Shaun White

Shaun Roger White (born September 3, 1986) is an American professional snowboarder and skateboarder. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He rides regular stance, twelve and negative three degrees on his board. White was born with a Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect for which he endured two open-heart operations before the age of one. He stands 5'8" (1.73 m) tall. He spent his formative years riding Okemo Mountain and Bear Mountain, small ski resorts found in Ludlow, Vermont, and the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California. 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." He has also been nicknamed as "animal", a reference to a character from the satirical puppet show The Muppet Show. In February 2009, Red Bull built White a halfpipe completely out of natural snow in the back country of Colorado on the backside of Silverton Mountain, coordinates (37.838801,-107.710299). White's skateboard career took place during the same time he was rising through the snowboard ranks. White's skateboard career took place during the same time he was rising through the snowboard ranks. White quickly drew the eyes of many in the skateboarder scene including professional skateboarder Tony Hawk. At this point Hawk befriended the nine-year-old White at a local skatepark and mentored him, helping him turn pro in skateboarding at the age of 17. Including all winter X Games competitions through 2009, his medal count stands at 15 (10 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze), including the first four-peat winner by a male athlete in one discipline, the snowboard slope style.