About
Elisabeth Rioux is a Québec–born content creator, swimwear designer, and reality-series star whose upbeat posts about travel, wellness, and business have attracted more than 1.7 million followers on Instagram. In 2016, at just nineteen, she launched Hoaka Swimwear, a line of sporty yet fashionable suits made from recycled fabric. The brand’s bold colors and functional surf-inspired cuts quickly struck a chord with Gen Z customers around the world, allowing Rioux to turn a small online boutique into a company that now ships to over sixty countries. Her entrepreneurial story reached a new audience in September 2024 with the debut of Elisabeth Rioux: Unfiltered, a six-episode Prime Video docuseries that follows her as she balances global expansion, motherhood, and life in the public eye.
Before Fame
Born on December 20, 1996, in Saint-Georges, Québec, Elisabeth grew up in a close-knit French-Canadian household that valued creativity and hard work. As a teen she spent summers on the nearby Chaudière River, developing an appreciation for water sports that later influenced her swimwear designs. She began posting outfit photos on Instagram in 2013 while still in high school; her easygoing style and sunny travel photos helped her audience snowball into the hundreds of thousands by graduation. While studying marketing online, she noticed a gap in the market for athletic two-pieces that stayed put during surfing and paddleboarding. Using savings from part-time jobs, she produced a 200-unit first run and marketed it solely through social media shout-outs and giveaways. Her inventory sold out in forty-eight hours, convincing her to pause college and focus full-time on Hoaka.
Trivia
- Reality-TV debut: Elisabeth Rioux: Unfiltered gives viewers behind-the-lens access to photoshoots in Costa Rica, late-night design sessions, and candid chats with friends—and was simultaneously released in French and English to reflect her bilingual fan base.
- Eco pledge: Hoaka suits are made from regenerated nylon spun out of fishing nets and carpet scraps, a choice that lets the company highlight ocean preservation in every campaign.
- Social good: In 2023 Rioux partnered with Montreal-based shelters to donate a percentage of Black Friday sales to women escaping domestic violence, a cause she often discusses after opening up about a past abusive relationship on YouTube.
- Digital reach: Beyond Instagram, she runs a YouTube channel with more than 250 000 subscribers where vlogs range from recipe try-outs to honest conversations about postpartum anxiety.
- Fun fact: Her favorite creative outlet is watercolor painting—many early Hoaka prints began as doodles in her travel sketchbook.
Family Life
Family support is a recurring theme in Elisabeth’s story. Her father, Steeve Rioux, appears in the Prime series as an informal business adviser and occasional travel chaperone. In July 2020 she welcomed a daughter, Wolfie McCormick, whose playful cameos delight fans and often inspire kid-friendly swim lines. Elisabeth has spoken candidly about safeguarding her child’s privacy—after a 2022 home-invasion scare, she reduced the number of posts featuring Wolfie to protect their safety. Although she and Wolfie’s father parted ways in 2021, the two co-parent amicably, and Elisabeth frequently credits her own mother and older sister, Chloé, for helping her juggle single parenthood with business travel. Outside work, the trio share a love of road trips across Québec in search of hidden waterfalls and the “perfect poutine.”
Associated With
Rioux’s collaborative spirit extends across the influencer ecosystem. Early brand buzz came from swimsuit try-ons by lifestyle YouTuber Alexis Ren, while Canadian creator Catherine Paiz has modeled Hoaka’s maternity line on her socials. The entrepreneur is also close friends with TikTok personalities Claudia Tihan and Rémi Desgagné, who both appear in Unfiltered and often join her for charity fitness challenges and product launches. In the fashion sphere, photographers such as Valentina Fradegrada have credited Hoaka for pushing athletic-chic swimwear into mainstream editorials. Business-wise, Rioux cites Sara Blakely (Spanx) and fellow Québec mogul Céline Dion as role models for scaling a niche idea into a global brand while staying true to their roots. Rounded out by her Amazon partnership, brand ambassadorships with Canon Canada, and frequent guest spots on podcasts like “Girl Boss Quebec,” Elisabeth Rioux’s network illustrates how digital-age entrepreneurship flourishes through community and authentic storytelling.
