ASPEN — Shaun White hasn’t been to Aspen for the X Games in two years, and it wasn’t an easy trip this week to get back to Colorado.
His flight from Los Angeles to Aspen was diverted Monday night and he wound up in Denver. He finally rolled into his Aspen digs at 4 a.m. Tuesday. But his phone started ringing three hours later.
because of what he labeled a “lovers’ quarrel” with X Games organizers, the face of the games is back as a 30-year-old looking ahead to making the 2018 Winter Olympics.
“I don’t want to harp too hard on it, but I was just a little frustrated,” White said Wednesday of last year’s tiff. “All that aside, I’m a competitor. … They said some things, I said some things, but we’re calling it a truce so I can be here and ride.”
Hitting that landmark birthday, White has a refreshed and reinvigorated vibe going into Thursday nightap finals. His reflection in the past year or so has led to a new business team, a new coach and a renewed outlook. In 2015, he started taking fitness seriously and “really investing in myself.”
“Itap hitting me hard, but in a really great way,” he said of being a 30-something. “Itap made me focus in on every single aspect of my life, from family to business to you name it. … I really laid out everything I do and really homed in and either upgraded it or I’m doing it differently.”
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
Shaun White poses for a portrait in downtown Aspen on Jan. 25, 2017. White, a 13-time Winter X Games gold medalist, will again compete in the men's halfpipe in the event's 2017 installment.
He’s riding more, not less, and the new fitness regimen and team has him feeling his best physically and mentally in years. He has more endurance and focus on the hill.
“I started doing some more fitness and training and things — and a new physical therapist to get my body back in shape and itap really paying off,” White said. “Last season, I broke my old record of 24 feet out of the halfpipe with a 26-foot air at the Burton U.S. Open at Vail — my first hit.”
He said losing at the 2014 Sochi Olympics (a fourth-place finish after gold in 2006 and 2010) has been a big component in his journey back to being excited about snowboarding again. Nothing, he said, has fueled that fire more than the Olympic loss.
White broke with his longtime coach Bud Keene and is working with a former competitor, . Heck, Thomas even rode in the halfpipe Tuesday night and gave a few suggestions on how the pipe is riding.
White watched last year’s X Games halfpipe finals after spending the day on the beach in California. His return to Aspen is welcomed by other riders who will be in the 12-man finals.
Danny Davis, who won the X Games gold in 2014 and 2015, said having the field complete again makes earning a medal more meaningful.
“Itap not a contest when the best guys aren’t there,” Davis said of last year’s Aspen finals. “Itap a good thing he’s back. He’s always one who pushes the envelope, especially in height lately.”
White’s last medal at Winter X was the 2013 gold and capped a run of six consecutive halfpipe wins. But since then, White withdrew from X Games in 2014 (pulling out to get healthy and prepare for the Sochi Olympics), was fourth in 2015 and let the squabble with X organizers keep him home last year.
While the business of White has grown steadily the past few years, the competitor continues to burn within. He is the most-decorated X Games athlete with 23 medals, including 15 golds. He was the first crossover athlete, competing in skateboard vert in the Summer X Games.
White made his X Games debut as a 13-year-old and finished 15th overall. Since then, he has become the face of the event, which is what made last year’s squabble even more perplexing.
He has taken that success off the snow. Organizing and promoting the third annual Air+Style event has become almost a full-time job and a huge learning experience. The February event at the Los Angeles Coliseum will be the third stop this year in his expanding Air+Style series, which had an event in Beijing in November and has another Feb. 3 in Austria.
The event is becoming an established stop in the growing winter freestyle genre, and his goal is to make the series part of the Olympic qualifying circuit.
He’s still got his clothing line, but he has updated it as well and made it more mature. Finding his niche in the sport outside of the halfpipe is suiting him well.
“Everything is feeling really great on all fronts,” White said. “Itap really cool, at 30, that every way I turn itap exciting.”
