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Shaun White, five-time Olympian and three-time Olympic gold medalist in half-pipe snowboarding, is more than familiar with winter sports. He’s lived and breathed it for years. But there was always one thing missing: No one was organizing or governing them.
That’s where White’s latest venture, THE SNOW LEAGUE, has been a game-changer for winter sports athletes. With a mission to bring structure and excitement to skiing and snowboarding, he successfully completed his inaugural event in Aspen.
White’s entrepreneurial mindset came from years as the best snowboarder in the world, observing the benefits and problems with how extreme sports are organized. White’s business acumen was forged on the half-pipe as well as by athlete-entrepreneurs like Jake Burton and Tony Hawk. What they brought to the tools of his trade, White would bring to events.
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The entrepreneur was always there
From his early days of living in a van with his family to make ends meet, White reflected on how that experience shaped his view of success.
“But honestly, I look back and those were some of the most exciting times. I think those experiences gave me a deeper appreciation for where I am now,” says White. “If I’d had the best gear and all the resources from day one, it probably wouldn’t have meant as much to me.”
As he gained skill and then started competing with the best snowboarders in the world, he listened to the more experienced athletes and heard about what made them successful as well as their struggles. Many of them had contracts with brands but were always concerned about not being renewed. He also noticed that the only person not concerned was Jake Burton, who owned his own brand.
Another influence was Tony Hawk, the world-famous skateboarder and owner of Birdhouse Skateboards. White recalled all of the best skateboarders wanting to be associated with Hawk’s brand, considered the best in the world. But Hawk told White not to emulate someone else, and instead build something himself that others would want to emulate.
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Image Credit: Mike Dawson
The problem others missed
Many of the best entrepreneurs look for gaps in a market, and White is no exception. He saw that there was no governing body to organize the sport like an NHL, an F1 or a UFC. The snowboarding landscape was made up of random events scattered throughout the season. The events that paid the most might not qualify an athlete for the Olympics, but they needed those for the money that could sustain their careers. Lucrative events often required expensive travel, while other events that didn’t pay much actually could qualify you for the Olympics, or meant more to sponsors than to athletes because of TV viewership.
This fragmented nature meant that the sport’s accolades didn’t coincide with an athlete’s achievements. White experienced this when he had an undefeated season.
“And I got to the end of the season and they’re (reporters) like, ‘Amazing accomplishment, way to go! No one’s ever done that before!’ and I’m so happy with myself, ‘…but how does it feel to not be the world champion?’ I was like, what hoop did I not jump through to get that title?”
White’s answer to these problems is THE SNOW LEAGUE. He created a framework that included a qualifying and ranking system, competitive scheduling and the highest prize purses ever offered in the sport.
White’s credibility made it possible. He had the same frustrations they experienced, and because of that result, the project was met with a positive response from athletes as well as people in the industry.
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Building and executing
Since starting THE SNOW LEAGUE, White has achieved some significant milestones like securing NBC as the league’s broadcast partner. Another was signing Eileen Gu as the league’s global ambassador. Gu was the first freestyle skier to win three gold medals in a single Winter Olympics as well as being a multi-gold medal winner in the X Games.
Assembling the right team was the next step. White works closely with two main team members, Ian Warda and Omer Atesman, who are critical to achieving the league’s vision. White describes the insider knowledge Warda brings to the team.
“He’s run the Burton U.S. opens and things like that for years and years and years. So he really knows the ins and outs of how to run a snowboarding competition. He gets the culture,” says White. Atesman, the CEO, came with previously existing investor relationships and leadership experience.
A cultural innovation White brought into the league was equal pay for all athletes. White feels both men and women skiers and snowboarders take the same risks and achieve the same results, and should therefore get the same compensation. The policy also helps deepen the field of female athletes in the league.
The entrepreneurial philosophy
White uses several factors to decide whether an opportunity is worth pursuing. First, he looks at the product itself and decides if he likes it and if it’s authentic to him, seeing if it appeals to the humorous, serious or competitive side of his nature.
He looks at other ventures through the lens of how involved he wants to be in the project. High Cascade Snowboarding Camp in Mt. Hood, Oregon, a park where White attended snowboard camps as a child, inspired him to become an investor in the camp’s parent company.
White also uses the backcountry as other executives use the golf course. He takes potential investors on a skiing or snowboarding trip to show them his world, and they get to experience a departure from the typical 18-hole business negotiation.
Nowadays, White does his best to give back. He recently appeared on the SoFi podcast Richer Lives to talk about building businesses, negotiating contracts and more.
For aspiring snowboarders, White has advice drawn from both a successful snowboarding and business career.
“Wear your helmet. That’s always the first thing I say. And then — learn as much as you can, especially about your finances. Don’t just hand it off to someone else and hope they handle it right,” says White. “Take the time to understand where your money’s going, how it’s working for you. The more you know, the better off you’ll be in the long run.”
White has transitioned his measurement of personal success from medals to intangibles. “Today I measure most of my success within what’s happening in my personal life, with friends, with family. The things that riches don’t really buy you.”
But he also understands that an eye needs to be focused on business success as well. “I feel like as long as there’s just steady growth, are we learning from mistakes? Are we making the same mistakes as before? As long as we’re learning and moving forward and growing, then I’m pretty happy with everything.”
On the horizon
White has plans to increase the number of events in THE SNOW LEAGUE with the addition of freestyle snowboarding. With a successful Aspen event completed and a second scheduled for the end of 2025, there are LEAGUE events scheduled in both China and Switzerland for 2026. After that, White has plans to expand to the southern hemisphere with events in South America, New Zealand and Australia to make THE SNOW LEAGUE a truly global tour.