What's next for Shaun White after final competitive halfpipe run at 2022 Olympics? – USA TODAY
ZHANGJIAKOU, China — If you want to know what’s next for Shaun White after retiring from competitive snowboarding, well, you just needed to look at the board he rode in his final halfpipe run.
White launched his snowboarding and active lifestyle brand, Whitespace, last month.
The three-time Olympic gold medalist started the company with his brother, Jesse, and its soft launch featured just 50 signed snowboards. White competed his last season on a Whitespace board.
“I don’t want to beat these guys anymore. I want to sponsor them,” White said. “Not to sign them or whatever, but to help their career, to help guide and my experiences and what I’ve learned. Even Scotty (James) and I were joking, and he was like, ‘I think I’m going again.’ I would be honored to get that phone call from whoever to support and be a part of this sport in any way that’s given me so much.”
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U.S. Ski & Snowboard halfpipe coach JJ Thomas, who started coaching White in the lead-up to the Pyeongchang Games, sees it as a natural fit – even if he couldn’t get his hands on one of the rare snowboards.
“He’s a businessman,” Thomas said. “He’s gonna apply everything he’s learned through owning businesses and working for companies and being one of the highest paid athletes in the world and put it to use.”
As his competitive career came to a close, White, 35, spoke about the next steps in his personal life. He has been dating actress Nina Dobrev since early 2020.
“I’m so thrilled to turn a page,” White said, “and I’d love to have a family of my own.”
Whatever’s next for White, don’t expect it to take him far from the sport that he helped lead for two decades. White said he still plans to be involved in the industry.
And the five-time Olympian doesn’t plan to stray far from the Games, either.
“Just because I’m not competing doesn’t mean I won’t be here at the next Olympics cheering on all my friends and being a big part of the sport,” White said.
