Boracay native scaling greater heights in kiteboarding

Christian Tio is eyeing bigger goals as he takes on greater heights in the world of kiteboarding.

“Next year, I want to do the World Tour with the other high class kiters,” he said in an interview with INQUIRER.net Thursday.

The Boracay native has every right to feel confident.

He recently placed third in the 2016 Kiteboarding Youth Cup under-19 men’s category held from June 27 to
July 3 in Costa Brava, Spain, where he was pegged as one of the favorites against a field of older competitors.

He has ranked as high as second in the world in the under-17 division since 2014. His impressive skill level forced the organizers to elevate him to the under-19 category, where he still stood out and took the pole position in the rankings.

Despite his shy demeanor, Tio’s affinity to the sport of kiteboarding could be attributed to the thrill of
the competition.

“It’s really extreme,” the Fil-Norwegian water sport champ quipped.

Thanks to his parents’ urging at the age of seven, Tio realized his potential at the age of nine and has continuously reigned at the top in every competition he joined.

“In the beginning, I wasn’t really fond of it cause it was really a hard sport. But my dad used to kiteboard and now, I have a couple of friends who are starting to kiteboard, too and I just try to help them and push them,” he said, as he imparted valuable lessons to his friends in Boracay.

But hasn’t been  all fun and games for Tio as he almost broke both of his knees while kiteboarding last year.

“Last year, while I was kiting I tripped and landed on a wave, and when I hit the wave, my knees felt a lot of pressure,” he said.

But despite the risks that come with an extreme sport,  Tio remains undaunted as he hopes to continue representing the country against an array of famed European counterparts.

That’s why the first Red Bull-sponsored Filipino has upped his preparation by training at Ninja Academy for his tricks and flow, at Fitfast Wellness Center for his stability and endurance, and at the Philippine Street Workout and Calisthenics Association.

“(Kiteboarding) is really harder than it looks. You see a lot of spinning and you get pulled by the wind and you’re standing on water. It’s like you’re juggling five things at one time,” said Tio, who prefers to test his mettle during the rainy season whenever he comes home to Boracay.

Overall, the high of kiteboarding is what keeps this young gun scaling the waters and throwing caution to the wind.

And for every competition he joins, he just keeps in mind the important lessons he got from his late father Chris Mohn.

“Just do my best,” Tio said.