In a surprise move this week, renowned snowboarder and skater Shaun White announced he’ll forgo his quest to qualify for the 2018 winter Olympics in South Korea and will instead work to qualify for the World Surf League’s Championship Tour. The announcement reportedly caught White’s inner circle off guard even though the Southern Californian, who recently bought a stake in Mammoth Resorts, has long been a surfer, skater and snowboarder.
“It kind of came out of nowhere,” said one source close to the 29-year-old White, who helped put both Olympic and X Games snowboarding on the map, winning multiple gold medals in both. “Cardiff is a long way from Tahiti.”
“I’m coming for you, bro.”
White will start his competitive quest on the Qualifying Series at the Martinique Surf Pro in the West Indies April 17-24. It will be White’s first contest since he was a super-grom growing up in San Diego County.
“It was really about the hair,” White said in a release. “I saw guys like Ricardo Christie last year, then Wade Carmichael and even the way Brad Domke rode skim free surfing, and it seriously inspired me. I’ll be bringing back the red locks. My strength on tour will be in my hair. This Flying Tomato can’t wait to get pitted.”
White made the announcement April 1, 2016.
Top Photo: Empire Ave
