Lifting Kiteboarding: From One-Off Charity to Systemic Change

In the world of kiteboarding, moments of adrenaline and grace play out across the sky. But behind the sport's thrill lies a deeper truth: in regions like northeast Brazil, kiteboarding is more than recreation — it’s survival, aspiration, and, potentially, a blueprint for transformation.

At Lifted, we don’t believe in charity as a solution. We believe in infrastructure. In investment. In systems that support human potential over the long term. And that belief was born not from theory, but from what I witnessed firsthand.

This sport isn’t cheap. A beginner’s setup of lessons and gear can easily cost over £3,000 (around $4,000) just to get started. For youth in a fishing village or low-income community, that price tag is an almost insurmountable barrier.

It’s not just equipment – it’s travel to competitions, time to train, access to coaches, and even basic things like nutrition and safe training spaces.

In places with high-level wind conditions like coastal Brazil, I’ve met countless young kiters with world-class potential but without the resources or support to turn that potential into a career.

Many receive well-meaning donations of used kites or occasional sponsorship scraps.

But what happens after the one-off donation?

A kid might get a kite, yet have no coach to refine their skills, no money to enter a contest, or no role model to show them it can be done. Too often, the story ends there – a bright spark fizzling out before it truly shines.

The Limits of Generosity

In early 2025, I met Gabriel and Danilo, two Brazilian kiteboarders from Preá. We were thousands of kilometers from home — in Egypt — where they had traveled to work the low-wind season. 

Gabriel told me how he got into kiteboarding as a kid. His mum worked in a beachfront restaurant and would take him with her. He’d sit on the sand watching the kiters, eyes fixed on the sky. That passion eventually became his work. But despite years in the industry, he had never owned his own equipment.

I gave him my kite. I sourced a bar and a board to go with it. It was a practical gesture — but also a moment of reckoning.

He later told friends of mine, “Of course I’m a kite instructor. I’m from Preá. The only jobs there are kiting or fishing.”

That stayed with me. Here was someone who had given everything to the sport, and yet the infrastructure around him gave nothing back.

The Pattern Beneath the Story

In Brazil, I saw the same pattern repeated across the coastline — world-class local talent with no pathway forward. The tourism economy, built on Brazilian wind and beauty, was largely owned by outsiders. Most kite schools, pousadas, and gear shops were foreign-owned. Locals were left, assisting, teaching, carrying, fixing — not leading.

And still, donations kept coming: a kite here, a clinic there, a GoFundMe for a single trip.

These gestures were heartfelt. But they weren’t systems. They weren’t solutions.

From Support to Structure

That’s when Lifted began to take shape. Around the same time, I had been following José on Instagram — a fiercely talented rider from Piauí. Through his posts, it was obvious: he had the skill, the dedication, the humility, the drive. What he didn’t have was support. No coaching infrastructure. No travel budget. No high-performance gear. No mentorship on how to build a future through the sport he loved.

So many athletes like José face these barriers. The raw material is there — but without structure, it rarely converts to long-term success. And even when it does, it’s usually personal success. It doesn’t necessarily ripple outward.

Lifted’s model emerged from this insight:

How can we build a system that invests in a few extraordinary individuals — not as recipients of aid, but as engines of change for their communities?

Why Charity Isn’t Enough

One-off donations don’t build equity. They build moments. And moments fade. Without structure, charitable efforts, while kind, often treat the symptoms of inequity without addressing the system that produced the inequity in the first place.

Without continuity, athletes burn out. Gear breaks. Visibility disappears. A donation made in good faith becomes just another brief chapter in a story with no sustainable arc. 

There’s a saying I hold close: “We believe in equity, not saviorism.” In other words, under-resourced athletes don’t need rescuing by periodic charity – they need opportunity and a level playing field.

Lifted is designed to change that. We walk with athletes for years — not days. We invest in them not as charity, but as infrastructure. It means moving from occasional help to structured, long-term support. Rather than parachuting in with donations, we must stand side by side with local talent and walk with them for the long haul. When they succeed, they create new systems in their hometowns that outlast our funding. That’s the point.

We’re not looking to build champions who leave. We’re building champions who stay — and bring others with them.

A Systems-Based Solution: The Lifted Model

When I founded Lifted, it was born from the belief that sport can be a vehicle for equity and social mobility – especially in places where opportunity is limited.

I knew that isolated acts of generosity, while good, weren’t going to bridge the gap. We needed a systems-based solution.

