Yasnyiar Bonnegea, breaking boundaries in Nias

Yasnyiar @bonnegea isn't your average #prosurfer: she became the first female to be crowned #IndonesianSurf champ, keeping the title 5 years in a row, and is now 2x #AsianSurfing Champion.

 

Hailing from #Nias, a paradisiac but conservative island, Yasnyiar was expected to live up to her nickname, 'Bonne', from 'boneka' meaning 'doll', 'because I was a skinny kid and had long eyelashes and perfectly shaped eyebrows'. While she is sponsored by @billabong, Bonne is less doll than #charger.
In the brilliant 2015 #surfdocumentary 'Point of Change' by @beckicoley, Bonne is showed to be under great pressure from her family to seek a future in marriage rather than in surfing. To this day however, Bonne isn't provisioning for plan Bs: 'I want to surf as long as I can. If I get injured, I'll surf after recovery. When I'm old, I will probably #longboard and join the Master division! (laughs)'.

Now training in Bali, Bonne is hopeful for her home island of Nias: she has become a @surfaid ambassador and following up the organisation's local efforts there (health, sanitation). She is also keeping an eye on young talent: 'there are 5 girls who I hope will join the national circuit at some point'. Her success as an uncompromising athlete has certainly proven that #surfing can be a career option for young women around the world. ✒ @_laurence_b 📷: @Niasfilm @billabong