When it comes to sports, only the bravest and boldest break the mold. This is most definitely true for Shaun White, a man whose name is practically synonymous with the sport that he helped shape, and which in turn, shaped him. And while being a five-time Olympian (and a three-time Olympic gold medalist for his half-pipe snowboarding) who has the world record for the most X Games gold medals is no easy feat, there’s a burning passion for the sport that keeps him going.

It’s the same passion that existed within a young Shaun who, from an early age, could not keep himself away from a board. From shredding a skate park alongside the likes of the legendary Tony Hawk to taking an interest in snowboarding at the age of seven, the rest is truly history—seen documented in his latest photography tome Shaun White: Airborne, and his HBO MAX docu-series Shaun White: The Last Run, both of which dropped earlier this year.

Although one would think a retrospective look back at his life through the mediums of a book and television series would be enough for the athlete, Shaun is surely not resting on his laurels any time soon. Tapping into his longstanding interest in fashion, White reignited that flame through his work with his own sportswear label, Whitespace, and has been elevating his relationships with long-established luxury fashion houses including the likes of Moncler.

Captured here in Moncler Grenoble’s latest collection, the winter sports champion sat down with VMAN‘s Digital Director Mathias Rosenzweig to discuss his action-packed year and how his vulnerability through his latest work might just be the greatest challenge he’s done to date.

Mathias Rosenzweig: Let’s start off with our cover shoot. What can you tell us about that day?

Shaun White: You’d be amazed at how beautiful New York City’s surrounding areas are, and right now is that perfect time when the leaves are changing. I haven’t been riding yet this season so it was fun to finally throw some gear on and feel like the winter holidays are coming, [where] the lights are starting to go up and all that. And the whole crew was really fun to work with. 

MR: Aside from your many accomplishments from the past years, there seems to have been a growing relationship with fashion. Can you tell us about your connection to it? Where did that interest stem from?

SW: When I was a kid, I was sponsored by brands starting when I was like seven years old. So I just wore whatever I was allowed to wear, one brand at a time. Then all of a sudden, I took a little change in my career trajectory and started designing clothing for different brands. That allowed me to actually be a designer and wear whatever I wanted. It just really opened up my horizons to what else was out there, trying different brands and different styles—different fits, different fabrics, different styles. I started spending a lot more time in New York and Japan, both of which are very different from my hometown of San Diego. Now, the whole thing with my [own] brand Whitespace is that fashion needs functionality because I have to be able to perform [in the gear]. It has [been] an amazing thing to have that learning curve with other brands and take all that knowledge and put it toward my own thing.

MR: Can you tell us a little bit about your relationship with Moncler? 

SW: It’s always great to see Moncler around, because they’ve wanted to show people that they’re not only a brand that does high fashion, but performance as well. [Now, athletes like myself] are putting their garments to the test, because we’re giving feedback, we’re giving direction. And obviously, they’re receiving that and working to make the best stuff out there, [and] I can appreciate that. 

MR: You mentioned spending a lot of time in Japan. Is that usually more for business or for pleasure? 

SW: It’s a mixture of things. I’ve been working in Japan since I was probably 11, 12 years old, maybe younger. So I’ve been there maybe 64 times now. I love the food, the people, the mountains are just incredible. And now you can see with the last Olympics, a lot of Japanese snowboarders are really upping the level of riding, it’s kind of crazy. On a personal level, I love to go there. [When] talking about fashion, I find a lot of inspiration there. I think fashion is just something that’s built into the culture, more so than in the United States—or at least where I grew up, you know, in a beach community type of area with a lot of surfer style. You throw on your t-shirt, your shorts, and flip-flops, and you’re good to go. There’s snow everywhere, so the winter sports have taken me kind of all over the world, and I’ve gotten to take in different cultures. That’s been a really exciting [part] in my personal life—to learn about different styles from around the world.

MR: You recently released your book with Rizzoli titled Shaun White: Airborne, which is like a coffee table book filled with pictures and text. Tell me about the process of putting that together—was it difficult finding all these images from over the decades of your career?

