Ever since I have been around snowboarding, I feel like all I ever hear is “Shaun White sucks” or “I hate Shaun White”, or “Shaun White is a sellout.” I really wanted to understand how the winningest snowboarder on the planet could be so popular if everyone hated him, so I went to the internet and also here at Salty Peaks and asked people to describe their love or hate of Shaun White. I was surprised once I posted the question on Facebook, that the majority of our Facbook friends actually like and respect Shaun White but of course people get a little more honest in a one on one situation and not when their answers are broadcast on the internet. So let’s see what people had to say.
We will start with the hate.
R.P. says: “Shaun White is a sellout.”
Andy says: “I dislike him for the simple fact that he’s a ginger, and ginger’s have no souls.
Carl says: “He’s super braggy, a little is ok when you are that good but Shaun White is too much, and don’t get me started on his personal YouTube videos…”
Jake says: “Contest kids are like the jocks of snowboarding. He’s easy to hate because he always wins and frankly I don’t know why he is making scooters and bikes at Target.
Patrick says: “ He’s the epitome of his role in the movie Friends With Benefits. He wasn’t acting. That’s him.”
Josh says: “The only reasons I dislike him is because he really only ever competes in superpipe and he is kind of a sellout but other than that he’s a pretty chill dude.”
Debby says: “I hate him cuz I’m jealous of all his stuff. all the gear he gets and oh …let’s not forget about the halfpipe -.- . And he can skate too.. honestly I think I’m just jealous in a …natural kind of way lol.”
Char says: “He’s arrogant. Was standing in a lift line and he came up from behind rode over my board and knocked over an elderly couple never even cared.”
Matthew says: “When you meet him you will know instantly why he is disliked!”
Kendell says: “Corporate sellout and cocky!”
Zac says: “The fact that red bull made him a personal superpipe and he invited no one along, while nike made a pipe for Vito and he brought all his friends just shows his level of character, someone who has no friends is never to be trusted!”
The rest of the haters had similar answers like: he’s a ginger, he’s too talented, he’s cocky, he’s rich, he’s a sellout, but when it comes down to it, most people when prodded can’t elaborate on the hate which really boils down to personal jealousy. I can’t get mad at them for being jealous, we all feel it at some point in our lives, and when someone is the best at something that you are pretty good at, it is hard not to compare yourself to them and the lifestyle afforded to them due to their talent. One response in the bunch I found very intriguing was from Libby.
She said: “I think Shaun White is disconnected from the core snowboarding scene which in itself is it’s own culture. I’m not saying I hate him or anything but he exists outside of the core, and for us in the snowboarding community it is hard to look up to someone or appreciate them when you feel like they aren’t a part of the community.”
I think Libby had an excellent point here. For those of you who consider yourselves real snowboarders, who are obviously not as talented as Shaun White but still live and breath snowboarding, it’s hard to hear about the best snowboarder in the world when he lives on another planet. Kerri touched on this as well when she said that it was really weird for her mom (who cares nothing about snowboarding) to bring Shaun White up in casual conversation, when up until this point she wouldn’t have ever talked about the sport.
So I tried to think of other celebs out there that may fall in line with this same philosophy and Kanye West came to mind. Many people out there would love to be Kanye West. He’s rich, famous, has diamond teeth, does what he loves (and by that I mean Kim Kardashian [OH SNAP!]) and he makes music for a living! But, as a former Kanye fan, I can say something changed for me as he rose to superstardom. The easy answer is to say he sold out, but what exactly does that mean? Well, the first thing is image. Usually when people go from famous to superstars their image is professionally perfected & created and then taken apart, mass produced, and sold to the general public. Take Kanye’s shutter shades for instance, or his love of cardigans and bow-ties. Shaun White has done the same thing except it’s his leather jacket, self-proclaimed rock n’ roll lifestyle, and chewing gum that adorns every shelf at Target. What seems to happen is at some point the public realizes that there are more people pulling the superstar’s strings than just the superstar himself, and while we love to buy things we HATE to be sold to.
The Target connection is a major point of conflict for the core-snowboarder. Anyone from a subculture gets a little butt-hurt when their culture starts making it into the mainstream. All of us have grown up hating kids who go to Zumiez or any other faceless corporate chain store for low quality snow/skate goods, and Target is the Queen Ant of that empire. To see the most talented person take the subculture that lifted them up in the first place and then take that and sell it to a company that is not interested in the sport but just interested in making money, that hurts. It feels like a betrayal and it’s the definition of selling out.
Another problem with reaching superstar status is regular people can’t relate to you anymore. We don’t see Shaun White ripping the same park as us, we only see what the Shaun White Machine puts out through their media empire that will boost his image, and usually that consists of photos with other celebrities, bit parts in movies, and the occasional contest run.
