Shaun White Quotations

I wear black skinny-fit jeans - I can't get away from them. It's funny because I wore baggy jeans for ages, then one day my friend convinced me to try on a skinny pair and I thought they were great.

The hardest thing about skateboarding is consistency: The slightest flick of your foot or gust of wind can send your board flying, so it's really anybody's game out there.

I trip walking down the stairs, but I can skate them probably.

Skateboarding helps a ton with balance, precision, with air awareness... it gets your senses to be spot-on and it's also a great way to take my mind off things.

There are plenty of skills I've learned from playing video games. It's more interactive than watching TV, because there are problems to solve as you're using your brain.

I can't stay away from Chinese food. I really love that stuff.

You take a crash, you get back up and next time you succeed and that's a great feeling.

You know the best thing about competition? There's this whole strategy game, and when it all works out its like solving that hard math equation. You finally get the answer and you're so happy.

We all started snowboarding in the beginning as a family just to be closer together, go on trips. It was our soccer, but instead of Dad yelling at me from the sideline he is there riding with me and hitting the jumps even before I am hitting them.

Skateboarding is training, but I don't think of it as training. It's fun.

Snowboarding's tough, because you've got to go to the mountains. For me, I love the skateboard season because I get to hangout at home and still be skating. I don't have to travel to Norway or Japan or these crazy places to be snowboarding.

There's always room for improvement, but the judges are looking for big airs and stylish tricks.

I couldn't do my homework if my room wasn't clean. And it has carried on now that I am older, in a very freakish way.

I'm on the road a lot so when I get some time to relax I definitely take advantage.

I've always been under the impression that it would be such a bummer to be in a peaceful place like Hawaii or the tropics and be stressed about catching waves.

I know my family and I would always go up to the mountains just for fun. We always skied. Then, all of a sudden, my brother started snow boarding. Older brother thing, I had to do what he was doing. So I started snow boarding.

I get e-mails from mothers asking me to call their daughters for a date. I have a great life.

You can only jump so far until you break your leg. You can only land so hard until something explodes.

I totally forget about snowboarding in the summertime.

The boarding I do is pretty strenuous and because I'm so active I really don't have to work out too often.

When you think about it, we're strapping strange planks of wood to our feet and launching off of giant snow walls. It's pretty intense.

I can't really describe a trick as much as I just feel it.

What's really good is I'm riding really badly today. It's actually great because when I have a bad day it means I'm going to have a good day tomorrow.

Man, I hate that trick. There are times when you're just spinning and you totally lose track of where you are. You don't know where you're going to land. You only hope you're still in the pipe.

My dad's 56 now and he shreds. He's awesome.

Music gets me in the rhythm I want before the run. And the (loudspeaker) music gets the crowd going, and that pumps me up.

My goal that day was to get a sunburn. That's all I wanted. I've been walking around with jackets on, so I skated with no shirt on. (The sunburn) hurt a little, but it was epic.

Now that I'm older, I really understand how huge the Olympics are. It's just a monster event. ... It's worldwide and it was fun to be a part of it. It meant a lot to me now that I'm older to wear U.S. on my chest. It was heavy. It wasn't like rolling into X Games on my own. I was representing the whole country.

I was so stoked I got it out early. I was nervous because I fell on the first hit of my first run, but I didn't care that much because I knew I had a better run in me. I practiced this run before and made it really sketchy. I was barely hanging on, but it just came together for me tonight. It seems to happen in contests for me.

I don't even think I've made the finals in the U.S. Open. It's just been a cursed event for me. I didn't really want to come. I was nervous because last time I hurt my knee when I was here. ... To overcome all that, and to actually win it, it's insane.

I'm a little overwhelmed right now. I can't explain it.

What do I think of the business? I think I want in on it.

I think it's going to be a kind of a party night. I'm not much of a drinker, but I think I might be old enough to drink in Italy.

I think it will get pretty crazy if the Americans sweep again.

I was out at the Y a couple days ago and I was just dedicated to learning that trick.

You just get your skateboard and you go out in the street and you figure it out and you have fun with your friends.

Well, I just started to have some fun. Normally, I drop in and do another (move), but then I thought, 'This is the Olympics, I'll try some sprays.

This was it: Before the X-Games, before the Olympics, this was the event. I've been showing up here since I was 7 years old.

What a strange bunch. Where would one find a Fabio cutout?

To me, it's about getting better every time and doing the best I can every run no matter where I am. The Olympics are going to be huge, but I don't think the Olympics are going to make or break any rider. At the end of the day, it's just another contest with just a little bit more riding on it.

I've still got some stuff up my sleeve for the Games. I don't want to let it out of the bag right now, but I definitely have something planned.

Any medal would be good. A big gold one even better.

This mom snapped on me. She said, 'You get out there, and you score!' And I was just like, 'Whoa!' When someone else's mom yells at you, it's pretty intimidating.

It's kind of like a training ground, ... But I just have so much fun here. I can come here to learn new tricks during my summer, and I don't need a whole mountain for that. It's tight, fresh and new. This is the first place in the world to give the people who ride here exactly what they want.

It's going to be madness next year. Honestly, it might come down to four 1080s, or three 1080s and a 1240. I don't know; I might not come next year.

It's definitely the run I've been working on for a while. It was nice to see it work.

It's definitely one of the best things that's ever happened to my career. I came out here. I barely made it into finals. After that, I knew I could just do the best run I had planned.

