It's the second stop on The Snow League tour, and the first international stop of the series. The weather is cold and the wind is blowing but the fans are out in Yunding Snow Park in China to watch the next generation of halfpipe superstars battle it out. And, since finals are fast approaching, we figured it was as good a time as any to sit with the man himself, Mr. Shaun White, about China, Snow League, and how a new crop of riders are laying claim to halfpipe.
For more info on how to watch The Snow League halfpipe finals, click here.
Why China? Why bring the event here?
I just think it's a truly international sport and we want to make this [a] global tour. Obviously getting something like Aspen in the US [was] great, but now we want something overseas and the winter sports market is rapidly growing in China. We had some amazing contacts from after the Olympics and I just thought that the venue was so great, the halfpipe was so good. I mean, Ayumu [Hirano] had been launching his triple at every single qualifying stop and finally landed it in his run here at the Olympics. It's an A+ plus facility, we had some great contacts and there's some amazingly talented Chinese athletes coming through that we could promote and support and have some hometown heroes for people to cheer for. That was the big push and then we brought on Eileen [Gu] as a part of it all later. That was kind of a cherry on top of everything. She's got such an impact here and such a voice in her sport. All the stars really aligned.
Speaking of the Olympics, I'm sure there's a bit of sentimentality being back here, this is where you retired. But I wanted to ask if you feel sentimental about seeing these kids who were on your tail when you were finishing your career, now coming into their own and progressing the sport in their own way. How does it feel to see those people becoming their own riders and evolving?
It's amazing. Cheering for our Ayumu today I’m like—I've watched him since he was a little kid. The craziest trick I ever attempted, which was a triple, is now just being dropped in qualifying. The times are changing and it's just so cool to see they're really coming into their own. Even Alessandro [Barbieri], I remember him just being around the halfpipe, it was like him and his dad. He's really grown up into a man now, and is throwing these incredible runs. He just won his heat. It's really cool to see them stepping into their own and I'm proud of them and I'm so proud of the event, how we're pulling this off and it's just been really good. It's a really good feeling being here
Well, these runs that maybe aren't even making finals [now] are runs that would've won 10 years ago. Now that you're out of the competition, and you're behind the scenes, I'm sure that's just crazy to watch.
It's bizarre because there's still a feeling of, Ah, I feel like I could maybe do that one. I don’t know if that ever goes away. But it's so cool to see and it's inspiring. I just can't wait to see where it goes from here.
In an ideal world, five years from now, what does Snow League look like?
Five years from now I hope that we will be— I think we've been shooting for like 10 to 12 events. And I'd love to have multiple disciplines within the sport. I think that's important because there is a bigger group than just halfpipe. I think it's more content, it's more exciting. I have ideas for how to do that that we just need to flush out first because if we do it I want to make sure it's great. It's the perfectionist in me, I guess. But multiple stops and I would hope that Snow League just becomes the home for these sports. When you're hearing about a friend that's gonna get into halfpipe or slope [you’re] like, Oh, you gonna compete in the Snow League one day? We launched The Snow League and I went to Hood to do stuff with the camp up there, and it was such a weird pinch-me sort of moment, these two little kids were like, Hey, we're gonna compete in Snow League one day. And I was like, Yeah, you probably will. It was such an awesome thing, knowing that there are young kids out there aspiring to want to compete already in this series. And adding skiing, talking to those athletes, there's so much gratitude coming from them.
Obviously this is something that's built around the halfpipe. How do you see the state of halfpipe snowboarding? And what would you say to those mountains who are increasingly opting out of building halfpipes?
It's a weird push and pull. It's like we're not building halfpipes because the halfpipe competitions are dwindling and so less people want to ride the halfpipe. So I think now, having the events, it'll maybe stoke the fire for these resorts to build halfpipes. You're seeing them pop up here and there, but I think having this [Snow League] and having a conduit for people needing to train, and wanting to get better—and with the Olympics I think hopefully it will bolster the halfpipe scene.
How do we get like the next generation into the pipe so you can have this pipeline of athletes who are still competing, getting better, and eventually being in your events?
I think it starts with the youth camps, it's a business that I'm very involved in with Mount Hood. And we have other aspirations to work with some other camps and really build that business out. So, I think that's kind of the groundswell of it all. And then I just see a lot of really exciting things with indoor. You're seeing a lot of people training. JJ [Thomas] was just telling me about it. He was just like, Man, there's this insane, literally 22 foot halfpipe with the end cut off with a slant bag indoors somewhere here in China. I would've killed for that. Being able to train year round.
Well you see the dry slope ones too, the quarter pipes into the bag.
Oh yeah. I was in Japan doing promo the league and I connected with Ayumu and he was like, Dude, check it out, and it’s just him in a tank top just ripping these hits. He's like, I do 50 hits a day, every day. I was like, Of course, you're an animal. The next crazy talented person that just comes onto the scene is gonna be from a place that just has no snow, but they either have an indoor park or a dry slope or some bizarre training situation where they've just been able to ride year round and crush it.
You want to add anything to close?
For as long as I could remember, having success within the sport gave me a voice, you know? I was always in the forefront of everything whether I wanted it or not, it was always just like, Oh, Shaun, you know what I mean? And I tried my best to represent the sport and I'm proud of what I did, but I feel like, doing this, I don't know—I feel almost more invigorated than when I was competing. It's bizarre to stroll in through the lobby and see the athletes enjoying the lounge, and the banners are going up, people are training, everybody's talking about the new format. It's like this new spark has hit the freestyle world, the winter sports. It just feels like it was the right time and place. We're still gonna keep our eye on the prize and push forward and do the best job that we can as the operators of this series. But man, it just feels so good, and I'm so thrilled that I'm getting the sort of feedback that I have been getting. Because it's tough as a competitor, it's just the ebb and flow of things. But this—this has felt really good, on a personal level, as a business. It's been great. And I'm just so proud of the team because the team's made up of some people that are very new to the sport, but have always loved the sport and come from a business sort of background. But then there are people like JJ Thomas, these guys that have been in the sport for their whole lives. And so it's this fun mix of fresh new blood and the old school. It's just this perfect mix. I was talking to Donna Carpenter at the Aspen event. She's like, this is great. I think Jake would've been hyped. I was just like [deep inhale] alright. Alright [Laughs].
A good seal of approval.
Yeah. I'm thrilled that it's been so far, so good. We're gonna keep pushing. But I'm just thankful that I've been able to step into this new role and still be so involved in the sports. I know I said it when I retired, but man, thank you snowboarding.