In plain terms, that means tackling the problem from all angles: infrastructure, investment, and a give-back model that creates a cycle of upward momentum.

Infrastructure: We don’t just sponsor athletes and wish them luck; we build an ecosystem around them.

Lifted’s approach is athlete-first and community-focused. Yes, we provide the obvious things a competitor needs – high-quality gear, monthly stipends so they can train full-time, coaching, and travel support to get to international events.

But just as important, we provide professional development and local networking. Each athlete works with a manager on a tailored competition and training plan. We run workshops on business and entrepreneurship, and we link our athletes with mentors.

The idea is that by the end of our three-year program, these young people won’t just be world-class kiteboarders – they’ll be leaders ready to drive change at home.

Investment: By investment, I mean true investment in a person’s future, not a token sponsorship.

This includes financial investment (stipends, funding for travel and training), educational investment (leadership workshops, English classes if needed, career counseling), and psychological support (sports psychology and mindset coaching – due to my background in psychology, this is baked into our program).

Unlike a traditional sports sponsor, we’re not looking for a quick return or branding opportunity. Our return on investment is measured in long-term success stories and community impact.

When we select athletes, we look at not only their talent on the water but also their work ethic and their desire to uplift others. In a sense, we’re investing in changemakers.

This approach flips the typical charity script: our athletes are not just beneficiaries; they are partners and future mentors in the mission.

Give-Back Model: This is the heart of Lifted’s system.

Every athlete we support is encouraged – actually, expected – to pay it forward in their own way. We train them to give back through mentorship, youth coaching, and even starting local businesses in the sport.

The reason is simple: a rising tide should lift all boats.

One of our team riders, José, put it perfectly: “My dream is to be a leader on and off the water. Inspiring others is what it’s all about.”

He joined Lifted not just to advance his own career, but to help build a path for others like him.

Similarly, Clarice – now one of the strongest female riders in her region – has begun coaching younger girls from her town, offering affordable lessons to those coming up behind her.

She says that after a few years of competing, “I want to open a kite school and give back the same opportunities I had... to inspire and support the next generation from Ceará — especially the girls.”

This kind of full-circle impact is what we aim for. Lifted is not charity; it’s a catalyst.

We’re creating a scenario where today’s under-resourced athlete becomes tomorrow’s mentor, coach, or entrepreneur who then lifts someone else.

What Lifted Provides

To put it succinctly, here’s what Lifted provides for each athlete in our program:

• Sport Sponsorship and Training: Modern gear, monthly stipends, professional coaching, and travel support to compete on bigger stages.

• Education and Mentorship: Business training, leadership development, and mentors to guide athletic and personal growth.

• Community Pathways: A roadmap to launch athlete-led ventures like kite schools or community clubs, so that success isn’t an individual journey but a community asset.

By addressing the problem at multiple levels, we strive to remove the systemic barriers that talented riders face.

Our mission is to transform talent into lasting impact. When you invest deeply in the right people, they don’t just excel – they lift others with them.

Changing the Narrative, One Athlete at a Time

This systems-based approach also appeals to those who want their contributions to mean something enduring.

Potential funders often ask me: “How do I know my support will make a lasting difference?” The answer lies in the model.

By fueling a cycle of empowerment, any donation or partnership with Lifted doesn’t stop at one athlete’s success – it multiplies.

The athlete thrives, then turns around and lifts others, who in turn will lift others, and so on. It’s a sustainable chain reaction of opportunity.

Contrast that with a donation that might send someone to one competition. That is a beautiful gesture, but without a system to build on, its impact can be fleeting.

From Moments to Movements

Sports have the power to change lives – I believe this to my core. But to truly leverage that power, we have to change how we support the athletes who need it most.

It’s about moving from charity to investment, from moments to movements.

Lifted is my way of attacking the problem at its roots. We’re not interested in just producing champions; we’re interested in producing leaders and change agents who happen to also be champions.

In the coming years, I hope to see the ripple expand: more athletes from under-resourced communities standing on podiums, starting businesses, mentoring kids, and redefining what’s possible in kiteboarding and beyond.

I’m incredibly grateful for the team, partners, and supporters who have joined in this vision so far.

Together, we’re proving that when you uplift one athlete, you can uplift an entire community.

At the end of the day, one-off help will come and go – but a system built on empowerment can rewrite the story for generations.

That’s the Lifted promise, and I invite anyone who believes in sustainable, scalable impact to join us in making it a reality.

– Laura Christie, Founder of Lifted