Shaun White is Building Momentum

Shaun White is unequivocally the best-known snowboarder in the world, winning nearly everything there was to win in the sport, including three gold medals and an insane 13 Winter X Games titles. With his decision to step away from competition, White is entering a new phase of his career, one that relies less on his physical attributes and instead utilizes the wealth of knowledge he has picked up along the way. On top of becoming a minority owner of the famed California resort Mammoth Mountain, White is also working on establishing an action-sports youth camp to challenge the established status quo in that space. Most visibly however is White’s venture into the action sports and apparel world with his brand WHITESPACE.

WHITESPACE is technical and detail-driven but crucially is also deeply inspired by modern design and style. Blurring the lines between what should be worn on the slopes for performance and what can be worn off them for style, White hasn’t strayed far from what he knows, yet as an elite athlete for over two decades he’s precisely the type of person who should be innovating in the space.

We met with White in Aspen to discuss WHITESPACE, what he likes about the town, and what is next for him.

From an early age, I was always sponsored by different brands in the industry, and that taught me so much about product development, marketing, and all aspects of building a brand. I was fortunate to have my brother, Jesse, with me designing so many of my products throughout the years so when my last Olympics came around (in 2022), I thought 'why not build my own brand?' It's an opportunity to take everything we learned from years in the snow industry, and put our own spin on it. So we did. We launched WHITESPACE in January 2022 with the hope of creating a brand that is not only fashionable and technical on the mountain, but off the mountain as well.

Between sponsorships and riding you’ve spent a ton of your life in and around the fashion/apparel space, what have you learned from your time and what separates whitespace from other brands?

I think what separates WHITESPACE from the other brands is that we really tried to be incredibly technical, while also having a fashionable approach. Fashion is very important to me and my identity, so creating a brand that is high-performing on the mountain, but also looks good at apres ski or walking around the city I think that is what separates us.

That's a great question and something that we challenge ourselves with all the time. My brother and I designed the line and we believe that having a nice balance between both technical and lifestyle is super important. I think what is really fun about this current collection we recently launched is that we have Women's pieces, which has been super successful already. Women love the unique styles, along with the functionality and fashion element to it.

Just like any brand in its early stages, we are still figuring this out. Things are changing day to day, and we are learning and growing as we go. What I love most about it is the name, WHITESPACE, means a blank canvas - or a space to create anything it is that you want. So we are creating as we go. Stay tuned, we have some exciting stuff on the horizon.

I think my style is influenced a lot by my travels. I've had the fortunate opportunity to travel and see most of the world because of snowboarding, so seeing different cultures and fashion really expanded my love and interest in clothing and style. My girlfriend, Nina, has also made me see my style through a different lens.

I had a heavy rock n' roll phase when I was younger (laughs) that was fun! Now I find inspiration from all walks of life. I think that's what is so exciting about fashion - you can express yourself through what you are wearing and you always have the freedom to change. Finding inspiration through different walks of like a huge passion of mine.

I love Aspen so much. It's so funny, I have been coming to Aspen for over twenty years but any time I've been here, it was to compete. I would only see my hotel room, the half pipe and then leave town. I've only been able to truly enjoy and appreciate Aspen these last couple of seasons. Aspen has so much to offer: the four different mountains, the town, the restaurants, it's so fun. We actually just had our second annual WHITESPACE get together there, where we brought a bunch of friends together to go out and ride for a couple of days. We all just had the best time.

The pop-up shop in Aspen was incredible. FWRD/REVOLVE always does such a great job with their activations, so I wasn't surprised. It was so cool walking into the store after a few days of being on sale and asking the staff for their feedback on WHITESPACE. Then walking around town and seeing people wearing our gear was such a cool moment for me!

Competing was such a huge part of my identity and life for most of my life. I am a very competitive person as you can imagine, so I will definitely miss the thrill and pressure of having to perform when it matters. But I've just taken all that drive and competitiveness and put it into starting this business. WHITESPACE is a competition for me in its own right. How do we make the best snowboard? How do we collaborate with the best companies? How do we grow sales from X to Y? It's a constant competition, and you still want to be the best in the business. There might not be a gold medal at the end of this tunnel, but it is equally as fulfilling in a different way.