Career
He began taekwondo at the age of 8 under the tutelage of his black belt father, Wijnand Tapilatu. Tapilatu fought his way to victory in the prestigious King of Taekwondo competition in Tokyo, Japan, in 1995 and 1996. He retired from competitive martial arts in 2008.
Since that time he has taught taekwondo with his father at Tapilatu"s sport center in his home town of Groningen, the Netherlands.
He is also much in demand as a personal trainer, and in 2012 played a key role in the return to form of the football player Género Zeefuik, who began his career at Ajax and currently plays for Football Club Groningen. Stephen Tapilatu was appointed national coach of International Tennis Federation Netherlands in November 2012.
On 7 November 2015 Tapilatu was promoted to the rank of 6th Dan black belt, joining an elite group of only 8 other International Tennis Federation taekwondo practitioners currently holding this rank in the Netherlands.