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Shaun White

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For other similarly named persons, see Sean White.

Shaun White
White in 2018
Personal information
Full nameShaun Roger White
Born (1986-09-03) September 3, 1986 (age 38)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight154 lb (70 kg)
Sport
Country United States
SportSnowboarding, skateboarding
Medal record
Men's snowboarding
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2006 Torino Halfpipe
Gold medal – first place 2010 Vancouver Halfpipe
Gold medal – first place 2018 Pyeongchang Halfpipe
Winter X Games
Gold medal – first place 2003 Aspen Superpipe
Gold medal – first place 2003 Aspen Slopestyle
Gold medal – first place 2004 Aspen Slopestyle
Gold medal – first place 2005 Aspen Slopestyle
Gold medal – first place 2006 Aspen Superpipe
Gold medal – first place 2006 Aspen Slopestyle
Gold medal – first place 2008 Aspen Superpipe
Gold medal – first place 2009 Aspen Superpipe
Gold medal – first place 2009 Aspen Slopestyle
Gold medal – first place 2010 Aspen Superpipe
Gold medal – first place 2011 Aspen Superpipe
Gold medal – first place 2012 Aspen Superpipe
Gold medal – first place 2013 Aspen Superpipe
Silver medal – second place 2002 Aspen Superpipe
Silver medal – second place 2002 Aspen Slopestyle
Silver medal – second place 2007 Aspen Superpipe
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Aspen Slopestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Aspen Slopestyle
Men's skateboarding
X Games
Gold medal – first place 2007 Los Angeles Vert
Gold medal – first place 2011 Los Angeles Vert
Silver medal – second place 2005 Los Angeles Vert
Silver medal – second place 2010 Los Angeles Vert
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Los Angeles Vert

Shaun Roger White (born September 3, 1986) is an American former professional snowboarder and skateboarder. He is a five-time Olympian and a three-time Olympic gold medalist in half-pipe snowboarding. He holds the world record for the most X Games gold medals and most Olympic gold medals by a snowboarder. He has also won 10 ESPY Awards throughout his career in various categories.[1]

Early life

White was born in San Diego, California, to parents Cathy and Roger. When he was young his mother was a waitress and his father, who grew up surfing, worked for the San Clemente, California, water department. He is the youngest of four children.[2] His ancestry includes Irish and Italian.[3][4] He was born with a Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect for which he required two open-heart operations before the age of one.[2] White spent his early years riding the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California with his family. They would stay in a van in resort parking lots.[2]

Athletic career

Skateboarding

At an early age White's skills drew admirers. Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk befriended the nine-year-old White at the Encinitas, California, YMCA skate park and mentored him, helping White turn pro in skateboarding at the age of 16.[2] White has said that "Tony was my hero and I was too terrified to talk to him so every time I saw him at the skate park I would try to impress him with my skateboarding in the hopes that one day he would say something to me."[2] White has won many titles on his skateboard, including the overall title of Action Sports Tour Champion, and was the first person to compete in and win both the Summer and Winter X Games in two different sports.

Snowboarding

Following in his older brother Jesse White's[5] footsteps, White switched from skiing to snowboarding at age six, and by age seven, he received his first sponsorship. White has participated in five Winter Olympics in his career. At the 2006, 2010, and 2018 Winter Olympics, White won gold in the snowboard halfpipe event. White has also participated in the Winter X Games, where he has won a medal every year since 2002. Including all winter X Games competitions through 2013, his medal count stands at 18 (13 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze), among which is the first quadruple win streak by a male athlete in one discipline, the snowboard slopestyle. White's streak was snapped in 2007 when he lost to Andreas Wiig and Teddy Flandreau, with White taking the bronze. He won the Air & Style Contest in 2003 and 2004.

