What started as a throwaway idea in a meeting has turned into one of the most ambitious grassroots projects in kiteboarding. The Ozone Demo Tour is bringing gear, riders and community together across the globe, and at the centre of it all is Santi Cisneros, chasing wind, sharing stoke, and quietly building his own path in big air.

What started as a throwaway idea in a meeting has turned into one of the most ambitious grassroots projects in kiteboarding. The Ozone Demo Tour is bringing gear, riders and community together across the globe, and at the centre of it all is Santi Cisneros, chasing wind, sharing stoke, and quietly building his own path in big air.

Sometimes the best ideas begin almost as a joke. For Santi Cisneros, a casual suggestion in a meeting at Ozone HQ turned into one of the most memorable years of his life. What started as a simple thought, put me in a van and I’ll take the kites to the people, quickly grew into a full-scale international demo tour that carried him across Europe, on to Brazil, then Australia, and finally to South Africa. Along the way, he covered thousands of miles, introduced riders to Ozone’s latest gear, and helped create the kind of beach atmosphere that reminds everyone why kiteboarding is such a special sport.

At its heart, the Ozone Demo Tour is about access. Most riders do not get many chances to try a full range of kites back-to-back in real conditions. They might read reviews, watch edits online, or hear opinions from friends on the beach, but that is never quite the same as hooking in and feeling a kite for yourself. That is where Santi’s tour comes in. Rather than waiting for riders to find the product, he has been helping to take it directly to them, turning beaches around the world into rolling test grounds for the latest Ozone gear.

It is an idea that suits his character perfectly. Santi is one of those people whose energy seems to spill naturally into everything he does. He talks about the sport with genuine excitement and approaches a demo not as a sales job but as an opportunity to share something he loves. That is a big part of why the concept has worked so well. Riders are not being pushed into trying equipment. They are being invited into an experience.

Santi’s story begins a long way from the famous windy coastlines most kiters dream about. He grew up in the north of Argentina, far from the sea, where kiteboarding for him meant lakes rather than waves. It was his father who first introduced him to the sport around 13 years ago. The moment he saw a kite in action, it made an instant impression. With no instructors in his area, his father taught him, and the local community helped him progress on the water. What had once been a tiny scene of only a handful of riders slowly started to grow.

That local growth mirrors something important about the wider kiteboarding world, especially in places that sit a little outside the traditional spotlight. South America may not always get the same attention as the rest of the world when people talk about the global kite scene, but riders like Santi are proof of just how much talent, passion, and potential there is. In his part of Argentina, the local conditions can be relatively light, with 20 knots considered strong, meaning he learned on bigger kites and developed a real feel for efficiency and control. Yet not too far away, there are legendary inland spots where the wind can blow 50 to 60 knots, funnelling through the mountains, giving ambitious riders the kind of conditions that can shape serious talent.

That talent has carried Santi well beyond recreational riding. While many people meeting him on the beach may know him as the face of the demo tour, he is also a highly capable big air rider with real competitive ambitions. He has already won major events in Argentina, including the country’s first official big air competition, as well as the South American Big Air event this year, and has made it clear that he wants more. He speaks openly about wanting to compete on the biggest stages in the sport one day, at events like King of the Air and Lords of Tram. It is not an empty dream either. He believes he has what it takes, and from the way those around him talk about his riding, it's hard not to envisage him on the world stage in the future. 

That dual identity is part of what makes him such an interesting figure within Ozone. He is not only an athlete, but also a brand representative, and now he’s joined the marketing department too. He sits somewhere in the middle, bridging product, people and performance. That matters when you are running demos, because riders respond best to someone who can genuinely explain what a kite does, how it feels, and who it is for, not from a brochure, but from lived experience. Santi can do that because he rides at a high level himself and still remembers exactly what it feels like to be progressing, learning and figuring things out.

The demo tour itself came together after Santi suggested the idea at the end of 2024. At first, it was not taken too seriously, but early in 2025, Ozone came back to him and asked if he really wanted to do it. From there, the plan snowballed. He and a friend loaded a van with gear and set off across Europe, chasing wind, coordinating with local distributors, and building each stop around whatever conditions and opportunities appeared next. There was no rigid master plan, and that was part of the beauty of it. If the forecast changed, the route changed. If there was no wind in Portugal, and France lit up, they drove to France. The tour followed the wind in the truest possible sense.

