The School of Greatness - Shaun White Reveals The Keys To Achieving Big Goals & A Winner's Mindset EP 1201

Episode Date: December 13, 2021

Today’s guest is Shaun White. He’s a dual sport professional athlete who maintains some of the highest accolades within snowboarding and skateboarding. Despite being born with a heart defect, Shaun has earned numerous titles and victories, such as 3 Winter Olympic gold medals and is the only athlete to receive two perfect 100 scores during competition. He holds the X Games record for the most gold medals with 15 and the highest overall medal count to date with 23 medals.In this episode we discuss how to stay energized when you’re pursuing high level goals, having a champion’s mindset and dealing with self doubt, his approach to his self-development journey, the biggest mistakes people make when setting big goals, and so much more!For more go to: www.lewishowes.com/1201Check out Shaun's website: www.shaunwhite.comKobe Bryant on Mamba Mentality, NBA Titles, and Oscars: https://link.chtbl.com/691-podKevin Hart Breaks Down His Secrets to Success: https://link.chtbl.com/956-podKatherine Schwarzenegger Pratt on the Power of Forgiveness: https://link.chtbl.com/925-pod 

This is episode number 1201 with multi-time Olympic gold medalist Sean White. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin. Welcome back, my friend. Today's guest is the incredible Sean White.

He is a dual sports professional athlete who maintains some of the highest accolades within snowboarding and skateboarding. Despite being born with a heart defect, Sean has earned numerous titles and victories such as three Winter Olympic gold medals and is the only athlete to receive two perfect 100 scores during competition. He holds the X Games record for the most gold medals with 15 and the highest overall medal count to date with 23. In this episode, we discuss how to stay energized when you're pursuing things at the highest level,

how to think about having a champion's mindset and dealing with self-doubt, Sean's approach to his self-development journey, the biggest mistakes people make when setting big, massive goals, and so much more. I'm so excited about this. Make sure to spread this message to a friend of yours, someone that you think would be inspired by Sean's story and lessons as well. You can just copy and paste the link wherever

you're listening to this podcast and post it over on social media, tag me and Sean White, or text a friend or two. And I want to share a shout out to our fan of the week. This is from Elise, who said, you and your guests have given me something to look forward to every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I cannot get enough of this podcast. Thank you, Lewis. And a big thank you, Elise, for being the fan of the week. And if you guys want to get your chance to be shouted out on the podcast, leave a review over on Apple Podcasts right now. Let us know your thoughts of why this inspired you and what you've learned about this and get your chance to be shouted out on the podcast here. Go to

Apple Podcasts right now, click the subscribe button and leave a review over there. Okay, in just a moment, the one and only Sean White. Welcome back everyone to the School of Greatness. We've got the legendary Sean White in the house. My man, so good to see you. Thanks for having me. Been following your career for a long time. We've got a lot of mutual friends and it's inspiring to see what you're able to do at 35 years of age. Three Olympic golds is that right now? Yeah. Three Olympic golds. Four Olympics, three golds. Three golds. You're going back for another one. And I'm curious, how do you continue to stay

so disciplined at this age with your body, your mindset, your training, to continue preparing at this level after so many years competing? You know, it's tough, honestly. As you get older, there's just more things that interest you. You're enticed by this, starting a company, even just normal life things.

Relationships. Yeah, going to a birthday party, moving home, just anything like that. And I found that, oddly enough for me, taking the time to do those things actually makes me better at snowboarding. Really? Because I have the you know the muscle memory and I've done it my whole life so it's it's like you know you're it's like riding a bike you know it you know it's just like how enthused are you once you get there so if I'm really motivated when I get to the mountain then I'm dangerous because I I'm pumped

I want to learn the new tricks and I have the ability to do that. It's just when I get there and I maybe don't want to be there and that's when it's really hard. So I think after the, not the last Olympics, but the one before that, after I lost in Sochi in Russia, you know, I missed the podium. And I remember standing there, I had the winning run. I mean, I had all the tricks to do it. I just couldn't, I just, in my head, I just knew I wasn't going to do well. Really? Which is really a horrible feeling. You're like watching a movie. You can't really. Why don't you think you can do it?

Here we go. Why did you not think you could do it well? You know, I don't know. It's just something was just off. And all I can chalk it up to is that my heart just wasn't fully into it. And I didn't think that that fully mattered at the time. I was like, I can just kind of- Wing it.

I could phone it in, I got the tricks. I mean, you know what I mean? And just something in me didn't want it. I couldn't get to that place. And I was in that pressure cooker situation where I was like the last guy to go. It's one run, that's it. I'm closing it out.

And I was like, okay, this isn't gonna go well so you started yourself beforehand yeah this may not go well yeah so oh for sure I just kind of had a feeling which is awful and it's hard to just snap out of that last second and and so after that olympics everything I did at after that was like okay well it wasn't a physical thing that kept me from winning. It was a mental thing. Interesting. And so I'm like, what do I do now? Because it's easy to go, I wish it was physical.

I'd go do some sit-ups. I'd go learn the new hard trick. I could do whatever. It was mental. It was like, okay, how do I make myself like or fall in love with this thing again? How do you make yourself love somebody else even? You know what I'm saying? In that same wheelhouse,

it's like it's not an easy thing to do and so i or or you know reignite that excitement and so i literally did everything that had nothing to do with snowboarding i was like okay like i gotta patch this relationship with my brother like he really for me he stopped working for me we were good but we never really talked you know what i mean i was like i hate how i'm straight it was fake good yeah i was like i hate how i'm portrayed on instagram because all of a sudden it went from like a way to be in touch with my friends to like being like puppeteered by a sponsor like you're obligated to do these posts and you have to say these words and this is before you would put ad right on there so everybody just thought like oh yeah sean's really into you know whatever it is um just little like all these

little things and um as i started peeling them away you know like i just had like less and less you know burden on me and i was just kind of like a happier guy and you started addressing these things yeah the things that were around i was like oh what's going on with my relationship i'm in what's going on here you know like yeah i would love to take a vacation i would love to you know um you know play music and do it you know other interests and passions and things and um and in turn so like even working out like i went to the gym because i i knew that after i work out i just feel better right you know i just like i'm like i accomplished something today just, I knew that that would make me feel good. So I, you know, started going to the gym regularly.

And then obviously you get the benefits of working out regularly. Yeah, yeah. You're in shape. It's ridiculous because in 2014, I really started in the gym. I kind of said I did before, but I was, you know, I was getting by.

