Shaun White Talks Utah Jazz Collaboration, Surfing With Nina Dobrev and Riding With Justin Bieber
As a five-time Olympian, who racked up 18 medals, snowboarder Shaun White has repeatedly proven his mettle. After retiring from the sport, White is proving to be equally enterprising in his business pursuits.
His latest endeavor is a collaboration between his lifestyle brand Whitespace and the Utah Jazz for a limited edition of snowboards and apparel in honor of the NBA team’s 50th anniversary. The seven-piece collection will be available starting Thursday 11 in the team store in the Delta Center. Reached at home in Los Angeles, White spoke about his many pursuits.
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The NBA alliance is not as much of a stretch as it might appear. Park City was where White landed his signature move “The Double McTwist” for the first time. Aside from many years of riding and competing in Utah, White is occasionally invited to Utah Jazz games and he has become friendly with the team’s owner, Ryan Smith. A conversation about White’s company Whitespace prompted Smith to suggest a collaboration, since many Jazz fans are as enthusiastic about being mountainside as they are courtside.
White had a hand in the NBA’s All-Star Weekend last winter in Salt Lake City, taking part in the “Grit Rail Jam” along with musician Travis Scott. He also appeared in televised promotions for the event. Having started his signature unisex label about two years ago, more women-specific pieces were recently added thanks to his model girlfriend Nina Dobrev’s insights. On the mountain every day, he can see which colors, fabrics and styles people are favoring. White often uses his mountain experience to build Whitespace, which is designed by his brother, Jesse. A merino wool mock-neck layer was created to be worn on the mountain or to any of the events that he routinely goes to in Europe, New York or Aspen.
He also recently invested in the Oregon snowboarding camp that he used to attend — We Are Camp — with the help of fellow investors and Philadelphia 76ers’ owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer. White declined to pinpoint the investment. “My goal is not to take over the camp and make it something it’s not. There are a lot of legacy people who are staying on to keep the camp what it is.”
Later this month he will be riding with a VRBO sweepstakes winner as part of a customized experience and he hopes to work with them in the future. Last month White became an ambassador for Moncler appears in this winter’s ads for its Grenoble line. Through an ongoing tie to Shopify, Whitespace’s site was redesigned to make it more accessible and faster. As with most of what White does, there was an organic hook: Shopify’s founders Tobias Lutke and Scott Lake had started the company to sell snowboards more efficiently. On another front, White ventured into the liquor landscape by partnering with the Park City-based and snowboarding supporting High West Distillery in November. The whiskey company also is committed to the Protect the West initiative and White is lending his voice to the environmental project.
And last fall Rizzoli published his visual memoir “Airborne.” Flipping through the hard copy, he said he thought, “I will have this forever. My kids’ kids will have this. In a world that is so tangible to have this tangible thing sitting on my table, gave me a pinch-me moment. Sometimes I get caught up thinking, ‘This is a cool deal to do or this will help the brand or whatever.’ Obviously, this deal with Rizzoli was too but the takeaway was much more sentimental than I realized until the book showed up.”
Here, White talks about his various ventures, the Jazz collaboration and more.
WWD: Are you ever tempted to come out of retirement?
Shaun White: You watch some sporting docs and think, “Oh, that sounds great.” But it is so much more involved than hopping back out there. I’ve really enjoyed my decision to retire. I was just in St. Barths for New Year’s and so many people said, “You must have been here before for New Year’s — it’s a thing.” I was like, “No.” This is primetime winter for me. I would normally be training. I had never been to a Super Bowl until I retired. I’ve definitely been leaning into other aspects of life outside of competition. I had this pretty funny moment with Tom Brady, because he was in St. Barths. I was like, “You’re someone at the party that gets it.”
WWD: How does Whitespace keep you connected to the sport?
S.W.: We have a young snowboarder Ian [Matteoli], who just broke the world record for the biggest spin on a snowboard. He landed the first frontside 2160 [six full rotations in the air]. He was on one of our boards and I felt so proud. I didn’t know the board could spin that much.
WWD: After being sponsored by Burton for so many years, do you think about what Jake Burton taught you in working on your company?
S.W.: A little bit. I’m able to call around and get into some retail shops. I’m moving the needle where I can. But the guy really started the sport in so many ways. He was just selling boards out of the trunk of his car. Those things really cross my mind. Seeing a young snowboarder like Ian do that trick made me think, “Wow, this must have been how he felt watching me do certain things on his boards.” You get this fun feeling that you’re kind of shaping the future of the sport with our products.
WWD: What’s most challenging about having your own company?
S.W.: I don’t think that anything is just plug and play. You need to earn the trust of the consumer. Snowboards aren’t like buying a new sweater. It’s a commitment. A lot of people still own their first snowboard. They keep them like a guitar. Even when I met Nina, I said, “What are you riding?” She was like, “It’s my board from 10 years ago.” I was like, “I can tell.” [Laughs.]
WWD: How involved are you?
S.W.: Putting my name on something helps people feel more confident, but every day I’m out there staying in the culture of the sport and showing that I didn’t just start this thing and walk away. I’m involved every day. Already designing two years out, we’re thinking about, “What are the colorways, new fabrics and the under layers that will be extra warm and stay dry?” It’s not like designing a T-shirt. This outerwear needs to be wind-resistant with storm-proof zippers and have a lot of technical features
WWD: You were recently riding with Justin and Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner. Which of your friends is the best?
S.W.: I gotta say Justin. He really was on a mission on the mountain. You talk to a lot of people who say, “I ride, I ride.” That’s cool, but he definitely loves the jumps. He loves the trees. We had to pull him off the mountain. Getting people together to go ride has been fun. Normally I would have had to train or there would be only small windows of time to enjoy getting people together. With retirement, I’ve been able to make more time for friends and people I probably said I would take riding and never have.
WWD: How would you compare basketball and snowboarding?
S.W.: An NBA game lasts a lot longer than a [snowboarding] run. But all athletics share that common feeling of pride in what you’re doing, fans that show up whether standing by the halfpipe or piling into an arena, and they all have the experience of you having touched their lives. They remember being there when that winning shot or run took place. Basketball is the one sport I am pretty terrible at, and I wish I was better at it. Other traditional sports I’m pretty decent at. Besides skating and surfing, I’m pretty great at soccer, pickleball, tennis [and] football.
WWD: Is Nina pretty athletic?
S.W.: Oh yeah, she grew up in Canada. She knew how to snowboard before we met. Her latest is learning how to surf. It’s a difficult sport because you have to read what’s happening in the water. The hoop and the jump on the mountain are always there. The ocean is constantly moving and nothing is ever the same. Trying to read what the tide is doing and where to be in position makes the difficulties of that sport more layered. She understands the mechanics of how to get up on the board and how to maneuver.
WWD: Is there anything work-wise that you are eager to get to?
S.W.: Things are still moving at a really interesting pace with High West, The Jazz collaboration, the brand and the camps. It’s been so fun to see the world didn’t stop spinning afetr I retired. I was nervous that things might hit a lull or slow down, which would have been fine. But they definitely have stayed the pace or sped up. I’m sure this summer I’ll be popping out to the Olympics to do some potential on-camera work or support some skateboard athlete friends. There’s a lot to look forward to. I’m excited to still be doing it.
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