Share

Snowboarding

9 Reasons Shaun White Divides Opinions

The Flying Tomato faces his critics as he prepares for a half pipe hat trick

Esteemed snowboard journalist Matt Barr wellsummed up the Shaun White conundrum when he wrote, “Shaun White’s crime is that he makes no attempt to hide these uncomfortable truths,” alluding to his commercial and competitive success.

He probably couldn’t hide them if he tried. To be honest, I doubt he thinks any of this is a problem. For better or worse, he is who he is. And in twenty first century snowboarding, where pretending you’re some paragon of authenticity while paying thousands of pounds to go and swan around in an island for rich people seems to be some mystifying part of the snowboarding identity, that is not acceptable.

Yep, like him or loathe him, Shaun White is a reflection of where snowboarding is today. As Matt says, “But it also means he’s not a hypocrite. And in some weird way, I actually admire him for that.”

Share

Newsletter Terms & Conditions

Please enter your email so we can keep you updated with news, features and the latest offers. If you are not interested you can unsubscribe at any time. We will never sell your data and you'll only get messages from us and our partners whose products and services we think you'll enjoy.

Read our full Privacy Policy as well as Terms & Conditions.

production