The world’s most recognizable snowboarder goes incognito at Aspen.
White has been collaborating with The St. Regis Aspen on projects and apparel like this Whitespace x St. Regis sweatshirt.
When three-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White stepped into the Aspen airport lobby in December, he came face-to-face with a largerthan- life image of himself: a 10-foot-high billboard of White dressed head-to-toe in Moncler Grenoble and holding a Whitespace x Moncler snowboard. We asked White, who was in town for the Snow Polo matches, if he took a selfie. “You know, I should have,” he said. “But it was a long flight, and I was just so tired.” With 15 X Games gold medals and three gold medals at five different Olympics, White is legendary. He’s been on plenty of billboards.
White retired from competition in February 2022 following a nostalgic swan song at the Beijing Winter Olympics, his fifth and final appearance at the Games. He’s now embracing his second chapter—as an entrepreneur, a purveyor of snowboarding gear and a promoter of the sport. You could say his goal is to get more snowboarders on billboards.
White’s latest venture is a brand-new winter sports circuit called The Snow League (thesnowleague. com), debuting at Buttermilk Mountain March 7–8. “By building out this tour, we hope to usher in a new era for the sport,” White says. The inaugural event will feature men’s and women’s snowboard halfpipe competitions, with freeskiing joining the lineup later in the series. The next stop in the four-event series will be Beijing, China, site of the last Winter Olympics. “Our goal is to take the world’s best athletes and bring them to the world’s best resorts,” White says. “Aspen will set the tone for The Snow League.”
White’s mission is to support the next generation in a sport where only a handful of the world’s top athletes land lucrative deals. “When I was competing, I realized that to make a living, I’d have to get deals and endorsements off the field of play,” he says. “I was a lucky sort of anomaly where I was able to transcend the sport.” The Snow League is offering the highest prize-purse ever in snowboarding: $1.5 million, with equal pay for men and women. “The Snow League isn’t a promotional tool for brands; it’s built to be a league for athletes,” White says.
The Snow League landed a multiyear deal with NBC, with events live-streamed on Peacock and encores airing on NBC. Both ski racing and snowboarding have been notoriously difficult sports to follow for American fans, so the broadcast deal is significant. NBC will use The Snow League content as a leadin for its coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina, Italy, telling athlete stories well ahead of the Games. (The Snow League competitions will also serve as Olympic qualifiers.)
The new league changes up the competition format. Traditionally, athletes do a run in competition and then have to wait an hour-plus for the next run. “You’re literally iced,” White says. “Athletes won’t wait more than 20 minutes between runs, so they can stay fresh—and put on amazing performances.”
White is enjoying riding for himself outside the competition limelight—and on Whitespace, his own snowboard brand.
Since retiring, White has kept busy. In 2022, he launched Whitespace, a snowboard apparel and gear company. “Jake Burton had passed away, and I thought, fast forward x number of years, and do I really want to be trying to sign a new deal in this space?” Instead, White built his own brand. “It’s exciting to be sponsoring young athletes,” he says. He has connected on-snow with those up-and-comers by hosting a Shaun White week at Oregon’s Mount Hood with High Cascade. “I thought, how can we lock in some memories for these kids? I remember getting my first board as a kid, and the ripple effect of it,” he says. So White gave every camper a Whitespace board. Memories were made.
For two seasons now, White has been a brand ambassador for Moncler Grenoble, and more recently, he collaborated with the luxury French fashion brand on a limited-edition line of snowboards and jackets. “I’ve always been a fan of Moncler. They’re always pushing the envelope in the winter fashion space,” he says. Partnering with the snowboarding legend allowed Moncler to step into the hardgoods space in a legitimate way. “And for us at Whitespace, we can do this fashion-forward thing that we wouldn’t normally do.”
White’s life progression hasn’t been all business. Last fall, he proposed to Vampire Diaries actor Nina Dobrev in a highly publicized, carefully plotted surprise engagement. White crafted a fake invitation to dinner with Vogue’s Anna Wintour at The Golden Swan in New York. When Dobrev arrived, she found White perched beneath an arch of white roses, surrounded by candlelight. “To surprise her, I had to pull out all the stops,” he says. “I think I nailed it.” The couple hasn’t set a wedding date yet. “We’ve just been enjoying being engaged,” White says.
He’s also enjoying his role as supporting actor to the next generation of snowboard stars. To promote the sport, White’s team travels with a photographer and videographer, capturing athlete stories and the intricacies of competition. “We’re hoping to pull the curtain back,” he says. “People always ask me, ‘Where’s the next Shaun White?’ They’re already out there, doing incredible things. Their stories just aren’t being told.”
To announce The Snow League, White wanted to do something groundbreaking. So, they purchased a splashy digital billboard in Times Square to introduce the league’s riders. “It looked amazing,” he says. The athletes were, naturally, thrilled. These competitors—names unfamiliar to many Americans—were suddenly basking in a glow typically reserved for the sport’s elite. The one-percenters who land lucrative deals and regularly grace 10-foot-tall billboards. This time, White was suitably impressed with the billboard. He even took a fist-pumping selfie with it.
Q&A: ASPEN DEEP DIVE
What’s it like to be in Aspen now that you’re not competing?
Without the pressure of competing, Aspen has taken on a whole new meaning. The shopping, the nightlife, just hanging out with friends. It’s so plush to just show up! I remember being here on a powder day during the X Games and thinking, OK, they’re competing today, but I’ll be doing powder turns on the backside. I’ve also been teaching my nieces and nephews to ride. That’s different. It’s a very Hallmark experience. I’m like, “Hey, let’s do hot chocolate!”
What’s your Aspen lodging of choice?
I love staying at The St. Regis—the pools, the spa setup, the fireplace in the lobby. I get haircuts at the hotel’s Suite Reyad Salon. It’s a one-stop shop. Seeing The St. Regis World Snow Polo Championship live and in person is a blast. We’ve done fun collaborations like St. Regis x Whitespace sweatshirts, hoodies and beanies. We’ve dug the relationship a little deeper, outfitting everyone at The Snow Lodge in Whitespace. We also host a Whitespace event during Snow Polo.
What are your favorite Aspen hot spots?
Matsuhisa is amazing, or we go to Madame Ushi. The burger and truffle fries at Ajax Tavern are so good, and The Big Wrap is my local cheat (the Greek or Thai wrap). During a Whitespace ski weekend, friends invited us to the Aspen X Club on top of the mountain. They make a cinnamon roll up there that is insane. I took photos of it. I’d come back to Aspen just for that cinnamon roll.
SHAUN WHITE ON LINDSEY VONN
Lindsey Vonn just came out of retirement to ski on the World Cup at 40 years old. Would you ever consider a comeback?
During a fashion show in St. Moritz, I had a chance to hit the mountain with Lindsey. You know, I’d never gone riding or skiing with her. I remember thinking, I should try to beat her down the mountain— but she’s so fast. I mean so fast. I had no chance. Coming out of retirement is hard because you’re expected to perform at the same level that you did. To just show up and do it. Lindsey’s been plagued with injuries, and now I think she’s finally at a place where she feels good again. It’s amazing for her. But for me, I’m really happy where I’m at now.
