KEREM BALIK
Kiteboarding since: 2007
Certified instructor since: 2008
Education: Computer Science
Spoken languages: Turkish, English
Sponsors: Slingshot Kiteboarding, Casio G shock
Ever since Kerem left his IT consultant career in 2007, he has been travelling - kiting all around the world. As a passionate and hardworking kiteboarder, he has competed in many competitions and was nominated for first Turkish National Freestyle Kiteboarder in 2009 and Freestyle Kiteboarding Vice Champ in 2014. He also had been the freestyle judge for the Philippines Kiteboard Association in 2015, freestyle judge for the Turkish Sailing Federation in Turkish Nationals 2017, World Kite League Freestyle Trainee Judge, and head judge assistant in 2017 Red Bull King of the Air. He has kited in South Africa, Vietnam, Tarifa, Philippines, China, Thailand, Venezuela, Egypt, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, trained, competed and worked as a coach in those countries.
Kerem is a Turkish Sailing Federation Kiteboard Examiner since 2013, organizing Kiteboard Instructor Courses for the upcoming kiteboard instructors. Even though he loves traveling all over the world, he has set a home base in Turkey.
BORA KUTUK
Kiteboarding since: 2017
Certified instructor since: 2018
Spoken languages: Turkish, English
Growing up on the seas, he started sailing in 2009. Competing in various disciplines, he became a four-time Turkish champion. He represented Turkey in numerous competitions as part of the national team. He competed in the 470 Olympic class and achieved various successes. He participated in many camps and races in Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Bulgaria, Japan, and Poland. In 2017, he developed an interest in kitesurfing and continues to work towards becoming an Olympic athlete in the Formula Kite Olympic class. He also shares his knowledge and trains new kite athletes.
EMRAH MİDYAT
Kiteboarding since: 2015
Certified instructor since: 2016
Spoken languages: Turkish, English
He loves nature and the sea, always living in close connection with them. Since 2010, he has been paragliding, participating in many competitions and flying hundreds of kilometers. After starting to work as an assistant paragliding instructor, he was introduced to kitesurfing in 2015. Thanks to his paragliding experience, he quickly adapted to kitesurfing and managed to improve rapidly in a short time. In 2016, he worked as a kiteboard instructor at Kite Club Urla, gaining experience, and later joined the Advance Kiting team to share his knowledge with you.
BİLAL VATAN
Kiteboarding since: 2014
Certified instructor since: 2018
Spoken languages: Turkish, English
Born in 1989, Bilal had the opportunity of travelling around almost the entire Turkey because of his dad’s occupation. He was introduced to many different sports and cultures. He started skiing at a young age and continued with rollerskating and skateboarding. During his University years, he developed himself in snowboarding and wakeboarding. Being from Izmir, he was introduced to kitesurfing in Alacati, thus ending his construction engineering career and dedicating himself to the sport. He has been a certified instructor at our school since 2018 giving lessons, and sharing his knowledge and experiences with our students.
SES ÖNER
Kiteboarding since: 2015
Certified instructor since: 2018
Spoken languages: Turkish, English
His childhood interest in extreme sports became a career during adulthood. Having returned to Turkey in 2015 after studying entrepreneurial marketing in the USA, Ses quickly developed his kiteboarding skills and became a certified instructor at Advance Kiting in 2018. During his stay in the US, he drastically improved his kitesurfing in both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, spending his 2018 and 2019 winter months in Cape Town, Southern Africa, making the decision to become an instructor of the sport he loves passionately loves. Ses loves sharing his experiences with his students and contributes everything he can towards the improvement and scaling of the sport. In 2020, Ses has combined his love of entrepreneurial marketing and extreme sports by creating High Society, a project revolving around advanced-level extreme sports. He has been managing the video production, organization, and textile branches for some time, while still teaching kitesurfing as a freelance instructor.
ALİHAN ÖZKAVAK
Kiteboarding since: 2017
Certified instructor since: 2019
Spoken languages: Turkish, English
While continuing his university education in 2017, Alihan was directed towards kitesurfing by his professors and his interest in the sport has brought him all the way here. Alihan completed his adaptation period in Kite Club Alacati, continuing at Kite Club Urla (2018) and, thereafter, joining the team at Advance Kiting in 2019. During spring 2019 he was awarded KB4 Instructor’s licence by the Turkish Sailing Federation. With a past in doing Taekwondo for 3 years and Football for 9 years, he continues his studies in Recreation at Manisa Celal Bayar University. Alihan has become an important part of our team with his colourful personality and determination for work.
TUĞBA BÜYÜKHANLI
Kiteboarding since: 2015
Certified instructor since: 2020
Spoken languages: Turkish, English, German
Living intertwined with sports, Tugba was introduced to water skiing and mono leading to her interest in water sports ever since her childhood. She has also been scuba diving for a long time. Tugba started skiing at 3 years old and it has been one of her favourite sports ever since. In 2015 she was introduced to kitesurfing and it was also added to her favourites list. As she has been living in different countries around the world, while living in Australia since 2017 she has been a manager of a Kitesurf and Paddleboard school. Now Tugba is teaching at Advance Kiting at the place she was first introduced to kitesurfing.
YUSUF KARDEŞ
Kiteboarding since: 2010
Certified instructor since: 2012
Spoken languages: Turkish, English, Spanish
Yusuf was born in Adana in 1994 and graduated from the Photography and Video department at Bilgi University. In 2010 he was introduced to kitesurfing and received the instructor certificate that same year. While Alacati played a big role in his career, Yusuf has taught at many different kitesurfing schools across Turkey.
In 2013 Yusuf has won 1st place in Redbull’s Aegean Cross. He spends his summers teaching in Alacati and travels in the winter teaching in Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and all around the World.
Yusuf never stops training and improving himself in wingfoiling, snowboarding, surfing, and snowkiting and continues to bring amazing energy to our team…
SARPER UNCULAR
Kiteboarding since: 2014
Certified instructor since: 2018
Spoken languages: Turkish, English
Sarper, born in 1979, noticed colorful kites one day while cycling in Alaçatı Bay. This moment became a turning point in his life. He was mesmerized by the beautiful and inspiring scene, and followed the kites. Since then, Sarper has managed to transform his passion for this hobby into a profession.
Since 2018, he has been working as a licensed instructor, ensuring safety while enjoying the sea. With his love and experience in kitesurfing, Sarper has managed to combine both the excitement and safety of the sport. By sharing his own experiences and knowledge, he helps others to also have a pleasant and safe experience at sea.
URAS UÇANOĞLU
Kiteboarding since: 2014
Certified instructor since: 2021
Spoken languages: Turkish, English
Uras, born in 2002, is our national alpine snowboard athlete. Although his main discipline is snowboarding, he has been kitesurfing for the past 10 years. He learned this sport at the age of 12 in Akyaka and has continued to improve every year. Additionally, he has been a kitesurf instructor for the past three years, helping many people learn kitesurfing during this time. If you want to learn this exciting sport safely while having fun, Uras is the right instructor. You can spot him by looking up into the air; he is usually there.
AYBERK TUNÇEL
Kiteboarding since: 2014
Certified instructor since: 2020
Spoken languages: Turkish, English
Growing up in the sea since childhood, Ayberk started his surfing life with windsurfing in 2011. After discovering kiteboarding in 2013, Ayberk has been sharing his experiences with our students since 2020.