Shaun White is living proof that you should never let anybody tell you that you‘re too young to kick some butt.
On Nov 17, White launched his own video game. The game is called Shaun White Snowboarding and it marks another great moment for the kid they call “the Flying Tomato”.
The game took more than two years to make and the release has White stoked.
“It’s really cool,” said White. “With the motion capture you can really see my style [of snowboarding], which is pretty unique. I am definitely good at the game but I only just got to start playing it myself. I am pretty mean at the Wii version, though.”
When White burst on to the world snowboard scene at just 14 years old, professional snowboarding wasn’t at all considered kid stuff. The sport was then dominated by downright scary old dudes such as Shaun Palmer.
However, when White won Silver in the 2002 X-Games it signaled a new era for pro boarding. The rein of The Flying Tomato now includes a whopping 14 X-Game medals and even a Gold in the <14685>Olympic Winter Games[/kwlink].
Although that success started early, White’s hard work began even earlier say his friends.
"[Many] years ago, I thought Shaun was one of the most amazing athletes on the planet," said Tony Hawk, the world’s most legendary skateboarder. "I first saw him snowboarding when he was about nine, and he was just this little pixie[/kwlink] with a giant helmet, coming down the halfpipe. Now, he's grown into his own style -- plus he can do tricks five feet higher than everyone else does them."
Despite all the wins and the many millions of dollars, White, now 21-years old, remembers his early days on a snowboard best.
“My first set up was a 2x4 with plastic fins on the bottom,” said White. “My parents would tow me behind a car in the middle of the street. It was sick until they towed me into a pothole and I fell into the sewers. But then rat people adopted me, so it was cool.”
