Who is Tiago?

TIAGO MOREIRA-RATO

Who likes talking about themselves? Not many people, and I am one of them! Thankfully, however, working in sales has taught me some great skills on knowing how to keep a crowd engaged and interested, and that is what I plan to do today! So hopefully by the end of this post you are still with me and have enjoyed learning about me and who I am!

Now, just like most stories, this one needs to start at the beginning! Where am I from? Well I like to say that I am a very international person! I am technically Portuguese (I have the passport to prove it), however I was actually born in London, UK - fun little twist there! Then when I was around 2 years old, my family and I moved to Miami, Florida - oh yeaaaah! We lived there for an amazing 9 years and then made our last move to sunny Madrid, Spain! You could say that Madrid is where I really became a “man”! Then at 18 it was time to fly the nest and go to college, and off to Boston University I went for 4 years - man those were some wild times! Once I finished my degree I moved back to Europe - Dublin to be exact- where I started my sales career! I was there for two and a half years, during which I met some incredible people and learned what real beer tastes like - oh Guinness! But ever since I left Madrid I knew that that was where I wanted to end up! So after a good time away, I decided it was time to come home! Unfortunately, covid made the move a lot less exciting, as we went straight into lockdown one week after I got back.. yikes! Nonetheless, I was and am very happy to be back in my city, covid and all!

So that is the main reason I consider myself to be international person, however, there is another reason: I LOVE TO TRAVEL! In my 26 years I have had adventures in 33 countries across the world! These adventures range from relaxed sunset drinks on the beach with friends in Portugal, to standing 10 meters away from a hippo at a camp site in Botswana, to riding a bike down Machu Pichu in Peru, and so many more! Having been as fortunate as I am to have been able to see so much of the world at such a young age, I have learned to appreciate the world and all it has to offer. It has made me grow as a person, and has made me realize how truly lucky I am, and this humbles me everyday.

Ok, so that’s the worldy aspect to Tiago, but there is so much more! Along the way, sports has been an integral part of my life, especially tennis. I started playing tennis with my dad when I was just 5 years old, and since that first racket swing I fell in love with the game! As I got older I started playing more seriously, getting into tournaments and competing in the USA and Spain. At the peak of my “tennis career” I was training 4 hours a day, 4 days a week - intense I know! I loved it so much that at one moment I even considered going pro! That, however, didn’t happen. Despite the passion and immense respect I had for tennis, I didn’t want it to limit my life. Plus, there are so many other great sports that I really enjoy too and wanted to be able to have the liberty to do whenever I wanted! I can remember ever since I was little that hanging out with my friends meant playing any and all types of sports! Basketball, football (both American and European) running, longboarding, you name it! We were kids and needed to use up all that crazy energy and what better way than with sports! Man, those were the good old days!

It is sad to say ever since university my friends and I all started to “grow up”. Our plans no longer involved sports or activities, I had basically stopped playing tennis and was more focused on my studies/job, and life simply became much more sedentary, as it does. And even though my brain had adapted to this less active lifestyle I was living, my body had not! There were days where I was sat at my desk and could feel myself getting antsy for absolutely no reason, like my body was telling me to get up and move! And that is when I knew I had to make a change and bring sports and exercise back into my life!

The thing is that I wanted something new, something that I had never done before and something challenging! Que jump rope! Two and a half years ago, I picked up a jump rope for the first time and was completely hooked! I started off doing it maybe once or twice a week, then four or five times a week, and now it is basically all I do! And let me tell you guys, jumping rope is NO joke! I mean, ever since I started I have seen such an incredible change in my body, and have finally found a new and different way to get my body moving and burn some insane calories! But the BEST part is, I am having more fun than I have ever had in my workouts! It has definitely become a HUGE part of who I am now, and can no longer imagine a workout that doesn’t involve me and my rope!

Oh, and as a quick side note… I adore dogs, have an obsession with reading non-fiction, am a gigantic fan of trying new things (especially food) and love a good puzzle!

So I hope you enjoyed reading this blog as much as I enjoyed writing it! I hope one day I can get to know some of you fellow/future jumpers too and that we all get out there and LIVE. BREATHE. JUMP.

Much love!

Tiago Moreira-Rato

Creator of the LIVE.BREATHE.JUMP movement