A little history of Holbox Kiteboarding

-----------------

Holbox Kiteboarding school started in 2010, when Gabo went into partnership with Patrick. It was the start of a great friendship, and also a business relationship that has grown throughout the years.

“The school is very proud to support the locals, and to train many in our team, providing opportunities to those with a passion for the sport. It’s been amazing to see people learn to kite, and to share my love for the sport, and then see how people have changed their lives to share their passion with others” (Gabo)

A significant number of the instructors in the school learnt to kitesurf here, and it’s thanks to this approach above, sharing the love for the sport, that Cathy, Anna, Carolina, Arturo, Pancho, Julian and Pochi are the instructors they are today – having built up experience here, they are inspired to share their passion with you!

A little history...
Gabo first arrived on the island in 2008, freelanced for a kite school on Holbox in 2009, and returned to start the school with Patrick in 2010. At the beginning there was just 3 kites, Slingshot Revs, (9m, 11m and 13m), and a couple of boards and harnesses. The school was originally based in Casa las Tortugas, with just enough equipment to store in a few cupboards in the back… how things have changed!

The following season the school grew, with instructors Jonny and Free joining the team. The year after, Jirka, Javier and Sergio joined, and from thereon the school converted more ‘kite addicts’ into kite instructors, with Cathy starting in 2013, followed by Peter (el Bigote), and Anna and Carolina the year after.
In 2013 the school had outgrown the tiny storeroom, and the school moved to a super beach front area within Casa las Tortugas, with an easy way to check the wind forecast – we were on the beach, and Steffen joined the team, (aka Jonny’s brother).

However, as the team grew, so did the amount of equipment. It became apparent that the storage area didn’t meet these new demands, and so we moved into our current premises in 2016.
Gabo left the island to pursue his other dream – diving – and Jonny took over as Manager in 2015. In more recent years we’ve also welcomed Mitch and Julian as instructors, and Pochi in 2019! Bienvenidos!

Fun fact #1: around 2015 we taught a friend from the Tortugas maintenance crew, who picked up kiting quickly, and developed a real passion for it. After some negotiation, another kite addict managed to convert his passion into becoming an instructor – and Arturo officially joined the kite team in 2017.
Fun fact #2: in 2015 Pancho joined the team as Boat Captain. After a few months, after watching us kitesurf, and waiting at the Punta Mosquito beach before the return boat trip, he decided to learn to kite, becoming an instructor in 2017.

We can’t wait to get you started, or help you continue :)
How did you start your kite journey?

-----------------

-----------------

Cathy Padget