2006 Winter Olympics

See also: Snowboarding at the 2006 Winter Olympics and 2006 Winter Olympics

At the 2006 Winter Olympics, White won gold in the half-pipe.[6] After his first run in qualifications, White was almost out of competition, scoring only 37.7. On his second run, he recorded a score of 45.3. In the finals, White recorded a score of 46.8 (50 is the highest possible score) to win. Fellow American Danny Kass won the silver with a points total of 44.0.[7]

2008

Executing a near-flawless second run, White captured his third consecutive snowboard halfpipe title at the 2008 U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships to go along with his third US Open slopestyle competition. This followed White's win at the 25th (2007) Burton US Open, where he placed third in slopestlyle and first in the halfpipe. At the 2007 Open, White was also crowned the first "Burton Global Open Champion". His take for the event was $100,000 (Global Open Champ), $20,000 (1st Place Halfpipe), $90,000 (3rd Place Slopestyle), and a new Corvette.

On November 16, 2008, White released his first video game, Shaun White Snowboarding, in North America (November 14, 2008, in Europe). Shaun White Snowboarding was the 20th-best-selling game of December 2008 in the United States.[8]

2009

White with Richard Branson in 2009

Controversy followed White's win on the 2009 SuperPipe at Winter X Games XIII[citation needed]. Kevin Pearce had five hits in the pipe, and all were the same tricks White did in his final run. White, on the other hand, had six hits and he started off his run with a big backside rodeo 540 where Pearce started his run off with a big grab. Although Pearce went bigger, he had fewer hits, and his first hit wasn't as technically difficult as White's first hit.[citation needed] Judges came to the conclusion that White deserved the better score because he started off with a more technical trick and he had one more hit than Pearce.[citation needed] With the win, White became the second competitor, after Tanner Hall, to win a gold medal in the SuperPipe in consecutive years at the Winter X Games. He also won a gold medal in Slopestyle, finally winning gold after two consecutive years of bronze.

On February 14, 2009, White won the FIS World Cup Men's Halfpipe event at Vancouver's Cypress Mountain. Out of the gate in his first qualifying run, he qualified immediately with the day's best score of 45.5. With a thumb sprained on an over-rotated backside 1080 in the second qualifying run, White clinched the event with the first of his two runs in the finals. His first finals run was awarded the highest score ever in FIS halfpipe, a 47.3.

2010 Winter Olympics

See also: Snowboarding at the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Olympics

At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, White again won gold in the halfpipe.[9] In the finals, White recorded a score of 46.8 on his first run, which proved a high enough score to secure the gold medal without a second run. He performed his second run anyway, as a victory lap, ending his run with a well-anticipated Double McTwist 1260 which he named The Tomahawk.[10] This second run resulted in a record score of 48.4 (50 is the highest possible score) enlarging his margin of victory. His nearest competitor won the silver with a points total of 45.0 – 3.4 behind White.[11]

2011

After a sub-par performance in the Slopestyle and failing to reach the finals, White "redeemed" himself in the SuperPipe. With an 89, he sat in second place going into his 2nd of three runs. He completed the run, landing his infamous Double McTwist 1260 and finishing with a score of 97.33 to take the lead and claim the historical 4th straight Gold in the Winter X Games, held in Aspen, Colorado. The score tied an X Games record, which was set by White one year before. His 3rd run was a simple victory run featuring mostly straight air.[12]

2012

At Winter X, White became the first person in the history of the Winter X Games to score a perfect 100 in the men's Snowboard SuperPipe.

2013

White won his 6th consecutive SuperPipe victory, making him the second participant ever to achieve this, with SnoCross racer Tucker Hibbert achieving his 6th consecutive victory earlier in the same day.[13]

In December 2013, he won the third place in the Pipe & Slope contest at the FIS Snowboard World Cup in Copper Mountain, Colorado.[14]

2014 Winter Olympics

White finished fourth at the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Halfpipe event.

