Check Out Shaun White
Age: 15
Home: Del Mar, California
Sponsors: Volcom, Birdhouse, Ricta, PlayStation, Activision, Target,
Burton, Oakley
Shaun White leads three separate lives. One involves going tohigh school, trying to get a driver's license, spending time with hisfamily, hanging out on the beach, and eating junk food. His other lives are reserved for professional athletes who have spent their youth struggling to make a name for themselves, overcoming adversity, and hopefully reaping the benefits of their efforts in their later years.
Shaun doesn't have to wait-at age fifteen he's considered one of the best snowboarders in the world, owns a house, and travels the world at others' expense. His second life-a professional snowboarder-is his main focus at this point.
His third life is one of pure enjoyment: skating. He has theskills of a well-rounded veteran of vert, but he only does it for fun. He's so removed from the skate scene that he doesn't even know the names of many tricks he has done, and some he's actually made up, unbeknownst to him.
"Hey, Shaun, do you know that nobody's ever done a frontside varial heelflip to frontside grab, or a melon seven before?"
"Really? That's cool," is his reply. It's enough to make you want to quit skating on the spot.
Shaun's an inspiration to the younger generation, and he takes it all in stride. His life as a skateboarder is his most expendable, but we're thankful that he continues to live it. I believe that skating is his release from the pressures of being a pro snowboarder, and he's only started to realize what's possible for him on four wheels.-Tony Hawk
