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One rainy afternoon at a café in South Jakarta, Zazi Landman sits across from me, looking like any other teenager: quiet, scrolling through her phone, sipping a cold drink.
But the moment snowboarding comes up, her whole demeanor shifts. Her eyes brighten, her posture straightens and she speaks with a clarity of purpose that feels well beyond her 13 years.
“You're in a tropical country and there's not much snow. That doesn’t mean you can’t snowboard,” says Zazi, who started snowboarding as a toddler, already certain about her path.
“You can do whatever you want if you fight for it. You don’t just sit there and say, ‘Oh wow, I wish I could do this’. Just do it.”
Zazi isn’t quoting the Nike slogan, just being herself. Indonesia has never had a Winter Olympian, and she’s determined to be the first.
That goal is still a few years away, as she won’t be eligible to compete until she turns 17, but she is already building her foundation. Between skateboarding, ballet classes, schoolwork and weekend competitions, she trains under some of the world’s top coaches and competes across Europe.
The path she’s forging is steep, costly and entirely uncharted, but she’s undeterred.
Fast and faster
Zazi’s story doesn’t begin in Indonesia, which doesn’t have any snow-covered slopes, but in the Pyrenees.
“I started skiing when I was 4 years old,” she says.
“After I saw these guys jumping on a snowboard, I told my dad I wanted to do that. So he put me into some snowboarding lessons. Since then, I just loved it and just kept going with snowboarding.”
Her potential was evident from the start, and her instructors quickly noticed how naturally she moved, her balance and her quick grasp of technique.
“When I was 8, they had to put me in an adult class because they had nobody [to coach] me,” recalls Zazi. “I was surprised I caught up with the older ones.”
By the age of 10, she was competing internationally.
Last year, she won first place in the Girls+Boys under-13 category at the Volcom Sunrise & Sunset Park Takeover in Grandvalira, Andorra. Earlier this year, she placed fifth in Switzerland’s Laax Banked Slalom, competing in the Old Girls category.
“Since I started snowboarding, I’ve known I really want to do this. I found my sport early in life, and I’ve just been going for it,” she says.
Each win isn’t just a personal victory, though. It’s a reminder that even someone from the tropics can carve out a place in winter sports.
Alpine training
These days, Zazi trains in Laax, a world-famous hub for freestyle snowboarding located in Switzerland, with an elite coaching team: 2014 Olympic gold medalist Iouri Podladtchikov, 2014 European trampoline bronze medalist Simon Progin and Pepe Regazzi, former coach of Switzerland’s national snowboard team.
“What stands out most about Zazi is her maturity and resilience,” says Podladtchikov.
“She balances her studies with a demanding training schedule and adjusts to life abroad. She’s always focused and enthusiastic,” he adds.
Her talent has already caught the attention of major brands. Zazi is now sponsored by Nitro and TSG for gear, Adidas and Polaroid for apparel and DB Journey for travel equipment. The support signals that people are investing in her potential, even this early.
Bad fall, strong comeback
Of course, her journey hasn’t been without setbacks.
During a competition in Font Romeu, France, Zazi suffered a bad fall, resulting in a knee injury that ended her season. She spent three months on crutches.
“I thought I was going to quit,” she admits. “But no, I just got better. I went to physiotherapy, got my knee better and decided to push myself more. One fall doesn’t ruin your life. Nothing can stop me.”
Her coach agrees.
“She deals with obstacles and setbacks with a grace and positivity that far exceeds her age,” Podladtchikov says.
“Her curiosity is another defining trait. She constantly seeks to improve, not just for competition, but out of a genuine eagerness to collaborate, learn and create something beautiful in everything she does,” he adds.
“That curiosity fuels her passion and pushes her toward excellence.”
Aside from resilience and maturity, inquisitiveness is a key ingredient of her growing success.
Snow pioneer
This year marked a major milestone, not only for Zazi but also for Indonesia.
Under the banner of the Indonesia Olympic Committee, or NOC Indonesia, Zazi was registered with the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), and the country was formally recognized as a national member.
“It's not just that she wants to compete for Indonesia. Indonesia wasn't registered as a country for snow sports,” explains her father, Patrick Landman.
“The Olympic committee has been really supportive, dedicating a lot of time to make that happen, which isn’t easy. It took two years of work,” he adds.
“Normally in sports, you have clubs and federations. They don't exist [in Indonesia] for snowboarding.”
With no Indonesian athletes expected to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics, Zazi could one day be the first to carry the Red and White flag in international snow sports tournaments.
"Her story should inspire other young people to go new ways in sports," NOC Indonesia president Raja Sapta Oktohari says.
“Zazi is an extraordinary young talent, a symbol of what is possible for Indonesia.”
Road to France 2030
The Olympic stage might still be five years away, but Zazi is already deep in preparation. This season, she’s training in New Zealand with snowboarder Mitchell Davern.
For a young teen, her daily routine is anything but ordinary, but when she talks about her future, it’s clear she’s still having fun.
“I just wanna keep inspiring people and showing everyone that you can totally be a sports star, have lots of fun and still be yourself. It's gonna be a blast!” she says.
Whether or not she stands on a podium at the French Alps 2030, she is riding her own special path from Jakarta to the world.
