As a professional snowboarder, David Hablützel achieved his first international successes at the age of 15, including a podium finish at the 2012 Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, which marked the beginning of his sporting career.
At the age of 17, he took part in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi for the first time and achieved a remarkable fifth place. In the same year, he secured a podium place at the US Opens, the biggest snowboarding event in the world at the time, confirming his place in the halfpipe Olympics.
Since 2014, he has taken part in three Winter Olympics (Sochi, PyeongChang, Beijing) for the Swiss delegation and also proved himself at World Championships, the LAAX Opens and other World Cups. However, the winter seasons were also characterised by physical and mental setbacks in the form of serious injuries. Despite successes such as podium finishes at the LAAX Opens, a fourth place at the 2021 World Championships and the X-Games, the years 2014 to 2022 were an emotional rollercoaster. Numerous hours of snowboarding had to be replaced by physiotherapy and strength training.
Several knee injuries and concussions showed him that health is the greatest asset and crucial for extraordinary success. He was able to increase his own resilience, particularly during the rehabilitation phases after injuries and operations. During this time, he recognised his ‘why’ for sport, as explained in his new short documentary. These phases also opened his eyes to the world, which is why he decided to study economics at the Swiss Open University, which he completed with a Bachelor’s degree in January 2023.
David Hablützel Lecture topics
- Generation Z (digital natives)
What characterizes Gen Z, what do they want, and how can you engage(employee, customer) them? Insights into their everyday life, their way of thinking and how to communicate between the generations.
- Resilience
His career was characterised by long injury breaks, which repeatedly set him back, but ultimately made him stronger. These experiences helped him to develop new mental skills and get back to the top of the world. This presentation is particularly suitable for team and staff events when not everything goes according to plan.
- From Setbacks to Self Leadership
Self-leadership as the key to success and overcoming challenges. Integral leadership starts with yourself and leads to the full development of your potential.
- Dealing with stress – Successful in stressful situations
Stressful situations are unavoidable in everyday working life, and dealing with them correctly is crucial. As a professional snowboarder, David Hablützel has experienced many such moments and also made mistakes. However, he learnt from these mistakes and was able to improve, making him the best European on the world rankings in the 2024 season. In his presentation, he shows how to deal successfully with stressful situations and emerge stronger from them. These skills are not only important in sport, but also in professional life.
David Hablützel also known as ‘Swissdave’
In addition to snow sports, David Hablützel enjoys spending his summers by the ocean and runs his start-up Teal Project, which produces sports socks made from ocean plastic and sells them in Switzerland. His mission with Teal Project is to create a sustainable Swiss sports brand. The balance between physical and mental activity is essential to his career, which is why he is also an ambassador for education and lifelong learning. In lectures and workshops, he talks about topics such as stress management, strengthening resilience, self-leadership and generational conflicts.
In the 2023/2024 comeback season, he successfully returned to the competition stage after a two-year break. With consistent performances at all World Cups, he secured 11th place as the best Swiss and best European. This season confirmed that he is back to his best form in competitive halfpipe snowboarding. His big goal in professional sport is to return from the home World Championships in St. Moritz in 2025 and the Winter Olympics in Milan in 2026 with his best performance and a precious metal.
As a public speaker, David Hablützel is committed to a healthy approach to himself. Sport has already taught him a lot, and if he can pass on even a small part of it, he is very grateful.