Tupuria King is an international waka ama champion athlete, entrepreneur, social media star and an academic.

The Ngapuhi and Tainui descendant was first introduced to the sport by his dad, Dave King, at age seven. He has been paddling professionally since 2012 and the 26 year old holds a Bachelor of Sport and Recreation as well as a Masters Degree of Sport, Health and Human Performance.

In a bid to contribute to the body of scientific knowledge based around high performance waka ama athletes that compete at the world championships, Tupuria’s Masters thesis focused on the physiology of Waka Ama.

Due to COVID19, Tupuria is bound to Aotearoa for now. Outside of running an online coaching service and merchandise store, you might catch him out on Okahu Bay, Hokianga Harbour or Lake Ngatu training out on the water.
In his spare time he is usually at the whanau farm in Broadwood, Northland hanging or training with his whanau (all waka ama world paddlers in their own right) and partner, rugby legend, Tyla Nathan-Wong.

As keen waka ama paddlers across the country gear up to train for the National Waka Ama Championship races next year, this one hour webinar delves into Tupuria’s waka ama journey, what motivates him to succeed and some of his Masters research findings.