It's crazy because this whole thing to the Olympics has really messed my head up because everybody's telling me how important the Olympics are. And I was like, 'whatever, just do well and go to the Olympics.' Just that having that kind of mellow attitude made me land everything. It was really soothing. I just can't wait for the Olympics now. It's been an awesome season.

It was amazing to me that one competition could bring so much attention to the sport. When I'm on planes, I'd talk to people and I'd tell them I compete in the X Games. Some would know what it was, but maybe half didn't. But everyone knows about the Olympics. They're really like the X Games for the world!

I've just had this fight since I can't even remember.

The U.S. has so many good snowboarders. Hopefully, we will be back next time.

I'm proud of the U.S.A. We've done some amazing things. To wear our flag in the Olympics is an honor.

I just want to get better and better and I've been working on some new stuff.

I'm trying to hold it. It's just my whole family is here. We all came out to Italy. I'm just having a good time, I wanted to win the gold so bad, and I just kind of dug deep and made it happen.

I'm liking it here. Let's bring the Olympics to Vail. This place is good luck for me.

I had a cab driver that was so happy and excited to give me a ride that, when I got out to pay him, he got out and gave me a hug. (The fame) has gotten a little crazy, but I love it. I think it's cool.

I don't know, I think, in times where I'm really nervous, and I'm really under the pressure the worst possible outcome is for me to start thinking about it. I just do.

I didn't understand how big a thing the Olympics are until I showed up here.

I didn't know if I would get the gold, I just knew I wanted it. This is the best year of my life, I'm so happy my whole family's here. I know I won't have this again. It's amazing, everybody's having such a good time.

I didn't know if I would get the gold, I just knew I wanted it.

I don't have any simple things. I only have things like a gold-studded leather jacket. Then I'm going to Hawaii and I'm asking myself "Do I pack it? It could be cold." I'm inventing scenarios where I could wear it.

Even at summer time, I'm still jacket shopping. I've always found that if you find a really nice leather jacket you kind of just go with it because they're timeless.

Surfers have the most attitude.

I like that you can easily flip the sheets over and have a different feel or vibe in your room. You don't have to go get a whole brand-new set of sheets.

If you go to a building to skate, or if you go to these places to skate, you're told it's against the law in some cities. It's definitely a bummer. It's unfortunate.

I didn't set out to beat the world; I just set out to do my absolute best.

I was sponsored when I was about seven by Burton Snowboards.

Whenever I do a deal I always have the right of approval.

Ask anyone who knows me - I am constantly moving things around in my place.

Every time I've had a bad performance at an event, I've come back more determined and focused.

I always tell people that our sports aren't that dangerous.

I've always wanted to land a 1080, it's been a beast of a burden for me.

Now that I have the knowledge and I can speak to programmers better and I understand a lot more about what's possible and what's not possible, this will all help with the next game,

What drives me now is the fact that I feel like I still have so many tricks that I want to learn and so many things that I can still do. And so many cool things outside of sports that I have been doing.

You have to be prepared to take a spill.

I personally think skateboarding is harder because it has so many moving parts. With snowboarding, your feet are strapped to your board.

I don't think the sport is any more dangerous than it's ever been.

I was a monster, a problem child.

When I was 12 years old, I was hanging out with 23-year-olds. I was into cartoons and Pokemon, and they're all talking about girls. It was a strange way to grow up.

It's exciting to go from snowboarding to skateboarding because I get to start as the underdog again.

United [Airlines] sucks, man. I've got like a million miles and they never bump me to first class because they think I'm just a kid and give the seat to some schmoozy guy in a business suit.

I have the most fun snowboarding when it's just me and my brother.

I guess I'm an athlete now. I gotta start going to the gym.

Having the balance to be able to stay on the board in skating and surfing gives you all-around much better balance.

On snowboarding as an Olympic sport: Since I was 6 years old I've been in the mix and watching this grow and change. I never would have expected it to go this far.

When kids come up to me and say. 'I want to be like you,' it fires me up. It's pretty cool.

A weird thing happens when you're taken out of your normal clothing and put into USA gear.

I was told from a very young age that I wasn't gonna be anything. That I wasn't gonna amount to a single thing.

The Olympics are kind of weird. You have to be on a team. That's cool if you're a skier. But in snowboarding, you just want to be your own person.

If you're going off a 90-foot jump, you can't say: 'Oh, I don't want to do this now.' You're going no matter what.

I don't know where my first gold medal is.

My mom was a waitress, and my dad was a plumber who worked for the City of San Clemente fixing mains breaks, so not too glamorous.

There's not really anywhere I can go without being recognized, but if I put my hair up, that cuts the crowd in half.

My dad got me a huge board when I was little. He loves to surf. He suited me up and sent me out on this huge wave. I went under, and when I came out and the board hit me in the face. So I said, I never wanted to do this again. I stayed away until I was 13.

When I'm on planes, I'd talk to people and I'd tell them I compete in the X Games. Some would know what it was, but maybe half didn't. But everyone knows about the Olympics. They're really like the X Games for the world!

You show up at the Olympics, and you're no longer you; you're an American Olympian. You're part of this greater whole, and the individual doesn't matter.

When I came back to skating, everyone was like 'Oh you're the snowboard guy.'

Skateboarding is a way to let your body control the mind.

When I went pro at 13, I had plenty of sponsors that give me endorsement deals and stuff like that.

It's a pretty heavy thing that happens to me when I'm at competitions. I get so sucked in, I can't really turn it off.