During the winter games, he was the most talked-about Olympic athlete on Facebook.[15]

2018 Winter Olympics

White after medalling at the 2018 Winter Olympics

While in New Zealand, training for the 2018 Winter Olympics, White crashed into the edge of a superpipe; the resulting injuries to his face required 62 stitches.[16][17] Despite the accident, White qualified for the 2018 US Olympic Team.[18] On February 14, he won his third Olympic gold medal for the Men's Halfpipe event with a score of 97.75, with Ayumu Hirano of Japan taking the silver medal and Scott James of Australia taking the bronze. White was trailing Hirano by one full point coming into his last run with a score of 94.25. Despite this, White dramatically won the gold medal with back-to-back 1440s.[19] His gold medal was also the 100th for the United States at the Winter Olympic Games.[20]

2022 Winter Olympics

White finished fourth at the 2022 Winter Olympics in the halfpipe.[21]

During the winter games, White announced it would be the last Olympics in which he would compete.[22] Later, he announced it would be his final competition altogether.[23]

Endorsements

White has had a sponsor since he was seven years old. White signed CAA Sports for representation after working with IMG for eight years.[24] Corporate endorsement deals include or have included Burton Snowboards, Oakley, Inc., Birdhouse Skateboards, Park City Mountain Resort, Target Corporation, Red Bull, Ubisoft, Adio, Hewlett-Packard, and American Express. He is also a brand ambassador for Krave Jerky and as part of their partnership he has developed and released his own flavors.[25] In 2009, Forbes magazine estimated that he had earned $9 million from his endorsements in 2008.[26]

Media ventures

Acting

White has made cameo appearances as himself in the 2011 film Friends with Benefits, the 2013 episode "Da Flippity Flop" of the animated TV series American Dad!, and the 2014 Disney Channel Original Movie Cloud 9.

White starred in the 2004 documentary The White Album and the 2005 snowboarding documentary First Descent.

In 2007, White appeared on the E! reality TV show The Girls Next Door as a snowboarding teacher for Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson.[27]

A film, Don't Look Down, was released on DVD and ESPN in 2009. The film tracks his journey through the year following his Olympic success.[28]

White appeared on the January 16, 2011, episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to help redesign a room for an eight-year-old boy.[29]

White appeared in the Nickelodeon TV series Henry Danger in 2018 in the episode "Toon in for Danger". In the episode White and Captain Man were struggling for a seat while watching the premiere of The Adventures of Kid Danger.

Music

White plays guitar in the electronic rock band Bad Things, which also features former Augustana bassist Jared Palomar.[30] He got his first guitar as first prize in a snowboarding competition.[2] The band played in one of the four Saturday headlining slots at the 2013 Lollapalooza festival, as a last-minute replacement for Death Grips.[30] Their self-titled debut album was released in January 2014.

In October 2013, White appeared in the music video for "City of Angels" by Thirty Seconds to Mars.[31]

Print

White had his first published interview in TransWorld SNOWboarding Magazine in 2003.[32]

White was one of the few pro snowboarders to be a guest editor of Snowboarder Magazine (February 2008 issue).[33]

White has a chapter giving advice in Tim Ferriss's book Tools of Titans.

Business ventures

White has appeared in several video games and has also launched his video game franchise. He appeared in 1999’s Cool Boarders 4 and 2001's Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder. In 2008 he released his own video game, Shaun White Snowboarding, developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. This was followed by a sequel, Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage, released in 2009. A skateboarding game, Shaun White Skateboarding, was also released in 2010.