I was, it was, you know. So you didn't work out or lift before then? I did a little, but I, I. You were on little, but I was a professional skateboarder as well as snowboarder. So all summer long, like, I'm competing and pumping the ramp. And, like, I never had a break. So, like, all the guys that just, like, kicked it in Thailand or wherever, you know, I was, like, in the hunt still, you know, having to be in a pressure situation, competing, exercising, all the things. So yeah, it wasn't until like 2014,

I really started working out. And then a big one was, you know, I found a new manager, I found a new, you know, publicist to work with. I found amazing physical therapist that was just like super, like I started building my little team of everybody that was like really,, like started building my little team of everybody that was like really on the same page

and knew my goal and could help me get there and not kind of get stuck in their own, because it's a very selfless sort of position to be in to assist somebody else and to help them and be part of that team to get to this place. And so they're missing birthdays and they're missing, you know, events and things and their relationships are strained,

like all that stuff to, you know, help me get my goal. So, you know, really wonderful people in my corner. And then a really awesome coach, this guy named JJ Thomas. And he's an ex-professional snowboarder. I saw him at the mountain, we had fun hanging, riding. And I was like, hey man, you wanna team up and do that? And just the rapport was there. And so I had this awesome little team around me

and then when I found myself at the mountain, I was just excited to be there. And the little things that used to bum me out or put me in a bad state of mind were just gone. Where do you think you would have been had you not addressed the maybe things in your life that you weren't fulfilled with yet or kind of finalized or resolved with relationships

and without having the team to support you? Where do you think you'd be if you didn't do those two things? Well, gosh, I mean, I don't think, I think I probably would have just quit i'm assuming yeah i mean if if you know why do something if it's not enjoyable and and you know there's there's a level of fun and then there's a level of like fulfillment yes so it's not that i'm just like there to have a good time like sure there's moments of like oh this is really fun we're in we're in austria we're in switzerland we're getting yeah you know reading schnitzel and doing

whatever you know sure it's fun but then like you know the fulfillment comes when you like have a goal and you actually like you know make strides to get to that place and achieve that goal or come close and then you know reformulate and come back at it and try it again you know and you and you finally get to that place it's fulfilling and so that's something for me that like has always reformulate and come back at it and try it again, you know, and you finally get to that place. It's fulfilling. And so that's something for me that, like, has always been there in the sport. And that's why competing and, you know, doing the Olympics and all these things, it's always been so fulfilling is that there was that goal, there was a prize at the end. Absolutely. You know,

something to be obtained. But yeah, I think, you know, and I don't even know. I mean, it's hard to say, and there's so much what if, but I don't know. I could have easily cruised into a third, a three-peat and maybe retired at that point. Like, all right, you know, but I got to the Olympics. It didn't go my way. I was upset. I was frustrated, and I was like, wow, okay, well this is probably here to teach me something. And I remember, it's so funny, I can see it clear as day, but I was at my home, I had a home in Malibu, and I was sitting on the bluffs, like on the water, I was sitting on the bluff,

trying to feel really bad for myself. I was like, yeah, yeah, no, so like, literally I'm like tearing up, like, oh, you blew it up like you blew it you're an idiot you know you you like i could have done this or why didn't i do that all these what ifs and you know your your brain can just do numbers on you so i'm sitting there spiraling and i look out and this whale just like jumped in there and i was like oh my god you're right is that a whale like so majestic um and it just broke the whole like I was like wow well things aren't so bad you know I'm here this is just a beautiful life I've made for myself and I've won two gold medals already and you know but

up to that point I'd never been to an Olympics and lost. So I was kind of like, oh, it's all over. It's done. Like, I just thought that, you know, it doesn't matter. The other medals are, you know, erased if this doesn't happen. Interesting. That's how you felt? Yeah, that's kind of how I operated for a while.

Like, I just like, because you have to stay in the hunt for the next big win. So I'd always like, oh, cool, the trophy. Okay. And then like, cause you have to stay in the hunt for the next big win. So I'd always like, oh cool, the trophy. Okay. And then like, you know, and you've got multiple events. And so, and it's literally the first question they ask you, are you going to the next Olympics? Right at, you literally, right at the end. Literally, you're like,

you're trying to catch your breath. They're like, so you go to the next one? And it's heavy. So, so yeah, so I remember sitting there thinking, like, okay, like, I know how I feel inside, and there were things that didn't go my way, and, yeah, I had my plan, you know, which what does that mean at this point? And I remember thinking the thought of, okay, I'm going to make this the best thing that's ever happened to me. Losing.

That was. You mean the losing part? Yeah, losing. I was like, I'll make this the best thing that's ever happened to me. Losing. That was. You mean the losing part? Yeah, yeah, losing. I was like, I'll make this the best thing that's ever happened to me. And that's when I started with that mindset of like, okay, well, if this was the best thing, then what is the outcome?

Like, oh, well, you know, I wasn't doing the big media spree, so I have time to do this now. Like, I actually just spent time at my house. I was like, oh, I have time to reconnect with family or friends or, you know, I have time. I went on, I was in a band for like a while and, you know, the band went on tour because we had time to do that. That's cool.

Like just a bunch of fun things. And so, so yeah. And then, and then that whole sort of like, well, if I'm going to go again, what would be the perfect situation? And then I started filling in the pieces of like the puzzle of like oh well who would my coach be and gosh you know what instead of just calling random people to get massages wherever I'm at or physical therapy like what if we just locked in somebody that traveled with me and you knew what you're gonna get every what if that person's great and they know my body so well and it's almost embarrassing to say that I hadn't had that for years you know it's not something that's

really taught as much. Nowadays, it's more spoken about, but like... Now you hear LeBron saying he's spending, you know, a million dollars a year on his body. Yeah, for sure, and you don't really think about it. I remember hearing that, like, oh, that's cool. You know, in the sport of snowboarding, like, it was pretty lame to have a coach even for, like, a long time.

Yeah, you know, it's like... It wasn't cool or something? Yeah, like to have an agent or to have a coach or to, you know, care or to want to win. It's like you're sold out or something. Yeah, it's like high school. Yeah, it's like, you know, like, oh, he cares, it's lame. You know, so it all kind of happened later.

And then once I built the team, I was like, how did I even, it's like you get in a pet or something. You're like, how did I, I don't remember my life before this like how did i get this far um so yeah having the team was amazing and then i guess basically i was on my journey to that next olympics and i had my plan i love my plans everything's going to plan i was crushed everything's going great plan. I was crushed. Everything's going great. I'm feeling strong and motivated. I got my team. And I'm in New Zealand, and I'm like, heck it.

I'm going to go for this trick that I've been trying. I've been procrastinating, putting it off. Like, let's just get it done. Today's the day. Throw the trick, clip the top of the pipe, fly to the bottom. The wall is 22 feet tall. So I clip the top, then I bounce. And the sun was, I forget what time it was.

It was maybe midday. So the sun was here, meaning that, like, this wall is in the shade, and this wall is sunny and soft. So it was the icy wall. I clipped the top, fly to the bottom, and I caught the edge of my board in the snow, and it put my face in the snow. And, you know, next thing you know, I'm, like, in a helicopter flying to the hospital. I'd, like, rip my face open and 62 stitches my face open and 62 stitches and pulmonary lung contusion. It was just like a really bad crash.

And I was like, OK, well, this wasn't part of my plan. That was a couple months before the Olympics, wasn't it? Literally right before. I remember seeing this. And I was just like, OK, like, you know, is this a sign that I should stop? Is this what is this a sign that I should stop? Is this, what is this? And I really had to sit with myself and think about it and go, okay, well, this is in my way for some reason, like what's to be learned from this?

You know, and it just really kind of straightened everything out for me, as strange as that sounds. Like basically, yeah, I'd been telling myself it'd be great to win the Olympics, and oh, this would be nice, and oh, I could do this afterward, and you know what I mean, I'd been telling myself it'd be great to win the Olympics. And, oh, this would be nice. And, oh, I could do this afterward. You know what I mean? I had all my plans.

