Shaun White is just a genuinely {nice} guy, {one} who can crack a joke about anal lube as unselfconsciously as the {next} dude. If he’s going to {purchase} a {vehicle}, {it’s} going to be {one} of the fastest models on the planet if he decides to take up guitar, {it’s} going to be a Gibson Les Paul if he has to travel the {world}, then, damn it, {it’s} going to be with his {buddies} in tow.
“That’s {type} of my secret to my {whole} {factor}-it stays {enjoyable},” he says, when {finally} I manage to pry him away from the throng. “If you just sit {about} and train in the {summer} {simply because} {you are} going to be `the {best} snowboarder in the winter’ and {that is} all {you are} thinking about, {it’s} not {good}. {That is} why I got {much better} than the {kids} that stayed in the mountains-I’d come {home} to the beach and skateboard, and have {enjoyable}. Then, I’d go up to the mountain and I’m like ‘This is {incredible}!”‘ He pushes his gold, mirrored sunglasses a {small} {further} up his nose. “You just gotta {keep in mind} the {cause} you {started} {doing} it in the {initial} {location}.”
When Shaun White is in beer-pong mode, he’s in his element. {It is} the other side of his appeal: not only is he {one} of the most {thrilling} athletes to emerge in {recent} memory, he’s also just {one} of the guys, who just {happens} to be a multi¬millionaire, a video-game character, and, hang on, wasn’t that him in Vogue a {couple of} months ago, standing {next} to Daria, holding a skateboard? Take this {recent} {blog} post, written on his official {web site} {} White won the Winter X Games gold in Aspen: “What do you do {} winning the gold? Do you go and {instantly} pawn it for a VCR and a PS2? NO! When you are in Aspen and Target has the {biggest} {house} on the mountain, you get {with each other} for a {small} dancing with all of your buddies! Deep in the heart of the basement was a secret {room} {where} amps, guitars and a drum kit {had been} set up and {ready} to kick out the jams! Shaun was {found} ripping the frets on some classic songs, jamming along with the rest of the crew. It is {enjoyable} to win gold, but it is even {much better} hanging with all your {buddies} and jamming.” Shaun White, then: just like us! Only not {really}: he does, {} all, have an Olympic medal. White became a celebrity (and American hero) when he won the snowboarding gold in the 2006 Winter Olympics, in Turin. “I {think} that the Olympics {needed} snowboarding {more} than snowboarding {needed} the Olympics,” he says. “If you {think} about it, who do you know that can relate to that guy that skies like eight miles then shoots targets? {} can relate to that. {} goes out and toboggans. The highest rated {things} in the Winter Olympics are ice-skating and snowboarding. {It is} {simply because} you can relate and {}. You can watch us do airs in the halfpipe and go `OK, I {} that. They’re flipping and they’re spinning.’ {It is} a spectacle.”
But, as {famous} as he’s {turn out to be} as a snowboarder (he’s {one} of only two athletes with seven golds at the Winter X Games, and achieved his third consecutive halfpipe championship at the U.S. Open earlier this year), he has, all the {while}, been skating, {too}, {frequently} {below} the watchful eye of {one} Tony Hawk, who lives close by. White is {presently} the only skater to land the {body} varial frontside 540 and is {recognized}, as he is in snowboarding, for {massive} airs and smooth landings.
“Snowboarding was my {factor}, and skateboarding was just this {enjoyable} {factor} I did in the off-season,” he says. “Tony Hawk would invite me to do demos and we became {buddies}. When I was 16, I sat with him {one} day at the ramp and I was like ‘What do you {think} if I {start} competing in skateboarding? Would that be weird?’ And he was like `No, I {think} {you are} {good} {sufficient} to go for it.’
White’s motivation to succeed, {specifically} by winning competitions, comes across in {every} sentence he speaks about snowboarding and skateboarding. {It is} a tenacity that has brought him a {lengthy} way and looks set to take him {much} {further}. As a kid, White would travel the {three} hours with his parents and brother to {Big} Bear mountain, {where} the {family} would {invest} the weekend snowboarding. “I would cram a weeks worth of riding into two days,” he says.-”On {every} run I was {working} on a new trick. My mom {started} to ride and she was {really} slow, so in order to let her progress {sufficient} to {where} she could catch up to me she {produced} me ride switch. Then I got {really} {good} at it.” Soon {sufficient}, he was signed by Burton. “It wasn’t {simply because} I was like the raddest dude on the mountain-Burton just came out with a kid’s line, so I was there at the {start} with them,” he says. “They {had been} like `We’re going to give you this snowboard and if you {keep} {doing} {nicely} and {keep} competing then we’ll give you {another} {one}.’ {That is} all the motivation I {needed}. {Done}: I rip, I get {more} boards. Sick!” As he gained {confidence}, White {started} to attract {focus}. “I was super young and had this funny {appear},” he says. “I was just a giant helmet at that point, but I’d hit these {massive} jumps and just go for it.”
{Ultimately}, White became the {person} to beat at the mountain. “It turned into this {factor} {where} {everybody} was against me, and I didn’t {really} like it,” he says. “I’d be at the {start} and the other parents would be all ‘OK Johnny, {you are} gonna beat him {today}.”
He is {currently} {nicely} on his way to {altering} {each} skateboarding and snowboarding but, in winning that gold medal, White, {below} the watchful eyes of his parents, and Burton, catapulted the sports into the mainstream. By furthering what Tony Hawk had {started}-{doing} commercials, video games, {etc}.-White has propelled extreme sports {where} {numerous} {thought} they could {never} go (and {where} some purists {think} they {nonetheless} shouldn’t): into the public consciousness. In the {procedure}, he has {turn out to be} a superstar, {produced} a fortune and paved the way for {other people} to {follow} suit.
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