Q&A with Janina Zeitler: Germany's first born and raised professional surfer
Janina Zeitler doesn't have the typical professional surfer’s backstory. She wasn't born on a surfboard and she doesn't live by the ocean, but this Munich woman still defeated the odds and made it to the big leagues and put both herself and her country on the surfing map. We sat down with her and asked her about her journey, “Flow like Water" and one of her favorite surfing destinations.
Janina Zeitler, 23, is a professional surfer with a rather unusual backstory. Unlike many of her competitors, she wasn't born with saltwater in her hair and stood on a surfboard before learning how to walk. She first picked up a board at the age of 12, in a city without a coastline. Janina was born and raised in Munich, Germany, where she still lives today. A place where surfing wasn't seen as a career choice unless you moved away. She started her surfing career by doing river surfing in the famous Eisbach River located in a park in the heart of Munich, the perfect spot for a landlocked surfer with a big dream of going pro.
Janina stuck to her dream and is now considered to be the world's best Rapid Surfer, and has competed for the German National Team of Surfing and is the reigning European and two-time German Champion.
Through the lens of JZ Media Productions, Janina’s own media production company, we got to follow her surf journey in “Flow like Water”. There, Janina talks about her inspiring story of how she beat the odds and became a professional surfer and paved the way for Germany as a surf nation.