In early 2016 he purchased a minority stake in Mammoth Resorts and is now a part-owner of the Mammoth Mountain, Snow Summit, June Mountain, and Bear Mountain ski areas where he got his start in snowboarding.[2]

White has helmed the Air + Style festival of music and snowboarding since 2014, when he took ownership and moved it from Austria to Los Angeles.[34] The 2021 festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[35]

White launched his own active lifestyle brand named 'Whitespace' in January 2022; he announced the name of the brand on his social media. The company will eventually release a line of outerwear, snowboard hard-goods, athletic equipment, and streetwear apparel.[36]

Personal life

White has had the longstanding nickname "The Flying Tomato", due to his red hair. In 2006, Rolling Stone wrote about the nickname, saying, "he used to embrace it, even wearing headbands with a flying-tomato logo, but he has grown tired of it." He has also been nicknamed "Animal", a reference to a character from The Muppet Show.[37][38]

On September 17, 2012, White was arrested near a hotel in Nashville for public intoxication and vandalism after attending the wedding party of the drummer of The Black Keys, Patrick Carney.[39]

White, who underwent two open-heart surgeries as an infant, has granted 17 wishes through the Make-A-Wish Foundation since 2008.[2]

Relationships

White was in a relationship with Sarah Barthel of the band Phantogram from 2013 to 2019.[40] He started dating actress Nina Dobrev in 2020.[41][42] The two became engaged on October 30, 2024.[43]

Sexual harassment allegation

In 2016, Bad Things drummer Lena Zawaideh brought a lawsuit against White, claiming sexual harassment and breach of contract.[44] White and Zawaideh reached an out-of-court settlement in May 2017; the terms of the settlement were not disclosed.[45] At a press conference following White's win at the 2018 Winter Olympics, he was asked if he was concerned that the lawsuit and settlement would tarnish his image. In replying, he referred to the incident as gossip, a response that created widespread condemnation of White for minimizing sexual harassment. White later apologized for his choice of words.[46][47]

