About Tiago Rocha: IKO Examiner & Kitesurfing Coach in Portugal
The Kook Proof Method wasn’t invented in a classroom. It was built on beaches from Portugal to Brazil to Cape Verde, on frozen Swedish lakes, and across 300+ instructor certifications – including multiple World Champions.
IKO Examiner Portugal, Since 2009 • Trained 2 World Champions • KPWT Podium Finisher • 300+ Instructors Certified • 3,000+ Riders Coached
The Beginning
Where It All Started
Picture a windswept beach in 2002. No schools. No certifications. No YouTube tutorials. Just a handful of people with prototype gear, trying to figure out if this thing called kitesurfing could actually work.
Tiago Rocha was one of them. He wasn’t learning a sport that already existed. He was helping to create one – stitching kites, testing designs, crashing, adjusting, and slowly discovering what was possible when harnessing wind and water together.
Those early years taught him something that would shape everything that followed: understanding comes from building, not just riding. Every design choice, every failure, every breakthrough gave him insight that most instructors never develop – because they learned a sport that was already figured out. Tiago figured it out alongside the sport itself.
Competition & Innovation
Competitor and Designer
As kitesurfing grew from experiment to sport, Tiago’s involvement deepened. By 2004, he was competing against the best riders in the world. The results came quickly:
- 2004: 2nd place at the Portuguese stop of the European Championship
- 2005: 3rd place at the Kiteboarding Pro World Tour (KPWT) event in Cabo Frio, Brazil – finishing 9th overall in the world tour
But competition was never just about trophies. It was research. Every event revealed what separated good riders from great ones – the micro-decisions, the timing, the ability to read conditions and adapt in real time.
Building the Equipment
While competing and teaching, Tiago became deeply involved in equipment development — not just riding kites, but helping shape them.
Flysurfer
Testing and feedback; hosted designer Armin Harich for prototype development in Portugal.
Crazyfly
Early-stage kite development and testing contributions.
Newkiteboarding
Factory development in Brazil (2007-2009), building manufacturing processes from scratch.
Bush Kiteboarding (2007-2012)
When exchange rates made the Brazilian factory unviable, the team pivoted. That pivot became Portugal’s first and only kiteboarding brand.
Tiago co-founded Bush Kiteboarding, moving production to China and creating prototype kites, bars, and accessories from the ground up. The brand built a loyal following — riders loved the kites. Some are still flying today, over a decade later.
“Most instructors teach you to use gear. Tiago helped create it.”
The Teaching Journey
From Riding to Teaching to Setting Standards
By 2004, while still competing, Tiago’s focus began expanding. He’d proven himself on the world stage and was contributing to equipment development. But he realized the sport’s real potential lay in education — helping others experience what he’d discovered.
The School Evolution
2004
Xklam – Portugal & Brazil
Tiago’s first school, serving Portuguese and Brazilian riders in the sport’s early growth years.
2007
Escola de Kitesurf – Portugal
A dedicated brand for the Portuguese market, building local community and accessibility.
2007-08
Junior Kite Camp – Portugal
Youth development program. All four athletes reached a professional level. Two became World Champions. Featured on Portuguese TV.
Junior Kite Camp: Four Athletes. Four Professionals. Two World Champions.
Training four athletes who all became professionals – including two-time World Champion Inês Correia and World Championship bronze medalist Paulino Pereira – isn’t luck. It’s method.
2011-12
Tarnaby Kite – Sweden
Pioneering snow kiting instruction in Swedish Lapland. Proving the method worked in any environment.
2013-16
Kook Proof – Cape Verde
International camps for traveling riders. When Tiago closed to focus on Portugal, Inês Correia took over the spot.
2014+
Kook Proof – Portugal (Present)
Rebranded from escoladekitesurf.com, focusing on international guests seeking structured, high-level coaching in Esposende.
Becoming an IKO Examiner
In 2009, Tiago became an International Kiteboarding Organization (IKO) Examiner – the person responsible for certifying instructors worldwide. This wasn’t just a credential. It was a responsibility: ensuring that the people teaching kitesurfing met rigorous safety and skill standards.
Since then, he has certified over 300 instructors from Sweden to Brazil, from Europe to Africa to the Americas. He’s not just teaching riders. He’s shaping how the entire sport is taught.
That examiner’s lens changed everything. Evaluating hundreds of instructor candidates revealed exactly what separates effective teaching from well-intentioned guessing: clear systems, consistent methods, and safety protocols that work under pressure.
The System
The Kook Proof Method
Every lesson from Tiago’s journey – the pioneering, the competing, the equipment development, the schools across four countries, the World Champions, the 300+ instructors examined – has been distilled into one system.
1. Decision-Making
Before technique matters, judgment matters. You learn to read conditions, assess risk, and make smart choices — the same framework used to train professional instructors.
2. Technique
Every skill is taught with the “why” attached. You won’t just know what to do; you’ll understand why it works, what common errors look like, and how to self-correct.
3. Feedback Loops
Video analysis, progress tracking, and structured debriefs close the gap between what you intended and what actually happened. This is how learning compounds.
Free Resources
Teaching Beyond the Beach
The Kook Proof Method isn’t locked behind a paywall. Tiago shares teaching insights, technique breakdowns, and progression tips freely on the Kook Proof YouTube channel.
For Riders
Step-by-step tutorials, common mistake fixes, gear guidance, and drills you can practice on your next session. The same cues and progressions used in private coaching are available to anyone.
Philosophy
The Purpose Behind Kook Proof
The goal of Kook Proof isn’t to create students who need lessons forever.
The goal is to build riders who understand the sport deeply enough to coach themselves.
Riders who can assess conditions accurately, make smart decisions, and progress on their own terms. Riders who don’t need someone holding their hand because they’ve internalized the method and can apply it independently.
That’s what 20 years of teaching has been building toward: not dependence, but freedom. The freedom to ride anywhere, in any conditions you’re ready for, with the confidence that comes from real understanding.
Credentials
Background
Frequently Asked Questions About Kook Proof
Ready to Learn From Someone Who Trained World Champions?
If you’re serious about progressing with a real system behind you — built by someone who’s spent 20 years refining what actually works, from beginners to World Champions — let’s talk.