person flying through air on snowboard over snow covered rocks

ZEAL SURFER

sandra Hillen

snowboarder in red coat leaning wildly and spraying snow as she rides down mountain
Meet Sandra Hillen

Luck. The first piece of Sandra's story starts with being lucky enough to discover and pursue her true passion. Growing up in the flat lands of Kansas, who knew she would one day become a year-round, powder-chasing professional snowboarder. She knew she loved snowboarding before she had even seen one in person, and moving to Colorado for college at age 18 created an irreversible change in her life.

Despite all the hard falls, the bone-chilling blizzardy days and gut wrenching defeats, she keeps coming back to her all time favorite activity in life. The low moments make the good times that much more sweet and she wouldn't trade it for the world. She's so freaking lucky.

Fast-forward to 2014, and an irrefutable passion earned her a spot on the Mexican snowboard team, supporting her family's roots. "The road to the Olympics was definitely the most amazing experience ever," elates Sandra. "I had never competed at that level before, so it definitely pushed me to step up to the occasion." When asked about her approach to life, Sandra's response is, "Getting out of your comfort zone keeps you young. Travel more."

"ZEAL is such a rad company that emphasizes going out there and experiencing life—getting lost on earth and exploring more. I think more people need to take that attitude toward life. "

- Sandra Hillen

Explore More

snowboarder making a jump in the snow through the trees

Back to the Future!

What if I told you there was a place where trains travel nearly 200 miles per hour, snow is measured by the foot rather than the inch, sushi is bottomless and costs next to nothing and every toilet seat is heated?

city at the base of mountain range as the sun sets

Exploring the End of the World

If you’re like me, there’s not much more exciting than discovering exotic, distant places and seeing them for yourself. I’d heard about this place called Ushuaia, Argentina.

woman doing a snowboard trick flipping on a half pipe course

Welcome To The Family Sandra Hillen

Next time someone tells you that playing video games makes you lazy, send them a link to this page. Not only did Play Station get a young Sandra Hillen to push her parents to take a snowboard vacation in Colorado, it also set a chain of events in motion that landed her on the Mexican national team and the road to the Olympics.