Chris McGrath, Getty Images
2002: Shaun White of the USA in action in the Men's Snowboard Big Air event during day 3 of the Planet X Winter Extreme games held at Perisher Valley Resort in New South Wales, Australia on September 6, 2002.
Vince Bucci, Getty Images
2003: Athlete Shaun White attends the 2003 ESPY Awards at the Kodak Theatre July 16, 2003 in Hollywood, Calif.
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2003: Shaun White gets some big air over the spectators en route to winning the gold medal in the Men's Snowboard Superpipe Competition during the Winter X-Games VII at Buttermilk Mountain on January 31, 2003 in Aspen.
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2003: Shaun White of Carlsbad, California makes a move with big air during the Snowboard Superpipe competition of the Winter X Games VII at Buttermilk Mountain on Jan. 31, 2003 in Aspen. White took the gold.
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2004: Kate Bosworth, Pro snowboarder Shaun White, Fefe Dobson, and Lindsay Lohan pose for a photo backstage during "TRL BreakOut Stars Week" on MTV's Total Request Live at the MTV Times Square Studios Jan. 12, 2004 in New York City.
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2004: Shaun White of the USA jumps in the Snowboard Slopestyle portion of the VIII Winter X Games on January 24, 2004 at the Buttermilk resort in Aspen.
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2005: Shaun White competes in the Snowboard Slopestyle Men's finals during day 1 of the Winter X Games at Buttermilk Mountain on Jan. 29, 2005 in Aspen.
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2005: Mason Aguirre (L-R) of the USA, who came in second; Shaun White of the USA, who placed first; and Jan Michaelis of Germany, who came in third, celebrate with champagne on the podium after the Men's Half-pipe Finals in the Nokia Snowboard FIS World Cup on March 5, 2005 at Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, New York.
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2006: Men's Halfpipe gold medalist Shaun White celebrates during the Medal Ceremony on Day 2 of the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games at the Medals Plaza on Feb. 12, 2006 at the Medal Plaza in Turin, Italy.
Joe Klamar, AFP/Getty Images
2006: U.S. halfpipe snowboarder Shaun White competes during the second run of the Men's snowboard Halfpipe qualifying on the second day of the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics 12 February 2006 in Bardonecchia, Italy.
Doug Pensinger, Getty Images
2006: Shaun White of Carlsbad, Calif., takes his second run during qualifying for the Men's Snowboard Slopestyle during Winter X Games 10 on Jan. 27, 2006 at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen. (Photo by
Doug Pensinger, Getty Images
2007: Shaun White signs autographs for some young fans after he won the Chevrolet U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix in the Freeway Half Pipe on Dec. 15, 2007 in Breckenridge.
Charley Gallay, Getty Images
2007: Olympic snowboarding champion Shaun White arrives at the 7th Annual Taurus World Stunt Awards at Paramount Pictures on May 20, 2007 in Los Angeles, Calif.
Doug Pensinger, Getty Images
2007: Shaun White of Carlsbad, Calif., goes airborne above the superpipe during practice before winning the silver medal in the men's Snowboard Superpipe at the ESPN Winter X Games 11 January 28, 2007 in Aspen.
Doug Pensinger, Getty Images
2008: Shaun White of Carlsbad, California greets the spectators after he finished third in the Men's Snowboard Slopestyle at the Winter X Games Twelve at Buttermilk Mountain on January 26, 2008 in Aspen.
Doug Pensinger, Getty Images
2008: Shaun White of Carlsbad, Calif. launches over the heads of the spectators enroute to a third place finish in the Men's Snowboard Slopestyle at the Winter X Games Twelve at Buttermilk Mountain on Jan. 26, 2008 in Aspen.
Jonathan Moore, Getty Images
2009: Shaun White of Carlsbad, Calif. celebrates as he takes the podium for the gold medal in the Men's Snowboard Superpipe Final at Winter X Games 13 on Buttermilk Mountain on January 25, 2009 in Aspen. White became the first to earn back to back Men's Snowboard Superpipe gold medals.
