Singapore’s Sports Boy of the Year is 16 Years Old—And Literally Defies Gravity!
Already in 2025, Kai’s back at it with a vengeance, racking up silver and gold medals at the World Indoor Skydiving Championships.
On 20 June 2025, the world of extreme sports got a shake-up. Kai Minejima-Lee, Singapore’s very own gravity-defying prodigy, was crowned Singapore Sports Boy of the Year 2025. And trust us, your kids are going to want to know his name.
Kai’s rise is the kind of underdog-meets-superhero narrative that makes you want to stand up and cheer. In 2024, this homeschooled teen not only became the youngest-ever World Cup open category champion in indoor skydiving’s freestyle discipline, but also stormed through international competitions with 17 medals—10 of them gold.
And as if that wasn’t enough to impress, he and Team Singapore shattered a world speed record in a dynamic flying category.
Already in 2025, Kai’s back at it with a vengeance, racking up silver and gold medals at the World Indoor Skydiving Championships. This is all while breezing through subjects like Multivariable Calculus because, apparently, being a genius on the ground and in the air is just part of the deal.
What makes Kai’s story electrifying is not just his talent—it’s the way his journey challenges everything we think we know about raising kids, balancing school, and pursuing passions. There’s a reason he’s now the sports boy of the year: his story is a masterclass in grit, curiosity, and what can happen when parents give their kids room to explore the wild and unexpected.
theAsianparent dives into what Singaporean parents can take away from Kai’s jaw-dropping success, how homeschooling (plus an entire “village” of supporters) helped him soar, and why saying “yes” to curiosity just might be the best parenting strategy of all time.
▼Table of Contents
Wait, How is Indoor Skydiving Actually Judged?
Indoor skydiving might look like pure fun—a chance to “float” in a wind tunnel—but competitive indoor skydiving is an entirely different story. It’s a high-performance sport with rules, scoring systems, and world records, much like gymnastics or figure skating. And for parents trying to wrap their heads around how someone like Kai becomes the sports boy of the year for this, understanding the judging is key.
Kai breaks it down simply.
“Indoor skydiving is basically like the simulation of outdoor skydiving. You take away the plane, you take away the landing and the weather.”
He competes in freestyle (think figure skating in the air: 90 seconds, to music, scored on difficulty, creativity, execution) and dynamic (speed and free routines, solo/2-way/4-way).
Why It’s Harder Than It Looks
Indoor skydiving might not sound as exhausting as traditional sports, but the physical demands are intense. Holding a perfect body position while the wind blasts at speeds of up to 300 km/h requires serious strength, flexibility, and muscle control. Every flick of a finger or angle of a leg can send a flyer off course. That’s why Kai spends hours training to master micro-adjustments that most of us wouldn’t even notice.
When Kai explains it, you realize this isn’t just a novelty sport—it’s artistry, athleticism, and precision rolled into one. And when you combine that with the sheer adrenaline of “flying,” you get why a young talent like him could dominate at the international level and take home titles like sports boy of the year.
Why Homeschooling Worked For Kai
You know that feeling when your child says they’re bored because school isn’t moving fast enough? Kai’s been there.
“I remember telling my mum… I’m really bored in school, I’ve covered this.”
“…My teacher at the time suggested that I homeschool, because there was nothing else the school could do for me at the time.”
He started homeschooling at seven or eight—not to chase medals, but to let him “improve at my own pace.” The upside? It later became the perfect structure to juggle elite sport and serious academics.
“It turns out to be really helpful for my training as well. It lets me travel a lot more for competitions.”
How a ‘Sports Boy Of The Year’ Was Born At iFly Singapore
View this post on Instagram
As a preschooler, Kai saw people fly at an iFly Singapore anniversary party and was instantly obsessed. But Singapore law said: wait till seven.
“Every year I asked, ‘Can we go yet?’ On my seventh birthday, the moment I jumped in, I was hooked.”
Within that same year, he was already competing in Australia. He placed fourth in his first solo event—just off the podium—and that lit the fire.
“I really want to be up there I was motivated, really motivated to keep pushing. The next time, that’s my goal.”
Nine years later, he’s heading back to the same tunnel where it all began.
