Maki

Maki (마키), born Hirota Riki Wilhelm Mauss, gives &TEAM one of its most distinctive personal profiles. He is Japanese and German, trained in ballet before entering idol competition, and came through &AUDITION - The Howling before debuting under YX LABELS. That mix of background, technique, and multilingual reach made him stand out well before the group's Korean-market expansion.

He debuted with &TEAM on December 7, 2022 and grew steadily from promising maknae into a more visible vocal contributor as the catalog deepened. By the time the group hit its Korean mini album Back to Life in 2025, Maki was no longer just the youngest face in the lineup. He had become one of the members fans pointed to when the performances needed cleaner musical lift and a slightly more theatrical emotional register.

What keeps him interesting is that his appeal is not built on one easy headline. The ballet background helps. So does the bilingual identity. But the real value is how those pieces translate into stage control inside a team designed for cross-border reach. In practical terms, Maki remains one of the clearest examples of how &TEAM and YX LABELS are building a Japan-first act with real regional crossover ambition.