You see, most people have a list of celebrities that they love and it doesn’t bother them that they are rich or famous, as long as they can relate to the star and compare some piece of themselves with that star and their lifestyle. Shaun White has lost a lot of his core followers in his rise to stardom and it probably wouldn’t be that hard to gain them back – since they put him there in the first place – but he has to acknowledge the loss in order to rebuild. He also needs to show himself failing at something. No one ever liked that girl in the front of the class that got every answer right and couldn’t wait to get the next one as well. Hell, even the teacher finds that girl annoying! Another thing Shaun White needs to do is promote something other than himself. We get it. You are rock N’ roll (whatever that means.) You are awesome at snowboarding. At some point you get tired of seeing a star with the same story lines and you tune out. Also, people start to get tired of seeing your life looking so great when their life feels a lot harder.
Now for a little love.
H.H. says: “He’s one of the most talented people in snowboarding, he has a great attitude and he’s a natural prodigy.”
John says: “I think he’s pretty rad,…love watching him in the pipe.”
Christian says: “I met Shaun at one of the pipe contests at PC a few years back. He was really cool, and actually really down to earth.”
Jeremiah says: “The flying tomato is one the best snowboarders in the world! He may not make the best choices but he raises the bar when it comes to competitive snowboarding!”
Kyle says: “I LOVE SHAWN BECAUSE OF HIS DEDICATION TALENT AND HE FINALLY PULLED A ROCK STAR MOVE IN THAT HOTEL ON MUSHROOMS!! HA HA”
Michael says: “I am amazed by his talent on both a snowboard and skateboard and respect the competitor in him.”
Sherri says: “He’s cooler than you and me!”
Now obviously there are more lovers of Shaun White than haters or else he wouldn’t be where he is today. Talent only gets you so far but if people hate you and don’t want to watch you you will be either A. forced to change or B. you will fall off, get a coke habit and end up on VH1 in 10 years. No one, not even the haters will deny Shaun White’s talent, so that’s not up for debate either. Christian and Kjell both touched on the fact that not only is he the best, but this fame is helping him progress the sport and take it to new heights, but, I think Michael might have stated it best on our Facebook wall.
He said: “I am amazed by his talent on both a snowboard and skateboard and respect the competitor in him. I have never met him so I will reserve judgement on what type of person he is. I have heard some say he is cocky when he wins, but I have only seen someone who likes to win celebrate that he got another win. Snowboarding as with skateboarding started as a counterculture and I still think there is a stigma for someone like Shaun who some feel has “sold out” by branding himself. Truth be told most of the haters would do the same thing if they were as lucky to have the chance. When the general public try and name a snowboarder he is likely the person they name because of the Olympics. Does it suck that snowboarding is so main stream that it is an Olympic sport? Or is it nice that more and more resorts cater with halfpipes and parks because of it? As for those that hate him because of what type of riding he does or does not do I think you need to realize that he is an amazing athlete and could excel at any type of riding he decides is his focus.
I thought Michael brought up a few interesting ideas in his post. It’s true that the more popular a sport gets the better gear and the better facilities there are and unlike street skating, snowboarders need resorts to cater to them. 25 years ago, Salty Peaks founder Dennis Nazari had to personally petition every resort in Utah to allow snowboarders to ride the same slopes as the skiers, and in fact, back in the day you used have to have a license to ride! Nowadays you see Dad’s shredding with their daughters and you think nothing of it. Also, I wonder how long it will take until skateboarding and snowboarding are just as recognized as football or baseball. I know more kids worldwide skate than dive, do gymnastics, or throw a discus, so why isn’t skating in the Olympics, and why not be stoked that Snowboarding is as well?
My conclusion is this. At the end of the day it’s not Shaun White that is the problem, it’s us and our points of view. Some of us just want to listen to underground music or do underground things and we spend every waking moment trying to prove to everyone how cool such and such thing is, and then the second it gets any traction ie: the second we did our jobs as marketers of the underground properly, we get pissed off because Joe Schmo likes what we used to love. So who’s really doing the selling out here? It sounds like the marketers of the underground are the ones selling and creating the product and the mainstream is the final purchaser. Shaun White isn’t the sell out; he’s the cash-in! Meanwhile the marketers of the underground are pissed off and are left searching for their next crum to bring to the Queen Ant. So, you want to feel good the next time your subculture blows up? Make something. Put your name on it. Market it. And sell it. Because in a capitalist society it’s gonna happen with or without you and most of us would rather support the guys or gals who started something than the corporate behemoth who cashes in on the latest trend.