“This next competition is actually going to be in Australia. It’s going to be my first time back there in nine years. I’m actually quite excited to compete there again.”
The Grind You Don’t See
View this post on Instagram
When you hear “indoor skydiving,” you might picture a birthday-party two-minute float. Kai’s reality? Months of daily tunnel time, morning to night, solo to team, with school squeezed into the cracks.
“When I’m gearing up for a competition, I spend every single day in the tunnel. I think I spend more time at the tunnel than I do at home. Because I’m homeschooled, it makes things a lot easier for me. I just bring my MacBook and my iPad to the tunnel, and during the break, I’m just trying to get assignments done.”
Off-season? He front-loads schoolwork. On-season? He ramps up the training. And to keep fit, he does taekwondo for the community and the conditioning.
Yes, He’s The Sports Boy Of The Year—But It Took a Village
You already know this. No teen gets to the top alone. Behind every young athlete, there’s an entire ecosystem of support—people who show up, not just when the medals come out, but when the grind gets real. For Kai, that ecosystem is nothing short of extraordinary.
View this post on Instagram
“It takes a village.”
“It’s my parents… my team, my manager, my extended iFly Singapore family. When we travel, one will be in charge of cooking, the other one of laundry, transporting us.”
Source: Kai Minejima-Lee/Facebook
This isn’t just about ferrying him to practices or booking flights for competitions. It’s about a network of adults who treat his dreams as seriously as he does—people who sacrifice their time, energy, and comfort to make sure Kai is free to focus on perfecting every spin, twist, and dynamic routine. Imagine a group of parents travelling together across continents, tag-teaming between being chefs, chauffeurs, laundry duty captains, and moral support squads. That’s Kai’s reality.
The Secret Weapon Behind the Sports Boy of the Year
And then there’s Mum—his fiercest coach and biggest cheerleader rolled into one.
View this post on Instagram
“She really pushes me to my limits… she makes me do them because… I need to be stretching, I need to be working out… She also gives me the space to make mistakes.”
This “village” mentality goes beyond just family. Kai’s iFly Singapore circle treats every competition as a team mission. Parents of other young athletes pitch in like an extended family—sharing meals, rides, and even pep talks. When Kai describes them, you can feel the gratitude radiating through his words. He knows these moments—the long nights, the early mornings, the communal dinners after gruelling training days—are the glue holding everything together.
And this is the part that resonates with every parent. Raising a world-class athlete isn’t just about talent. It’s about creating a net of support so strong that your child feels safe to take risks, fail big, and dream even bigger. Kai’s journey is proof that when a community shows up for a child, incredible things happen.
What Parents Can Learn From Kai
Kai doesn’t claim to have parenting advice. But he knows what worked for him: curiosity first, pressure last.
“I’ve always been quite a curious kid… my mum… would just let me watch… And if I didn’t lose interest… she’d ask… do you want to try a trial class?”
He tried piano, guitar, violin, drums, wushu, rock climbing, tennis, taekwondo, and was allowed to quit what didn’t fit.
“She never put any pressure on me to perform… I can stop whenever I want… Those things that I gave up… I lost interest, or that was particularly bad, like tennis and violin.”
The result? A well-rounded kid who found the one passion he “wouldn’t give up for anything.”
“Sometimes… I’ve been like, you know, but if what if I just was normal… And then I think about how much I love the sport… It’s not worth it.”
Raising Fearless Humans
Kai’s sports boy of the year journey isn’t just about medals or speed records. It’s a reminder that extraordinary things happen when kids are free to chase what excites them—even when it’s not the “usual” path. His mum didn’t set out to raise a champion when he begged to fly at seven years old. She simply said yes, let him explore, and built a village around his passion.
How often do you push your kids toward what feels safe or predictable? What if, instead, you leaned into their quirks and curiosities? That offbeat hobby or obsession could be the key to unlocking their confidence and resilience.
Kai’s story proves that being “different” is a strength when it’s supported. Yes, it means messy schedules and homework crammed between training sessions, but it also means raising kids who genuinely love what they do.
Maybe your child isn’t destined to become the next sports boy of the year, but what if they’re meant to become the most fearless version of themselves? This is your nudge to let them try, fail, and rise—because when you stand behind them, you’re not just raising kids. You’re raising humans who believe they can fly.