Honors and awards

References

  1. ^ "Shaun White". January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Official Site of Shaun White". Archived from the original on August 11, 2021.
  3. ^ O'Shea, Sean (February 2010). "Shaun White is set for more Olympic Gold in Canada". irishcentral.com. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
  4. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ Tschorn, Adam (August 19, 2016). "Olympian Shaun White's new clothing line reflects a grown-up version of the athlete's aesthetic". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ "Shaun White Wins Gold Medal". February 12, 2006. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  7. ^ Sal Ruibal (February 12, 2006). "White a gold winner in halfpipe, Kass is second". USA Today. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  8. ^ Lucas, John (January 19, 2009). "December 2008 NPD Monthly Videogame Sales Figures | Game Features, Games | Popzara Press". Popzara Press - The Latest Bits and Bytes!. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  9. ^ "White defends men's halfpipe title". Associated Press. February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  10. ^ John Branch (February 12, 2006). "White Takes Gold in Snowboard Halfpipe". The New York Times. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  11. ^ Kerby, Trey (February 17, 2010). "Shaun White proves he's still the best snowboarder in the world". Yahoo! Sports. Yahoo!. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  12. ^ "White wins first WX SuperPipe four-peat". Winter X Games. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  13. ^ "Shaun White Clinches Sis-Peat". Winter X Games. January 27, 2013. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  14. ^ "FIS Snowboard World Cup 2014 Results" (PDF). International Ski Federation. December 22, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  15. ^ "White is most chatted-about Olympic athlete". Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  16. ^ "Video shows Shaun White's gruesome crash that resulted in 62 stitches". USA Today. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  17. ^ "Details emerge about Shaun White's horrific slam that nearly cost him Olympics". CBSSports.com. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  18. ^ "Shaun White Scores Perfect 100, Makes Olympic Team With Youth Olympic Champs Jake Pates, Ben Ferguson". Team USA. Archived from the original on January 14, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  19. ^ Mather, Victor (February 13, 2018). "Sean White Reclaims His Golden Halfpipe Throne". New York Times. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  20. ^ Passan, Jeff (February 14, 2018). "Shaun White delivers dramatic finish to win third Olympic goal medal in halfpipe".
  21. ^ "Farewell to the Flying Tomato: how Shaun White left an Olympic legacy". The Guardian. February 11, 2022.
  22. ^ "Shaun White: 'I've decided this will be my last Olympics,' says US snowboarder as injuries take toll". CNN. February 5, 2022. Archived from the original on February 5, 2022.
  23. ^ Pells, Eddie (February 5, 2022). "Shaun White Says Beijing Winter Olympics Will Be His Final Competition". Time. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  24. ^ Lipari, Zachary (June 4, 2010). "On to the Next One: Shaun White". SportsAgentBlog.com. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  25. ^ Yanogacio, Cassie (November 16, 2021). "Shaun White "Goes For The Gold" With the Launch of His Own Flavor of KRAVE Jerky" (Press release). Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  26. ^ Badenhausen, Kurt (February 18, 2009). "The Highest-Paid Action Sports Stars". Forbes. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  27. ^ "Playboy Girls Ride With Shaun White". Snowboard Magazine. Storm Mountain Corp. Archived from the original on February 20, 2007. Retrieved February 8, 2007.
  28. ^ "Shaun White Snowboarding Documentary released today on DVD!". Michael Johns Online. January 6, 2009. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  29. ^ "Simpson Family". Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. ABC.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  30. ^ a b Browne, Rembert. "Rembert Explains America: An Unlikely Lollapalooza With Shaun White and His Band, Bad Things". Grantland. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  31. ^ Schillaci, Sophie (October 29, 2013). "Kanye West, Selena Gomez Among Artists in 30 Seconds to Mars' 'City of Angels'". Billboard. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  32. ^ "The Shaun White Interview". Transworld Snowboarding. October 7, 2003. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  33. ^ "Snowboarder Magazine February 2008 Volume 20.7 Shaun White Guest Editor Issue". Snowboarder Magazine. Source Interlink Media. Archived from the original on March 4, 2010. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  34. ^ Lhooq, Michelle (March 7, 2018). "Shaun White's Air + Style merges sports and music in the midst of #MeToo". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  35. ^ "AIR + STYLE". Shaun White. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  36. ^ Bruton, Michelle (January 13, 2022). "Shaun White Launches Active Lifestyle Brand 'Whitespace,' Including Signature Pro Model Snowboard". Forbes. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
  37. ^ Stevens, Hampton (January 30, 2010). "Shaun White reveals his new nickname". ESPN. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  38. ^ Edwards, Gavin. "Shaun White: Attack of the Flying Tomato". Rolling Stone. RealNetworks, Inc. Archived from the original on April 5, 2006. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  39. ^ O'Neil, Devon (September 17, 2012). "X Games star Shawn White charged with vandalism at hotel". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  40. ^ "Shaun White's Dating History: Nina Dobrev, Sarah Barthel and More". Us Weekly. August 27, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  41. ^ "Nina Dobrev and Shaun White Are Dating, 'Laugh a Lot Together': Video". Us Weekly. April 19, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  42. ^ Ushe, Naledi (October 2, 2021). "Nina Dobrev Reveals She and Shaun White Took Months to Paint Her Home During Quarantine Makeover". People. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  43. ^ Taylor, Elise (October 30, 2024). "Nina Dobrev and Shaun White Are Engaged! Inside Their Oh-So New York City Proposal Story". Vogue. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  44. ^ Stutz, Colin (August 16, 2016). "Shaun White Sued by Ex-Bad Things Drummer for Sexual Harassment". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  45. ^ Schrotenboer, Brent (May 16, 2017). "Shaun White settlement reached in female drummer's lawsuit". USA Today. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  46. ^ Mitchell, Robert (February 14, 2018). "Shaun White Apologizes for Referring to Sexual Harassment Allegations as 'Gossip'". Variety. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  47. ^ Seiner, Jake (February 14, 2018). "Shaun White sorry for 'poor choice of words' after referring to sexual misconduct lawsuit as 'gossip'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  48. ^ "PAST WINNERS". Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.
  49. ^ "The ANOC Awards 2018". ANOC. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
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