And then I had this horrible crash. And I was like, okay, well, how badly do you really like? I'm not even saying you want it, but how badly do you really want it? Because going back out on the snow means in some small percentage, but there is a percentage, that I'm willing to let this happen to myself again. Again. And it was horrible horrible my face is hanging open i'm trying to eat you know yogurt or whatever and i just had three implants in two weeks ago yeah and and uh bone graft in one place because i had teeth removed when i was 18 that i never got fixed yeah so i've had these kind of gaps okay for 20 years okay my mouth is like kind of collapsing.

Oh, no. And so I don't know your pain, but I know the pain of like getting those implants was like 10 days of eating yogurt every day and soup. It's miserable. And it's your face, too. Miserable. So like me looking in the mirror and all I remember is the sweetheart angel of a person, this woman named Esther, who's my physical therapist um because i

had to do my interviews they're like well we need a live hit for the today show you're like so there i was i was in the air and i dropped in and i hit the top and like because i couldn't you know scars they they're stiff when they heal and and it only hurts when you're in the cold although i'm a snowboarder so always it was just freezing at the bottom and they're like can we get a hit like tell us how the run was and i can barely talk and um all i remember is being in the airport and you know scar tissue you need to break it down yeah sitting there like on my phone in tears because my physical therapist got her hand in my mouth and she's just like grinding down the scar tissue and people walking by like, what the? You know, this is before COVID so you could put your hand

in people's mouths, you know, randomly. But yeah. Did you say 60 stitches? Yeah, like 62. I cut my forehead and bit through my lip and nose and i bit through my tongue did you have to do any like uh dental surgery no thankfully um the only thing that was like an issue was you know they kind of let me out of the hospital and then that whole night i felt like i was kind of drowning i was like what's going on i thought maybe from the procedure it

was the tube they put down something and i went I went back and they're like, let's just take a quick x-ray. And my lungs were just full of blood because of the impact that bruised them. And so they threw me straight back to the urgent care area and I had to sit there with this little bucket and like get clear of the lungs. Really? Does that come out a tube that takes it out? Or do they pump sugar?

It was just me breathing in like a humidifier to kind of like loosen the blood. Oh my gosh, man. Yeah, it was just like breathing in like a humidifier to kind of like loosen. Oh, my gosh, man. Yeah, it was just like a whole thing. But so to come back from that, I was like, okay, well, now I got to like do the trick that put me in the hospital. And like my coach was like, you got it. And I'm like, I know. But?

I was pretty sure I had it the last time. And so anyways, I had to like make this pack with myself i was like okay i'm not gonna do the trick until like i'm ready to do it and the conditions are perfect because i try to force it yeah it's not yeah and so i waited and then man like acts of god happened it was like it was like you know show up to the event and like you know the pipe's not built for the first two days because it was a really bad winter. So it was pretty dry. And they're like, oh, there's only one day of practice. Literally, all these weird things.

I show up for this practice session, and then the machine that builds the half pipes broke. Oh, man. Or I flew to Canada. And then the Canada, a giant storm blew in. And then I was like, OK, well, we've got to go back to Mammoth Mountains. I go fly to Mammoth Mountains. I got there, and I got really ill. I just got the flu or something.

So all these weird things kept me. It's getting closer to the Olympics, yeah. Literally, it's two weeks away at this point. And you still haven't done the trick. I haven't done, I did the trick like twice, I think. I finally just like got it done, but I hadn't done like repetition, and I hadn't, you know, it's a routine,

so you would do a trick into that trick into another trick. You hadn't done that. I hadn't done it. And I'm flying to the Olympics like, well, I guess we'll just do it when we get there. Shut up. Really? Yeah. So you didn't practice the full routine until the Olympics?

Not until the second run. Oh, my gosh. That's the first time I ever tried that run. So, of course, I fell. And now, deja vu, I'm sitting where I was at the last Olympics, last guy to go. There's one more run. And I was just like, I want to win this.

I don't know. Just like I felt it the other way, I was like, I'm going to win this thing for sure. There's no way I'm not going to make this run. And I just remember thinking like, I can picture it because I was like, you know, enjoy it because you're going to win this thing. Wow. I remember the orange of the outfits we were wearing, all the all the banners and flags and things were orange. And then they had a big flag at the top and the flag was down, meaning no wind.

And like this, it was kind of overcast that day and it started to open up a little bit. And I was like, this is perfect moment for you. Like a song came on i recognized it's like some post malone something i was like and uh man nailed it to win it you know and um and so that's why at the end of that olympics like i don't know if i've ever really broken down that much but it's such an emotional journey to get to that yeah man to like from the family stuff to you know instagram whatever all these things that i changed in my life and then to have that bad accident and really question

everything only to get there and win it was just such like a overwhelming as of you know joy and and all that so yeah i remember watching i remember watching it live and just yeah you had so much emotion but hearing the full story now, I could see why. Yeah. So it was heavy. And trust me, getting to that point where I'm like, wow, I'm just going to do it when I get there. That's nuts. I'd been plotting for over, you know, actually four years at this point for this one moment.

I'm going to show up unprepared. Like, how did this happen? How did I get to this point? Well, unprepared, but 25 years of preparation. For sure, for sure. So, like, I know how to compete. I know these things. But, like, you know, you want to be ironclad when you get there. Of course. You're kind of winging it.

Yeah, and at this point, I'm like, all right, well, let's see what happens. And so that was very unnerving. And did you know that going into it, like, this is a winning combination? Like, if I can land this perfectly or close to perfect it's a winner pretty much I mean the only thing is that the other competitors names I you moves Japanese snowboarder he he had a very similar run and so you know I was like okay like not only do I have to do this run but just do it bigger and better than great so I was like okay he's a lot younger than okay um he's a lot younger

than you yeah he's a lot younger more fearless maybe didn't just smash his face a month ago and you know and i was in that pressure spot of like okay like it's make or break like everyone's watching am i gonna do it or not and um and all that stuff clicked in and i was like i'm gonna do it and you knew right when you finished, you knew you won? Not exactly. I knew that was the best chance I had for sure of winning. You knew you did your best. It was so intense and like it's all connected. So I don't really remember specific moments.

So I'm watching the screen going like, okay, I feel like I killed it. But did I touch a hand somewhere? Did I land kind of flat and not notice it? Is it, you know, it's so, you're so wound up. Yeah. And then, man, so everybody at the top celebrating because the score came in right away. Really? Like I had won.

Boom. NBC held the score for like a dramatic pause. So you didn't see it until you're on camera. It felt like an eternity. I was just like, and I'm watching. And they had the other athletes here. So I don't want to like go near them because I just, I don't here so I don't want to go near them because I just, I don't know,

I just didn't want to look in their faces. And so then the judges booth's right in front of me and I swear I look up in the booth and some guy's doing like a, playing limbo with my fake, you know, and so I'm like, ugh. And then the crowd and TV cameras here so I'm just kind of like panning around and finally the score hit and I was'm like, ugh. And then the crowd and TV cameras here, so I'm just kind of like panning around.

