Shaun White

Shaun White Pro Snowboarder Biography By Michael Quilty Shaun White…. is a dead set legend and a very famous man; some might go as far as to say infamous. Shaun Roger White was born on September the 3, 1986 (today that makes him 24 years young) is an American professional snowboarder and skateboarder. He is a two-time Olympic gold medallist. He rides regular stance, with his binding set up at twelve on the front and negative three degrees on the back. He is well known for his red hair, to which he has become known as "Animal" and "The Flying Tomato" Shaun came into this world with a Tetra logy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect (which has been linked to Blue Baby Syndrome) for which he braved out two open-heart procedures before he had even turned one. This kid was born a fighter. He stands 5’8" (1.73 m) tall and in the early days he spent a lot of time riding Okemo Mountain and Bear Mountain, humble little Snowboard resorts establish in Ludlow, Vermont, and the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California. Shaun White took up snowboarding at the age of six to copy his older brother. Despite some falls, he quickly mastered the sport and was soon taking part in amateur competitions he was winning almost every snowboard competition he entered. By the age of 13, Shaun was winning / snow ploughing virtually every event he entered. He landed a huge sponsor by the way of Burton, and turned pro…. remember all this and he was 13 years of age. Back then He was named as ‘Future Boy’ when he first started competing. He was only 13, but was doing a great job in snowboarding. He was a very innovative rider that loved to invent tricks that had never been done before. He was then and is now a visionary to this sport. Addressing his perception of the nickname "The Flying Tomato", Rolling Stone wrote, "he used to embrace it, even wearing headbands with a flying-tomato logo, but he has grown tired of it. In February 2009, Red Bull built White a half pipe completely out of natural snow in the back country of Colorado on the backside of Silverton Mountain. I am pretty sure this was Project X!!! He won his first Olympics snowboarding gold medal back at Turin host of the 2006 Winter Olympics, and asked if he would share a secret recently in an interview…. Shaun told the press that he didn’t know where his first Gold Medal was…… back in 2006 Shaun had won all the major snowboarding titles, except an Olympic one. Then in Turin in 06 he swept the floor with all those that were competing against him to take gold and become the sport’s uncontested star. 2010 not a lot has changed!! To win that event, he had to beat fellow American rider and team mate Danny Kass. This guy is just off the hook talented….. He is a dual sport athlete, He was the first person to participate at both winter and Summer X Games, and win, and He participated in two different sports- snowboarding and skateboarding. What a champion!! Athletic achievements * In 2003 Shaun was the first to compete and medal in both the Summer and Winter X Games in two different sports. * He is the first snowboarder ever to land back to back double corks, at the Red Bull super pipe. * He remains the only skater to land the body varial front side 540 (The Armadillo).[10] * He was the first to land a Cab 7 Melon Grab in vert skateboarding. * He is the first snowboarder to win back-to-back gold medals in the Winter X-Games Super pipe. * He is the first (and only) person to win both a Summer and Winter Dew Cup.[11] * White is the first to "three-peat" in Super Pipe at the Winter X Games. * Shaun White holds the record for the highest score in the men’s half pipe at the Winter Olympics. In 2006, his 46.8 points bested Ross Powers’ previous record of 46.1 from 2002. In 2010, during the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, he improved his own record with 48.4 points in his final run . So when it comes down to it…. Shaun White is a true sporting Ledged, not only is he an inspirational rider he is a great role model and ambassador for the sport we love so much that is Snowboarding… Thanks Mate Q Ps. And the guy always wears a helmet….. the best rider in the world always wears a helmet!!! If it’s cool enough for the world No1 then do yourself a favour and keep yours covered. It wont be long now and it will be compulsory to wear one if you ride in snow parks and commercial mountains.