Stuart Porro: The Marketing Entrepreneur Behind XCAT’s Microphone
Stuart Porro runs three marketing businesses, commentates on XCAT racing across four continents, and works with Gibraltar Rugby. The Gibraltar-based broadcaster heading into his sixth XCAT season explains how the seemingly impossible schedule actually works.
The Dual Identity
Most sports commentators focus solely on broadcasting. Porro operates differently. His marketing consultancy Collaborate serves automotive, marine, and motorsport clients. His media brand Is it Fast builds content strategies. A third venture, Market My Marina, launches later this year targeting the marina industry.
The XCAT role isn’t separate from these businesses. It fuels them.
Being the commentator of the XCAT World Championship complements my business ventures really well. Having something that differentiates me from the competition is helpful. It proves that I’m actually interested in the industries that I work in.
The access matters. Standing metres from offshore catamarans gives Porro insights competitors in marketing boardrooms never acquire. Clients notice the difference.
The Broadcast Operation
XCAT’s coverage runs through Athens-based ICARUS Sports, the production company Porro has worked with for five years across multiple championships. The operation travels in a shipping container.
Race week crews work 10 to 15-hour days. Camera operators, directors, and technical staff move the entire broadcast infrastructure from Kuwait to Italy to the UAE. The live feed reaches broadcasters like Fujairah TV and Dubai Sports.
We have incredibly powerful camera equipment and broadcasting equipment, and it all goes through the central director hub in the broadcast container. From there we can feed the broadcast to anybody we’re working with.
Covering offshore racing presents challenges tarmac motorsport avoids. XCAT circuits span 55 to 60 nautical miles. Shore-based cameras can’t capture mid-ocean action. Drones solved part of the problem, but expanse remains the primary obstacle.
The Challenge: Unlike circuit racing where cameras position anywhere trackside, offshore racing limits camera placement to shoreline positions. ICARUS deploys drone coverage to capture action across the full race course.
The Planning Machine
Porro knows his diary through to this November. Planning makes the workload manageable, though he admits the balance remains difficult.
Months away from his family in Gibraltar require understanding. The compensation comes from passion rather than obligation.
When you’re there doing the job it doesn’t feel like you’re working. Every single project I’m part of, and the XCAT championship, just feels like you’re coming home and working on creative products that are bringing people joy.
The Untold Stories
Porro sees growth potential beyond race coverage. The 2025 Kuwait debut opened his perspective.
He arrived expecting racing. Kuwait delivered culture, hospitality, and experiences he hadn’t anticipated. The same happened in Palermo, in Fiumicino, in every XCAT destination.
The XCAT Championship is of course about the racing and about the crews. But there’s a huge human lifestyle story we can tell about come for the racing but stay for the culture. XCAT opens the world and opportunities to people and shows people things and places that they might not be able to see.
That storytelling philosophy drives his vision for XCAT’s media evolution. Five years of coverage improvements demonstrate momentum, but Porro believes the championship’s relative youth compared to Formula One or British Touring Cars means the best work lies ahead.
The Memorable Moments
The 2024 Grand Finale stands out. Victory’s collision created drama, but HPI Jira Racing Team’s final-lap triumph delivered the unexpected championship conclusion XCAT promised.
His first race commentary brought its own chaos. Porro remembers being stuck on Jumeirah Beach in his hire car and having to sprint to the commentary booth. Somewhere in that frenzy, Dubai Police secured the world championship.
Kuwait 2025 provided recent vindication. Strong racing throughout the weekend. The reintroduced Speed Cat drag runs added spectacle Porro admits he loves.
Just drag racing these XCATs is so bonkers but I absolutely love it.
The Gibraltar Connection
Gibraltar’s population barely exceeds 40,000. That scarcity breeds pride. Porro carries his Gibraltarian identity visibly.
The Rock’s community focus and relationship-building culture translate directly to XCAT’s paddock dynamics. Small grids traveling the world together require cooperation even amid competition. Gibraltar taught him that balance.
Mark Walker’s previous Gibraltarian presence in XCAT matters to Porro. Walker competed with Spirit of Gibraltar and worked with Victory Team. Continuing that national connection carries weight.
XCAT Career
Role: Lead Commentator
Broadcaster: ICARUS Sports
Coverage: Live race broadcasts and highlights programmes across global markets
Business Ventures
Clients: Gibraltar Government departments, UK automotive retailers, rugby institutions
Is it Fast: Automotive and motorsport content strategy
Market My Marina: Launching 2026 for marina marketing services
The Watch Detail
Ten watches occupy Porro’s collection. Too many, he admits. Three rotate during XCAT broadcasts.
The Straton Yacht Racer appears when he’s feeling flamboyant. The colours match the championship’s energy. His Marloe Sceptre carries special significance: serial number 0001, the first version produced, used in all the Scottish brand’s promotional material. Occasionally a TUDOR Black Bay makes appearances in 2026.
Watches represent one of his few vices. They accentuate personality without demanding the time other hobbies require.
The 2026 Plans
Collaborate Consulting expands deeper into marine industry partnerships. Market My Marina targets marinas looking to tell stories beyond berth availability. The automotive division grows through existing relationships with major UK car retailers.
Rugby ventures expand into the Middle East. Porro’s XCAT-built relationships throughout the region open opportunities for rugby sevens tournaments seeking Gulf presence.
Gibraltar Government departments remain clients. So do existing motorsport partners. The balancing act intensifies rather than simplifies.
But planning holds it together. And when XCAT’s season opens, the marketing entrepreneur becomes the voice fans recognise. The businesses benefit. The passion delivers. Gibraltar stays proud.
We are a huge family and we really do look out for each other even on the water. Crews will fight tooth and nail against each other but they’ll look out for each other.
Year six begins soon.
Porro knows where he’ll be through November.
The watch is already chosen.
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