Cameron Spencer, Getty Images
2009: Shaun White of the United States of America poses after winning the Men's Snowboard Halfpipe final during day five of the Winter Games NZ at Cardrona Alpine Resort on August 26, 2009 in Wanaka, New Zealand.
Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images
2010: Shaun White of United States celebrates his gold medal during the medal ceremony for the Men's Halfpipe on day 7 of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at BC Place on February 18, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada.
Streeter Lecka, Getty Images
2010: Shaun White of the United States reacts after winning the gold medal in the Snowboard Men's Halfpipe final on day six of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at Cypress Snowboard & Ski-Cross Stadium on February 17, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. White won the gold medal with a score in his previous run.
Streeter Lecka, Getty Images
2010: Shaun White of the United States competes in the Snowboard Men's Halfpipe on day six of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at Cypress Snowboard & Ski-Cross Stadium on February 17, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
2011: Shaun White jumps over a gap, Friday, January 28, 2011, during Snowboard Slopestyle practice at the Winter X Games in Aspen.
Jemal Countess, Getty Images
2011: Professional snowboarder and Olympic gold medalist Shaun White attends the "Friends with Benefits" premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater on July 18, 2011 in New York City.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
2011: Shaun White's face appears on the big screen before his encore run during the Winter X Games men's superpipe final on Saturday, January 30, 2011. White captured his fourth consecutive gold medal.
Jean-Pierre Clatot, AFP/Getty Images)
2012: Shaun White performs during the Men's Snowboard Slopestyle qualification as part of the European Winter X-Games on March 15, 2012 in the ski resort of Tignes, French Alps.
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2012: Olympic gold medalists Shaun White (L) and Lindsey Vonn in the audience during the 2012 ESPY Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on July 11, 2012 in Los Angeles, Calif.
Sean Gallup, Getty Images for GQ
2012: Shaun White presents his GQ award at the GQ Men of the Year Award at the Komische Oper on October 26, 2012 in Berlin, Germany.
Doug Pensinger, Getty Images
2013: Shaun White of the USA addresses the media after winning the gold medal in the Men's Snowboard Superpipe Final at Winter X Games Aspen 2013 at Buttermilk Mountain on Jan. 27, 2013 in Aspen. It was the sixth consecutive Winter X Games Snowboard Superpipe gold medal for White.
Doug Pensinger, Getty Images
2013: Shaun White of the USA competes in the Men's Snowboard Slopestyle Final during Winter X Games Aspen 2013 at Buttermilk Mountain on Jan. 26, 2013 in Aspen.
Ryan Pierse, Getty Images
2014: Shaun White of the United States practices during training for Snowboard Slopestyle at the Extreme Park at Rosa Khutor Mountain on Feb. 3, 2014 in Sochi, Russia.
Al Bello, Getty Images
2014: Snowboarder Shaun White of the United States answers questions after training during day 1 of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on Feb. 8, 2014 in Sochi, Russia.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
2015: Shaun White after failing to medal after his second run during the men's snowboard halfpipe final during the Winter X Games 2015 at Buttermilk Mountain on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015.
Daniel Petty, The Denver Post
2015: Shaun White of the United States reacts after his third and final run of the men's snowboard superpipe final Winter X Games 2015 Aspen at Buttermilk Mountain on Jan. 22, 2015, in Aspen.
Jonathan Leibson, Getty Images for Macy's
2016: Shaun White attends the Shaun White Celebrates His WHT SPACE Menswear Line Exclusively Sold at Macy's on Dec. 1, 2016 in Los Angeles, Calif.
Chris McGrath, Getty Images
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2002: Shaun White of the USA in action in the Men's Snowboard Big Air event during day 3 of the Planet X Winter Extreme games held at Perisher Valley Resort in New South Wales, Australia on September 6, 2002.