And finally the score hit, and I was just like, I lost it. It was so amazing. And then just seeing my family and, you know, Jake Burton, the owner of Burton Snowboards, who sadly passed away. You know, amazing moment with him. He was just like, how the f do you do every time um because you know he's he's congratulated me after every you know big win and even even there when the upset happened you know so amazing to see like familiar faces and all that and um

but but i was so proud of that like all those little steps I took actually paid off. They got me to that place where I was sitting in the same position, and I'm like, I'm going to win. Rather than, like, I'm just not there. So that was, I think, what I was the most proud of after that Olympics. Have you ever had another moment before a run where you're like, I don't think this is going to go well, but it did go well? Like, you said to yourself, like, man, this is a tough one, I don't know, we'll see. It's 50-50, and then you just nail it still. There was one.

It was actually the qualifier to get to that Olympics. We were in Aspen, the mountain of Snowmass, and like, kind of similar situation where I show up, I'm so excited, you get three runs for final. The first run, I was just way too excited. Yeah, you went too hard. And too excited yeah like over and I like shot out and I was like oh my god and my coach's like what happened I was like I don't know I'm sorry I just like I got too too pumped and like and as the you know it's the mountains so as the day goes on these clouds start rolling in it's getting colder so the temp drops so the snow hardens it's going faster and it's like it's getting scarier so the temp drops, so the snow hardens. It's going faster, and it's getting scarier.

The second run, perfect. Nailed it. The whole way down, and on the last hit, I washed out. And I'm like, oh, my God. And at this point, we're panicking because we're a couple qualifiers deep. We still need to make the team. The commercials are airing that I'm going to the Olympics. I haven't made the team.

We have to qualify every time. The pressure, man. So I'm sitting there going like, okay. You got one more run. And so I'm talking to, yeah, I got one more run. I'm the last guy to go. Same deal. And I talk to my coach and he's like, you know, I'm like, what do I do?

I'm like in the start gate. I'm like, what are we doing for that last hit? The one that I fell on. I'm like, are we going for? I'm like, in the start game, I'm like, what are we doing for that last hit? The one that I fell on. I'm like, are we going for this big, it's the 1260s call. Then I was like, are we going for the 12 or should I dial it back to a nine? Or should, like, what are we doing? And he was just kind of like, you know, I'm talking to him about it. And out of nowhere, he's like, do the 14.

Which is? Which is, you know, it's all just degrees of rotation. More rotations? More, yeah. So you's all just degrees of rotation. More rotations? More, yeah. So you said, do we do 12 or not? He said, go more. Yeah, do the 14. And I was like, what do you mean?

He's like, on the first hit. We were talking about the last hit. On the first drop, go ahead. He's like, do the 14. You've practiced it so much. You're ready. Just do the 14. And I was like, and I remember looking at him being like, sure, okay, yeah.

Right like seconds before you go. And the guy's literally telling me to go at this point. him being like, sure, okay, yeah. Right like seconds before you go. And the guy's literally telling me to go at this point. He's like, go. And I was like, so what are we doing? He's like, I don't know. I was like, well, I kind of got to go. We're having this argument. And the guy's like, come on, like right already, like go.

And so I remember like giving him the like fine, basically like saying like, if it doesn't work, it's your fault. It's your fault. Nailed it. I fully nailed it. And it gave me the second win. And then I start hammering the run. Best part is, I'm on the last hit. And I was like, we never decided what we were going to do the last hit.

You didn't know what you were going to do. Because we only talked about the first hit. And so I was like. So you're like three seconds to decide. Yes. I'm like, well, I'm already on the heater. I might as well go for the 12, the harder trick. Like, let's just do it.

And boom. I went from like, I think I was in like second to last place on the roster to like winning. I won with that run, but I got a perfect hundred score. Like I nailed it. Like I nailed the run. And that's only been handed out once before, which was actually for me at the X Games event. So this is, you know, but it meant a lot to me

because that X Games judging and the actual Olympic judging's a little bit different. So it was like, oh, I felt, it felt even more official maybe. I shouldn't say that. It was just as amazing either way. um like went from dead last to like you know winning the competition perfect hundred score making the olympic team all in like a couple seconds there and 20 seconds before you didn't know what you were gonna do I didn't know the run yeah I didn't know what we

were gonna to do so but did you go into it when you dropped where you're like, I'm screwed in your mind? Or were you like, I got this. I'll figure it out. I think a part of me was like, you know, who cares? Because, you know, it's on him. You know, and I'm a firm believer in, have you ever played ping pong? I love ping pong. And like all of a sudden you're up 10 points or something.

And then you go, oh, I'm up 10 points. I should really focus now. And then you mess it up. And you just start blowing it. Yeah, so. You have to stay loose. Yeah, yeah. So, like, that bit of not caring probably allowed me to go crush that run

because I was in a state of, like, well, heck with it. Like, I'm going to just go for it. You're loose. Yeah, and then as I started nailing the tricks, that's when things like the tunnel vision happened. And I was like, oh, I'm actually killing it. Like, stay focused. Yeah.

And I got like a second wind in the middle of my run. And that's when I threw. Because at this point, like, it's dragged on. Like I said, the clouds had moved in. I'm tired. I'm exhausted. End of the day. So when he's like telling me to do the 14,

I'm already like, I'm ready for bed. I told him, let's just wrap it. We'll go to the next event and try to win that thing. But anyway, so that was an amazing situation where I was pretty convinced I wasn't going to do well and somehow pulled it out. Nailed it. There's been a couple of those. There was one where I actually set the record for the highest air out of the half pipe.

there's one where I actually set the record for the highest air out of the half pipe and the best part of the story is is that the morning of I had I think I was fighting a cold and so like you know if you work out or you do something strenuous like your body's fighting the cold not repairing the muscles so I woke up and I could barely walk I was so tired and I call my coach different coach at this point. He comes over and shows up with giant bags of ice. And like we fill the bathtubs, hot water and cold water. And I just start going back and forth. I'm like, okay, I got maybe like three runs,

four runs in me max. So let's do like a pretty simple warmup run and then just try to do it in the contest and get it done. And I drop in. This is your Michael Jordan moment yeah I flew game I drop in I can't stop my leg is so tired and so warm that if I I can't use it to break like there's not like it would have folded on me and so I went so big cuz I couldn't I like shot out the top of my pipe. Huge air. I forget the height.

At that point, I think like 23 feet was probably the biggest air ever done. This is a 20-foot. 22-foot pipe. So I'm out about 20-something feet above that. On top of that. Yeah. How about you're looking down to the ground 45 feet down? Yeah, yeah. Well, because I'm landing higher than the 22, but you're up there.

If you look at other, that's scary, man. Yeah, so the idea is to be in this side of the pipe, catch the wall. And so I'm flying, and I'm thinking, like, wow, I've never really gone this big. If I could just finish this run, I'm going to win. And I've somehow pulled it together and nailed it. That's terrifying, man. Yeah, I may have, like, even, like, bowed out on my last run just because I couldn't do it. Yeah's terrifying, man. Yeah. I may have like even like bowed out on my last run

just because I couldn't do it. Yeah. Yeah, I was too tired. I'm curious about, I mean, you've rarely lost a competition, right? It's like,

it's a rare day for you if you lose or get second or whatever. Have you learned how to put your self-worth not on winning or losing, but just to put it on who you are as a human being?

Or have you struggled in the past with, man, I suck today and I'm no good as a person as well? Like how do you wrap your self-worth around your competition and separate it from just who you are as a human? No, it's a great question, because I would say I'm so much cooler with losing now than I ever was before. I mean, it would just tear me apart.