SW: I would say that out of everything, that was the easier sort of thing. Fortunately for me, my career has been documented by all these photographers. So I called up four or five of the main photographers that I traveled with over the years, and they all submitted photos. I would either pick a photo that was just a beautiful shot or one that really represented a moment in my life, where I didn’t even have to say anything. You just see the picture and get it. The book kind of went hand in hand with a documentary I put out on MAX called The Last Run. The processes go hand in hand because there’s only so much you can fit into them. You’ve got to keep people entertained but also get the story you want to tell across. Some things [must] get left out or the storyline just doesn’t make sense, so the book was a cool chance to tell these fun little stories that didn’t fit into the documentary. Sort of like an extra layer, behind the scenes. It was really one of my favorite things to do—flipping through old photos is just the best, you know? So many memories I didn’t really think about, but once the book hit—man, I got pretty overwhelmed with emotions just because it’s like ‘Wow, I’ll have this forever.’ My kids could flip through it and see a bit about my life in these moments. In a world where everything is so digital, to have something tangible sitting on the shelf is really special.

MR: So many other people have told your life story for you over the years, but recently it has been the first time that you’ve sort of curated and told that story yourself. Why now? 

SW: I think it just felt like time, you know? I definitely feel young in the whole world of things, but I accomplished so much at a young age, or so much happened at a young age that I feel like ‘Well, I’m still going, I still have so much to do in my life’, but there’s so much that’s already happened that this feels like a good time to do something like this. When I decided to do the documentary, I was like ‘Wow, this will be my fifth Olympics.’ I mean, that’s a big span of time, and then a whole amateur career before my professional career. I mean, trust me, I was vain enough to be like ‘I got four more Olympics in me’ (laughs) and I was pretty convinced I could keep going forever. But it just became a reality that I thought ‘Okay, look, I’ve had a great run. This is perfect timing for the documentary and all those things.

(cont.) Let’s put a little ribbon on this moment of time and move forward.’ That’s kind of where it came from, and to show a bit of my story rather than the story told through the eyes of a sponsor or NBC or ESPN with a sports-driven narrative. And I had to let go a little bit too with the people making the film, and the director—you don’t want to smother a project with your own opinions when you are also so close to something. When you’ve done something your whole life, you just think that’s the norm, right? But when you have someone from the outside perspective come in and go ‘I’ve never heard of this, we should highlight that in the documentary.’ I just trust them in the sense that this is a storyline you want to lean on. So there’s a lot of trust.

MR: Did you feel vulnerable putting both the book and documentary out there for the world to witness? 

SW: Anytime you put yourself out there, and you’re like ‘Hey, this is the real me,’ or ‘This is the story I want everybody to know about my career’—that there were depressing times, that I was frustrated because I did lose the love of the sport at one point, and then I found it again—where all these moments and times when you might have seen me in commercials and everything was great on the exterior, but at the same time, this is what was going on and this is how I addressed those things, there’s definitely a lot of vulnerability. But you know, I’m glad, to be frank (laughs). I’m glad I got through the process and that people seem to really enjoy the finished product.

MR: After spending so much time reflecting on your career thus far, does anything stick out in particular as your proudest moment? 

SW: I don’t know if it’s a specific moment or a specific thing but I would probably say the Olympics in Korea—that was a shining moment for me. It really encapsulates not only a common thread that happened throughout my life, but kind of sports in general where I didn’t do what I was expected to do at the Olympics before that. I didn’t hit the podium, and the only person to blame was myself, you know. It’s an individual sport. And at that point, in my head, I was like, ‘I’m just gonna go skate into this final gold medal. I’ll have three and I’ll be done.’ And I lost. And I was like, ‘Wow, what now?’ I didn’t do what I was supposed to do for the first time in my life, on the major stage where the whole world was watching. And to realize that life has a lot more going on than just that surface level of being successful or trying to be the best. I think to have gone to the Olympics and won, and to have gone and lost, and then going again for a fourth Olympics, I felt like I had learned so much from that loss that I really found my way back into the sport, and revamped everything, from my team to having a better relationship with my family. All these things that kind of led me towards being a better version of myself, both on and off the snow. So, I think I’m most proud of pushing through when times got rough.

Photography Blair Getz Mezibov

Fashion Gro Curtis

Grooming Eric Williams using ORIBE (Streeters)

Digital Managing Editor Kevin Ponce

Production Moxie Productions

DP Corey Danieli

Video Editor Jacob Kirby 

Prop Stylist Brian Primeaux 

Lighting Director Corey Danieli

Digital Technician Mike Skigen

Stylist Assistant Carson Stannard

Production Assistant Chris Hagan