and has made a huge impact on my life.”

Igou discovered the sport in an unusual way, as a chance encounter at the grocery store changed his life.

“My dad and I were shopping at Whole Foods and this guy was walking into the store with us, and on the back of his car we noticed it said, ‘Go row,’” Igou recalled. “My dad asked him what that was about, and he said he was part of the Marin Rowing Association. 

“He said they were a club with a high school team and maybe I’d be interested in joining. It was so random, but it was as simple as that. Once I walked into that boathouse, I was hooked. I’ve never been able to stop.”

As with his time in India, one of the things Igou appreciates most about rowing is the people.

“The rowing community is a very tight-knit, passionate community, and the people you meet are amazing,” Igou said. “The people are driven, they’re hardworking, they’re so nice, and they’ve definitely made a huge impact on my life. Some of the best relationships I’ve made are through rowing, both UC San Diego men’s rowing and my high school club.”

In addition to the people Igou has met through rowing, the sport has brought other benefits into his life.

“It’s taught me discipline, how to manage my time, and how to overcome the difficulties of being a student-athlete, like waking up at 5 a.m. for practice and getting through the rest of the day,” Igou explained. “I love the sport.”

Igou is in his second year with the Triton men’s rowing team. In his freshman campaign, Igou helped the Third Varsity 8 to first-place finishes at the WIRA Championships, Western Sprints, and UC Cup Challenge, and also competed at the prestigious IRA National Championship. 

He was poised for more success in his sophomore season, helping UC San Diego to a top finish at the San Diego Fall Classic before the season was ultimately cancelled due to COVID-19 in the spring. 

Igou is looking forward to getting back on the water with his Triton teammates to continue his rowing career. Although he is still two years away from graduating, the economics major has already begun to think of what’s next – and where.

“I have a strong interest to go back to New York City and experience the East Coast as an adult because I was young when I lived there,” Igou shared. “I feel like I still carry the East Coast in me. I’d also like to go back at some point because I want to go into finance and New York City is the place to be for that.”

Even though New York City is Igou’s next intended destination, he treasures his experiences from all the places he has visited and lived throughout his life. Each location holds a special place in his heart.

“I would say New York, California, and India are all home for me,” Igou reflected. “The most important thing is that you’re going to find friendly people all over the world, no matter where you go.”

About UC San Diego Athletics

After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program begins a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I.  The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions III and II and helped guide more than 1,300 scholar-athletes to All-America honors.  A total of 82 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships.  UC San Diego student-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.