And it's so weird, because I probably had won 10 competitions straight going into this one and got second by a point and a half or something, and I was just devastated. Like, how did this happen? And that kind of self-worth being derived from those situations is is difficult you know it drives you to be better but it's unsustainable you know if your happiness is just hanging in the balance of winning yeah yeah and and and it's a judged event

it's like you know it's opinions of who did better and and so yeah i mean how do you manage that now then i wish i could say I I had a good grasp on it when I was younger I mean something about I guess nowadays it's twofold I mean not to pat myself on the back but I've won a lot of events so I don't feel as much I have to prove yeah as much of you know of my you know hey like I'm the best or I've been you know like I don't feel as much I have to prove as much of my, hey, I'm the best. I don't feel like I have to prove as much. So I'm content with like,

even I've been at events where I'm just like, I'm not competing today because it's unsafe or it's this or I'm not feeling it. If you actually look at my track record, I've pulled out of a lot of events. Really? Because it's just unsafe at times. I look at it as a marathon.

It's not a sprint. It doesn't matter. Today, that's cool. But it'll go by, and I'll be there next year, and maybe the conditions will be better and more favorable, and I'll be healthy and ready to do it. So I like to think of my career as that long game. So I like to think of my career as that long game. And so nowadays it helps knowing that like, okay, well, I'm going to lose this event. I know it's not going to go well, but I know that this is the goal.

It's not the one event. Yeah, like it's not this event. It's that one. So like qualifying for that last Olympics, like I showed up at the first event knowing i was going to lose and i was like oh this would be great i'm going to show face see what everyone's doing and i'll get a clear picture of like okay here's where the level's at and here's where i need to be or where am i at and i didn't show my cards so i was like okay we'll see what happens and you know play it and so, so there's strategy too involved and, you know, and it changes over the time. I mean, I used to just, I had to win everything

and like, and if you kind of challenged what I was doing, then I would run off and do whatever else. But now you're okay with losing an event that's not as important as the main events. But did I hit my markers? Did I get my points toward making the team? Did I save my body? You know what I mean? And so even like we kind of mentioned in the waiting room, it's like after the Olympics, I take a season off. So if you extrapolate that over the years,

I've almost five Olympics now, so that means four years I've taken off. That's four years that I've been able to kind of like let the body rest and my head rest and all these things. And so it definitely stretched my career out. Yes. You know, and I hate to admit I'm the oldest competitor, but yeah, at this point it's really funny

because I remember dropping in and being the youngest competitor. Isn't that funny? They're like, I'm the oldest competitor. Drop it. I'm like, ugh. Do you still feel like the young guy or no? I still feel like, you know, I mean, I don't feel like the young guy, but I feel like it could be my game.

You know, it's my competition to win or lose. Yeah. I still feel that way. Right. You know, where, I don't know, I think if I was like clinging on to like 10th, 11th way you know where i don't know i think if i was like clinging on to like 11th 11th you know my family be like let's get out of here it's time for sure or you know it would just it would naturally something would there be a tell at some point yeah um but um but yeah so nowadays i just kind of manage it that way and then honestly

i did like a bunch of just kind of like i I don't know what you call it, I guess work on myself. Or just kind of, you know, I went to a lot of. What did that look like? Was that therapy? Was that workshops? It was all of the above. I was talking to therapists. And then I was, you know, reading some really, you know, eye-opening books.

And then. Which books impacted you? One was called The New Earth. It was Eckhart Tolle. Yeah, he's great. Yeah. It's worded pretty, you know, it's very, I don't know what you'd say. Spiritual.

Exactly. It's intense. But if you really take the time to read and remember to like reread pages, I'm like, wait, wait, what are they saying? So that was, you know, an amazing book that really opened my eyes up to a lot of different things and the way my brain works and the thought process and how I've been kind of like assessing the situation

and you know, the events that happen, they happen. It's how I interpret them is what's like driving me and fueling me and if it's something I interpret to be a bad thing, then I'm gonna act and these emotions will stir from that. And so it really made me understand that. And then another book I read was called Loving What Is by Byron Katie. She's great, we had her on the show, she's awesome.

And I swear I saw her somewhere. I got all fangirls. She's amazing, man. She came on here and she pretty much did live therapy with me. I was like, this is incredible. So you read those two books. Those were the impact. Yeah, those were really heavy. There's a couple others, but those were the main ones.

And then I honestly, I got a phone call from Tony Robbins to come down to his house and do like a speaking engagement. He does the platinum partner things. Totally. It was like, you know, just and I do those sometimes, which was cool. And he called me up and I go down there and. In Florida, right? Yeah.

I was at his home. I've been there. And the panel was myself, Michael Phelps and Tom Brady. I think that was the next year's one. I was like, oh, this is cool. I went first, and then I'm listening to Michael speak, and I was like, wow. It really blew me away to hear a fellow athlete

talk about the struggles of how you feel after an event. Even if you win, it doesn't mean that all these other things are great in your life. It doesn't mean that the dog's going to listen to you. It doesn't mean that these people are going to care for you more. Your business isn't in a better place. All these things that, yeah, winning is amazing, but it doesn't fix everything. And a lot of that stuff gets pushed to the side in order to win.

And so it was really eye opening to hear him speak. And then afterward, Tony was like, look, you know, we do this little, you know, he calls it a prayer. It's nothing religious at all, but it was kind of this like meditation, quick meditation thing. He's like, Michael's gonna do, we're all gonna do it. I was like, okay.

And it's basically the concept of like stacking, you know, you go through the day and you kind of like, oh uh whatever the the sofa i ordered is back ordered now i thought it was going to be here this week it's not it's going to be next month they're like so let's stack that and then like oh i got the phone call from so and so that the the event got canceled because like oh you know great and then you start stacking these things and so it's just a simple process. His prayer is a, which I understand later, but it was the idea of like, hey, let's go and just take a minute

to stack all these really great things that happened because you don't really take the time to do that. Not to focus on all the negative things. Totally, or just take a moment to be like, oh, man, hey, when did something really just work out? Like you said, that run in Aspen. It just worked out. I was thinking, and aspen like it just worked out you know i was thinking oh it's probably not going to be my day and boom it hit it just worked out and

like hey let's like what an amazing win where something just kind of went my way and like let's take something that really worked hard for and that actually happened and like oh what by chance you know like a person you met that became a lifelong friend. You know, just these things. I remember leaving feeling like I was so pumped up and I just really, you know, at the time needed something like that. Anyway, so I leave and, you know, that feeling kind of fades a little, obviously. And a couple months go by and randomly he called me. Tony. Yeah, he's like like we're doing it a bit and i was driving and i you know when you click your your phone it comes through the car speakers yeah that huge voice of his was like we're doing an event come out because that's it

it's an invitation not a expectation just whatever you want you know send a family member whatever and so i was like you know what i'm let's do it and so i i remember just like i was like i'm gonna go i'm gonna go so my first instinct was to send family members that i cared about i was like oh maybe i'll send my dad or my mom or my sister somebody close to me that like would benefit from this and then and i remember hearing him on the phone they're're like, it's kind of like the planes crashing. Do you take the mask and put it on someone? No, you gotta save yourself so you can save the others or whatever.

And, you know, and then I was like, I'm just gonna go and I'm gonna go alone. I went solo. And just kind of like. Was this UPW or Day with Destiny? This was UPW. It's a powerful mask. So you were walking on fire and stuff.