That flexibility meant carrying everything all at once. The van was packed with kites, boards and bars, ready for whatever beach and whatever conditions came next. Life on the road was not glamorous. Three months in a small van with two friends and a mountain of gear comes with obvious challenges. With two beds, one covered in kites and one to share with his mate, it was tough. Space was limited, and after long days on the beach, even a decent shower started to feel like a luxury. But the hardship seems to have been outweighed by the connections made along the way.

One of the strongest themes to come out of Santi’s experience is just how welcoming the kiteboarding community can be. At stops across Europe and beyond, locals opened their homes, offered showers, shared meals and helped spread the word. In return, Santi and his friend brought a bit of Argentina with them, often cooking asado (BBQ) for the local crews and turning demo stops into kite-focused social gatherings. That sense of community is perhaps one of the most underrated aspects of what the demo tour offers. It is not just about testing a kite. It is about meeting people, swapping stories, sharing sessions and spending time on a beach where everyone is there for the same reason.

For riders, that matters. A good demo day can break down a lot of the barriers people feel around trying new equipment. Many kiters get comfortable with the gear they know and are hesitant to move away from it. Sometimes that is because they are loyal to a particular setup. Sometimes it is because they are unsure whether a different kite will suit them. Sometimes it is simply because the effort of changing feels greater than the reward. A demo tour removes that friction. The kites are pumped up, the bars are ready, and someone is standing there who can help point you in the right direction. All you need to do is bring your harness and wetsuit, and ideally your board, then go ride.

That ease of access is a huge benefit for everyday riders. It allows them to understand not just whether they like a kite, but why they like it. They can try an Enduro, then a Vortex, then perhaps an Edge or a Mach 1, and feel the difference for themselves in one afternoon. Rather than relying on marketing language or second-hand opinions, they can build their own understanding. For newer riders, especially, that kind of experience can be invaluable. It accelerates learning, builds confidence and often opens their eyes to possibilities they may not have considered before.

It also creates a valuable feedback loop for the brand. Santi is not just sending riders out and waving them back in. He is gathering responses, impressions and opinions from the beach and feeding them into a system that helps Ozone understand how their products are being received. That makes the demo tour more than a promotional exercise. It becomes a research tool as well, connecting real-world use directly back to product development.

Among all the kites Santi has been putting into riders’ hands, one in particular stands out for him, the Vortex. He speaks about it with the sort of enthusiasm that only comes when a product really has changed your riding. For Santi, it was the kite that helped unlock his progression into big air. Coming from a freestyle background, he found the Vortex gave him the confidence and consistency to go from no kiteloops to double loops in a year and a half. He describes it as smooth, intuitive and easy to trust, the kind of kite that lets you focus on what you are doing rather than worrying about where the kite is.

That matters not just for elite riders, but for the people trying it on the demo tour as well. One of the biggest advantages of a well-run demo is that it allows riders to feel that progression for themselves. Santi has already seen people come off the water having landed something for the first time or having discovered a new level of confidence. Thanks to the Vortex, and he's just been testing the Vortex 2, which he says is even better. Of course, you can ride the new Vortex 2 whenever you see him at the beach this year! That is the sweet spot of the whole project. The best outcome is not a sale. It is a rider returning to the beach with a huge grin and a story about what just clicked.

For 2026, Tarifa is where it all starts for the European leg of the tour. With a demo centre giving riders even more direct access to gear outside the bigger event days. That should make the whole project even more useful for visitors and locals alike, offering a more permanent space where riders can speak to Santi, ask questions about conditions, and try specific kites in a more personalised way.

Looking ahead, Santi is also stepping further into a marketing role within Ozone, learning more about the work that happens behind the scenes while still trying to carve out time for his own progression on the water. Balancing both will not be easy, especially in a sport where the top athletes often dedicate themselves full-time to training. But his ambition is clear, and if the last year has proved anything, it is that he is not afraid of putting in the effort.

In many ways, Santi Cisneros represents something valuable in modern kiteboarding. He is ambitious, talented and driven, but he also understands that the sport is about people. The Ozone Demo Tour works because it is built on that understanding. It gives riders access to great gear, yes, but more importantly, it gives them a reason to gather, to share and to push their own riding forward.

For anyone thinking about turning up to a demo but wondering whether it is really for them, Santi’s message is simple. You do not need to be a pro. You do not need to send loops. You just need to come along, have a go and enjoy yourself.

And really, that feels like the whole point.

 

By IKSURFMAG