From Jakarta to Laax, training Indonesia’s first snowboarder is a family affair

When seven-year-old Zazi Landman first saw snowboarders spinning through the air during a family ski holiday in Andorra in the Pyrenees, she had no idea that moment would transform her life.

“I saw some cool guys jumping and doing some tricks, and I said ‘oh my God, Dad, I want to learn snowboarding’,” said the now 13-year-old.

“Those three days were amazing and I fell in love with it.”

Jump to 2025 and Landman now regularly drops into some of the world’s best halfpipes, coached by none other than Sochi 2014 halfpipe gold medallist Iouri Podladtchikov (SUI).

Landman and her parents also now live in Laax, Switzerland, home to the world renowned snowboard and freeski Laax Open competition where multi Olympic halfpipe medallists Chloe Kim (USA), Shaun White (USA) and Australia’s Scotty James have all claimed FIS World Cup podium spots.

Before moving to Laax, the Landman family lived in Barcelona after they moved there from Jakarta, where Zazi was born and her mother’s hometown.

“My wife said, ‘you know what? She has to go see the snow. She's Indonesian and she needs to see the snow at least’,” said Patrick Landman.

“And she liked it, she liked it a lot.”

Landman, a Dutch hotel consultant, said it quickly became clear that his daughter’s technical abilities were no match for their own recreational ski skills.

“We're not like super skiers at all. We're very passive skiers (laughs),” he said.

As Zazi’s drive and technical abilities continued to grow, her parents decided to move the family to Laax in order to give their daughter access to the world’s best training environment.

“Zazi said this is what she wants to do, and I said ‘there’s only one way: it’s all in’,” said Patrick Landman.

Through word of mouth, the family were able to meet Podlatchikov and the former head coach of the Swiss snowboard team, Pepe Regazzi.

“It was just pure luck that we met them and it clicked,” said Patrick Landman.

His daughter’s training sessions with 37-year-old Podlatchikov also seems to have helped the former world champion rediscover his form.

Podlatchikov returned to competition in 2025 after five years in retirement, and has his sights set on making a comeback at the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

“Because of her, he got so motivated he wants to make a comeback at the Olympics because she's been saying, ‘why aren't you riding, you’re so good? So he's like, ‘okay, let’s go for it’,” said Patrick Landman.

Zazi hopes to be able to watch her coach and the Olympic halfpipe competition in February as she sets her sights on being the first snowboarder to represent Indonesia at the Olympic Winter Games in 2030.

“I also want to show that no matter where you are from – I'm from Indonesia, a tropical island with no snow – that you can do whatever you want.”

While Zazi focuses on what happens in the halfpipe, her parents are focused on what happens outside of training and travel with Zazi to all her training camps and competitions.

“We're on the road with the family together because it's important for her to feel that support. It's not just the sport, there's also home after sport,” said Patrick Landman.

‘We’re not getting involved in the details of the sport, we’re leaving it to the coaches which is something very hard. We don’t want to be one of those annoying parents on the slope pushing their kids. It’s up to her and the coaches to work that out.

“It’s not always easy because you want your kids to advance quickly and whatnot, but it’s a natural process that needs to happen.”

For Zazi, moving countries, early morning starts for training and the constant travelling are all worth it once she’s on her board.

“I really love this sport,” she said.

“It's fun. I love the feeling when I do jumps – it just feels like I'm in a dream.

“I also love winter … and snowboarding competitions are one of the coolest things to watch. I just really love snowboarding. I love how it feels. It's my passion.”

Zazi is scheduled to compete at the Laax Open Kids event in March.