Yeah, it was the whole thing. It's crazy, isn't it? Yeah, so you went. I've been there. Okay, so it's just. It's powerful man, so you were walking on fire and stuff. Yeah, it was the whole thing. I did that too, yeah, it was cool. It's crazy, isn't it? Yeah, so you went. It's amazing. I've been there, yeah, yeah, I've done it. It's amazing. It was just awesome. And it really got me thinking differently.

And I remember thinking like, wow, if I felt pretty great after, it was just like my thought process of why I should work out. I was like, well, I feel better after. Well, why not? I'll go to something like this. And so I did the event. It was crazy eyeening, really amazing. And then after that,

I went to a financial seminar he had up in Canada as like a thank you. And I was like, hey, why don't I come like snowboard with your guests? Wow, that's cool.

And I'll take the course. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So did that and then, you know, had some other interactions

with him and then ended up doing the Day with Destiny in Florida. I haven't done that one yet. After, you know, multiple hits of this, you know, you really, it starts to sink in and that was really, him and then ended up doing the day with destiny in florida so i haven't done that one yet after you know multiple hits of this you know you really it starts to sink in and that was really awesome because it's it's something about like it's nice if somebody you know they can tell you

hey feel better about this or do that you know but it's such a different thing when you come up with the idea yourself yeah and it's it's you know you're like that aha moment of like oh wow i've been doing this and now i realize this is a better way and not only that but like here are the tools to help you so like with these books like the first book the new earth like got me thinking differently but the loving what is kind of took that same kind of thought process and and made it like applyable to my life mmm so I could go through my life and I like anytime something arises now it triggers and I go oh let me they do this thing where

they yeah Katie does I'm sure you spoke with her you kind of break it down and kind of question you have these like four questions and you're just like okay like how do I really feel about this you start going through the questions and you're just like okay like how do i really feel about this like you start going through the questions and at the end it just takes all the the life out of it you know it takes all the that meaning and that sort of you know emotion that's drawn from the meaning that you're giving this thing you're giving it all this life and it's not it's nothing do you remember four questions i can't remember them fully they're like is it true yeah and then the second one is it true is it really true so the like, is it true? Yeah. How do you know it's true or something? The second one is, is it true? Is it really true?

So the first one is, is it true, right? Yeah, the second one is, is it really true? And then pretty much every time the answer's no. And then it's like, how do you feel or how do you react when you hear that or believe that lie? Yeah. Yeah. And then the fourth part is you you turn it around which is a little confusing to me but it's still it's like you kind of start saying it differently yeah perceiving it

differently yeah just by saying it differently though it's like oh this person did this well I did this you know right or my thinking of this was wrong or this and just you kind of saying it goes oh yeah okay but it's a really powerful thing because it really stops you in your tracks and and now when something arises where it's not that i walk on sunshine every day but when problems do arise and like you know i'm i'm like getting flack from the guy at airbnb whatever like about to write this crazy text oh is this true? Is he really upset?

You know, and you kind of like, when something really upsets you, those are the signs that something's off, which is really cool. What do you think, what's your biggest trigger in your life, or what has been your biggest trigger in the past that you've had to learn how to process better? Well, that's the whole part of it is that the triggers are something basically that you're seeing it through a lens of your past. Right, right.

So it's not that you came in and said you didn't like my shirt. At some point, someone else said I didn't have good style, and now I'm hearing you say you don't like my shirt. Now I'm freaking out because I'm adding all this other stuff that you don't know about, but you were just not into the color, or we're giving me it you know a hard time you know what was amazing is that everything really boils down to these like butchering this but there's Tony's not listening but they boil down to these simple things of like I'm not enough or or you yeah, I'm not enough or this isn't good enough or, you know, I won't be loved, you know. And as simple as it is, it's like, okay, well, you know, like losing a contest.

You know, well, why? What's the meaning behind it? Like, oh, I wanted to win to show that I'm great. Well, why did you want to show that you're great? Well, I was told kind of I wasn't going to amount to much in a sport that was not in the Olympics, that X Games had just started. Like, there's no future in the sport. So for years and years, the teachers and friends and people were like,

you're going to amount to nothing. You're a joke. Like, your sport's a joke. And we'll see you in the future when you're asking for change, you know. And so that's kind of embedded in me. So there was this fight to prove that I was, you know, something important or special or whatever. And so it's all boils down to like that, like, oh, I'm not good enough or I fear that I'm

not enough. And so once you kind of realize you're pulling from this place, you know, you go, well, okay, take all this aside. man like what are the basics like am I there for my friends when they need me like for sure am I you know like like what are my strengths outside of all this other stuff and you kind of really get to know yourself a lot more and that was really amazing for me and so eye-opening because I was just like ever since I can remember I've been competing and doing this and that and win after win. You know, how do we go bigger and more?

And, you know, I never really took the time to just go, oh, wow, like, hey, I tend to, like, do well at a dinner. Like, I make people laugh. I'm good. You send me in, I'm good. make people laugh i'm good all right you send me in i'm good good you know like that's a great quality to have to be able to like be social and to you know to um you know strike a chord with people and and easily start conversation make people laugh and like that's a quality that's a great quality to have and and and the simplest fact of like oh like okay if i knew someone like that i would like just to have them around just for that basic fact that they're enjoyable to be with.

You know what I mean? Just the simplest things. And then once you have that kind of foundation of understanding of like, gosh, well, I'm getting that sort of I am enough and I will be loved and all these things from all this, then everything else is just like, oh, well, and if I win the event, I'm like, great. You know? like oh well and if i win the event that's great right you know you know so but it but that's so weird is i was worried that it wouldn't like keep me motivated but i'm still driven and this was all in the last couple of years you started doing this work this was yeah this was like 2018 pretty much yeah so in the last three years as you started to do kind of more of the the emotional inner years, as you started to do kind of more of the emotional, inner, mental work, what would you say to your, you know, 13-year-old self getting into the journey of this career for the last 20 years

or whatever, 20 plus years, what would you say to him, knowing what you know now, about what the real champion's mindset is? Yeah. No, it's tough. I mean, I've thought about that, but there were so many situations where I, maybe I needed that drive. You know what I mean? I, I, I'm a firm believer in like, you kind of, I don't know. I've just been like leveling up consistently through my career. So maybe I, I, you know, didn't need that lesson at that time. Um, I definitely would have told myself to really like stop and enjoy the like the little things just because you know you don't realize that things just keep going on you know I remember signing this deal when I was really

young and it's like this 10-year contract I was like I'll be playing golf by then I was like I'll be 30 can you imagine and 30 came around I was like wow I still feel so driven and youthful and I got all this stuff in front of me and um so so yeah I don't know I don't know what I would say exactly but I definitely did enjoy the the little things yeah just go back and take the moment to like like man we had this big win let's go celebrate that with this yeah let's just take an extra minute to do that. Not already move on to the next thing.

Yeah, for sure. Because, you know, it was just like I had my mind. And I don't think it would have gotten in the way. It would have just been like really enjoying or like a big deal I signed or something like that. Yeah, celebrating it. Yeah, those things. But now that you've done, I guess, the deeper inner work that you're talking about, do you have a um you know a routine

or a mindset or a mantra that you have going into events now that like you think about beforehand or before you're going up to the uh dropping in or or is it just you keep doing the same you've been doing no it's pretty much the same that's what's so great about it is it's like it's just given new meaning to the same way that I feel already. What's that meaning? Just that it's all a bonus. It's all like, you know what I mean? It's all icing on top of the cake. I mean, look at this long career I've had to this point.

It's all, you know, and like, why not? Like, I still feel great. I still am motivated. I still am these things. And like, let's embrace that, but not put the extra, you know, emphasis on like, well, if it all doesn't work out, then nothing's good. That I'm worthless or not enough. Yeah. Or just that like nothing's great. Yeah.

And then you're at your beach house. You're like, yeah, crying, watching these whales. Trying to be grumpy at the whales. You know, but that's, you know, I don know i i i fear i'm coming off preachy or something like that it's something that worked for me and really helped me but you know to each his own and you know there is a time to push and to push through the the frustrating parts and then there's a time to kind of go oh wow like is this is this just a time for a course adjustment rather than you know so i think yeah as i've gotten older and maybe maybe it's just with age like i don't know if i would have

listened at that point right you were so focused i got a lamborghini let's go what feedback would you give to someone out there whether they're an athlete or they're just going after life in a big way they have big goals big dreams but maybe it's business or yeah career or something what feedback would you give them on the path of wanting to accomplish massive big goals being at the top of their field without hurting themselves along the way well again i think you know definitely don't this this thought of like the delayed happiness is where you get in trouble if this happens then I'll be happy if I can only get the raise then I'll be happy if I could just win one more Olympics then I'd be happy you know if I could just see you got a kind of which is hard because you know you

picture this place in your mind and you want to get there I'm very like I visualize everything so like I picture it. I can see the red carpet rolling. I can picture no, I'm kidding. You know what I mean? They're throwing flowers at me. You can picture what it would be like.

If I just had this amount of money I wouldn't worry about money. There's all these things and there's a way to enjoy it along the path that doesn't have to be all or nothing and that's something that took me a while to learn and i think i would have had a much more enjoyable process getting to where i am in my life and career um and still had that motivation if i would have been able to yeah kind of you know um like Tony says at his event, he says, what was it? You know, success without fulfillment is the greatest failure. It's true.

And it's so funny because you meet people and you'll have very famous people at that event. They stand up and they're like, I won my Oscar. And I was like, well, I better win another one. And then I made this much money. And I was like, well, I better double it. And then I just kind of sat there with my doubled money and my thing and went, well, what's next? You have to find the enjoyment. Otherwise, you get to that place where you finally get that goal.

And in many ways, it is what you'd hope, but it's not exactly what you pictured. And that's hard you know to get to that point and it's it's frustrating because you bank you put so much emphasis on this moment being this way um and if it doesn't work out exactly and picture exactly how it's going to go you know you're left kind of hanging right so um it's getting rid of that and then i'm just a huge believer in kind of like the little steps as well It's like what little thing can I do that? My competitors are probably not doing that might help me like what? I don't know just I remember I remember winning the event and I just it just dawned on me that all my competitors would

Probably this is when I kind of went to the gym It dawned on me that all my competitors were probably going to go celebrate like drink alcohol go party all night for sure and I was like what if I just hit the gym just why not just something that would you know why don't I just like push when they're gonna not push and you know just little things that I might be able to do to get to that place. And so I always, and goal setting was huge. And I hesitate to talk about it just because it's, I feel like it's talked about so much, but I don't really believe that people do it in the right way. You know,

like, yeah, it's great to have a huge goal, but is that like really what you want? No, because it's like, there's so many times, like I said, I really wanted to win the Olympics in Korea, and then I'm sitting in a hospital with my face ripped open and I was like, how bad do you really want this? And thankfully, I really, really wanted it, and that was the goal, and I was like, you know, and that helped me get there, oddly enough,

but it's like you know and that helped me get there oddly enough but it's like it's like really finding like what that is and knowing it wholeheartedly like this is it and then you start that little pro that process of getting there if it's like you know are we selling t-shirts well one extra shirt sold is this or like maybe if i drive the car instead of shipping it right we're gonna move the needle like any any little thing I could do to move the needle in the right direction. And so having that big goal and then having a bunch of fun little goals on the way, and something that would be obtained

by getting to the big goal. It sounds like the universe is gonna ask you, do you really want this with the obstacles it puts in your way? Oh, for sure, yeah. And people will question it, and you'll question it, and you know, and then the people within your inner circle, because you don't kind of listen to everybody else,

those people will question it, and you gotta really, you know, know what you want. You gotta listen to yourself. Which is hard, which is really hard. But once you find it and know it wholeheartedly, then okay, boom, that was a huge hurdle to clear. And then it's like, well, how can we get there? And I've always, I heard something a long time ago where, you know, instead of saying, oh, we can't do that, that really shuts the doors.

Like, how could we, how could we do it? And that was me sitting after the Olympics in Russia when I lost. And I was like, okay, well, if I was gonna win again, how would I do it? And then I started like, well, I'd have to have a coach that did this for me and I'd have to have the PT, and I started to build this scenario and I was like, wow, that actually seems doable. And then I had fun little goals along the way.

So at the One Olympics, my goal was to, I wanted to be on the cover of Rollingan stone um which which had happened after the one olympics the first one i went to i was 19 and my goal was like well if i win again they might call me and i'll be ready this time you know and uh because i remember taking the photo i just flown in from wherever i was like they're like take your shirt off i was like i never take i'm so white and i remember the photos coming out i was like i don't know how i feel about this and anyway so i was like if it happens again i'm gonna be shredded yeah this will happen and i'll do this and this and and i remember watching like i got really into guns and roses and

axel did a show where he's in these tiny American flag shorts. Yeah, yeah. I was like, well, I can't run that. But what if I had pants? And so, like, I had these pants made and it became all about, like, trying to get on the Rolling Stone cover and to wear these pants rather than, like, winning the Olympics. And so it kind of changed the goal to something fun and funny rather than this daunting task of winning the Olympics. But obviously winning the Olympics would mean I got to wear the pants or whatever so it literally all happened the one the Olympics Rolling Stone called I had the

pants we shot we shot the photo and then and this actually all started because I was at the Hard Rock Casino probably on my birthday or something we did my 21st there and I remember seeing all the jackets i love music and guitar and rock and roll and i was like god how do i get something of mine into the hard rock because it's all rock and roll memories and i was like i was on the cover so like those pants and the board all the stuff from the cover got displayed at the heart of it so it was like a full circle. So even now I'm like planning my little,

so I'll tell you, I'll tell you, well, obviously, obviously to win the next Olympics would be wonderful on many levels. 2022. But the 2022 and my fun goal, this is a good one. Let's see how excited for this. My fun goal is that I'm hoping that after five Olympics that I'm so well-known as a snowboarder that is so famous and well-known that they're forced to change the Emojicon snowboarder to look like me. Ooh, that would be sweet.

That would be great. I was like, I could maybe make that make that i know they have like a david bowie one i was like all they'd have to do is put some like long red hair on that guy that'd be cool and flowing out the back of the helmet or something yeah just like because i keep picturing like hey it's me and then throwing the emojis hey new number it's me yeah yeah snowboarder like this in the air yeah that's my thatjis that's cool hey new number it's me yeah yeah yeah snowboarding like this in the air yeah that's my that's those are my big goals

I like that the emoji yeah Sean what emoji I like it gotta do it for the emoji that's the future man yeah yeah

so not the legacy of being a five time Olympian the legacy of having an emoji being on everyone in the world's phone yes

there you go that's great man so you know but um but that's what's fun is it's you know The legacy of having an emoji. Being on everyone in the world's phone. There you go. That's great, man. So, you know, but that's what's fun is, you know, every time is different. It changes. I mean, look at this curveball we were thrown, COVID. I mean, I can't go train in Canada. We can't go to, you know, Australia or New Zealand right now.

Like, it's very strained, limited practice time. Everybody's trying to make it work. And, you know know, like we're all in the same boat together. So it's not like it's unfair or anything, but we're all, you know, it's just a new challenge. It presents itself in a new way and there's new goals and new hopes. And yeah, it's been good. Amazing journey, man.

Couple final questions for you. And then I respect your time here, but this is a very inspiring. Before I ask the final questions, I want people to check you out. I I respect your time here, but this is very inspiring. Before I ask the final questions, I want people to check you out. I love your stuff on Instagram, man. Oh, thank you. Sean White on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, your website, seanwhite.com. The recent post that you used skateboarding, I think it was Switzerland or something. I was like, this is a dream world, man.

So you've got really cool stuff over there. You also have a new line coming out. Dude. If you can talk a little bit about that. Yeah, I won't give away the name and all of it, but yeah, I've always dreamt of having my own snowboard brand, and so, you know, just like I set my goals and things,

I remember after the last Olympics being like, gosh, if I come back here, I'm gonna be on my own equipment. How cool would that be, you know, to try to make that podium with my own. Because you've always been sponsored by someone else. Yeah, yeah, and it's been amazing, and I wouldn't change that for the world, how cool would that be you know to try to make that podium because I've always been sponsored by someone else yeah

and it's been amazing and I wouldn't change that for the world but you know as time goes on I'm like I had a hand in product development

obviously and design and had my own lines and places I was like gosh it's time let's do it and so

but it's really exciting because I used to work with my brother and we made all sorts of products and things and we stopped working together for some time and now we're working together again. That's cool.

And it feels amazing. That's good, man. He's fired up and I'm super excited and just testing the products. It just feels like old times. That's cool, man. Yeah. So that'll be dropping. The soft goods of it all will be unfortunately next season because of the timelines.

But the hard goods will be dropping this next next winter before you know next year yeah right before Wow right before yeah so we can we can follow you on on your socials Sean white.com you have a newsletter there too or somewhere to opt-in if we don't I'm gonna go get at it there yeah in the meantime if they just follow you on any of these accounts yeah they'll be they'll be up to date on all that stuff so make sure to follow Sean and support him I'll begin some stuff I miss no But in the meantime, if they just follow you on any of these accounts, they'll be up to date on all that stuff. So make sure to follow Sean and support him.

I'll be getting some stuff. I haven't snowboarded in like three years, so I've got to get some gear, and then I'll start getting back on it. Yeah, for sure. You might need a big board, though. I have a big board. Yeah, I'm a big dude. I remember I kind of like got in an accident like maybe seven years ago. I was six years, seven years ago.

I went to Whistler for the first time. and it's just a bigger mountain it's a big man I went down just like a normal whatever but it's just like so much wind and so it's just like I have to stop three times just to get to the bottom because my legs are so long it's a big play and I hit like my edge and one and like the bag I hit the back of my head and I didn't have a helmet on I remember thinking like I need to have a helmet the rest of my time, I wanted to like flip back and hit the back of my head, and I didn't have a helmet on. I remember thinking like, now I need to have a helmet the rest of my time doing this. Cause I was on the ground like for five, 10 minutes.

Like that was, man, yeah, that was rough. So. And it comes quick when it snags. Boom. I thought it was fine, haven't fallen in, boop. Yeah. It doesn't have to happen to me nearly as often, but on occasion, like I'll just,

it's when you're not paying attention. I'll do the crazy trick and then fall like in the lift line. That's what happened to me. Yeah. So yeah. Um, this is a question I asked everyone at the end. It's called the three truths. So I'd like you to imagine a hypothetical scenario. It's your last day on earth. Many, many years, many years away. You get to live as long as you want to live and you accomplish all your dreams. Five more Olympics, you know, you're aligned, relationships, life, all these things happen. Emoji.

Emoji. That's the most important thing. I'm listening. Emoji. Emoji is on the cover of the Rolling Stones. That's the cover. But for whatever reason in this hypothetical scenario, you've got to take all of your content with you. So all the interviews you've done, the spoken word videos, written word, it's all going to go with you somewhere else. Again, this is many years away. And all you get to leave behind is three lessons to the world

that you've learned from your life. And this is all we would have to remember you by are these three truths, I call it. Okay. What would you say would be the three truths you would leave behind? I don't know. I think my gut goes to, I mean, immediately goes to the like, enjoy the little things. Enjoy the moments.

Because they're fleeting and you think they're going to last forever, but they don't. You have so many countless hours wasted going over what could have happened in the past that I can't change and what I should do in the future and just completely missing the amazing situation I'm in currently. So enjoying the moment. I think being true to who you are, honestly, because there's so much time spent, at least in my life was it's thus far has been you know there's so

many there's the person i am and then there's the person that i think i should be sometimes and it's so much just better to be who you are yes and not try to put on the show or who are you who are you pleasing or you know who are you trying to impress and yeah if you need to impress somebody then it's somebody not worth you even having your time with so yes you know what i mean i remember reading a i think it was uh what would keith richards do and it literally like one of the first or second things it was like he was like know yourself he's like i could party all night i could do this and i could do that and I got up then I was fine And I did it cuz I could do it

I know a lot of guys that tried to do it because they thought that's what they're supposed to do But they couldn't you know, they mean any he's like I'm not advocating for this for anyone. But for me it worked This was my life, you know, it's like watching the last dance with yeah with Rodman. They're like, he's just that guy We gotta send him out. It's look crazy comes, he comes back, but he's our crazy. So know who you are and be true to that and don't be swayed. I mean, those are the things that kinda hold for me. And the third?

Through thick and thin, through it all, like when I've had crazy wins or I've had a breakup, you know what I mean? My family's always been there and like I can only hope that I'm that for you know my family or my you know in the future it's such a I mean I didn't drive myself to the mountains my parents got up every morning and drove me like god that's so awesome you know I mean and what an amazing thing to have in common with your family when you when you're growing you know, because so many families grow apart.

That was something we had together. But, like, just the selflessness they had for me and my siblings, you know, growing up, it didn't matter if it was me and Snowbirdie and my sister wanted to play soccer. We're out selling candy bars trying to get on the team and, like, get the new uniform. Like, it didn't matter whether it was what I wanted or you know we kind of gave a hundred percent for each member of the family and um and snowboarding just happened to be the thing to take off but you know nothing can really replace that and I think at times I remember thinking like I loved obviously the family unit I had and it got strained a bit as obviously like the growing pains of like becoming more successful and having to travel and

having it you know the obligations and the media and things and it's like and you go oh well this is my life and this is my world and and you kind of get sucked up into it and I remember at some point thinking that the family wasn't as important but it truly is because when all that goes, or whatever happens, they're there for you. And what we talked about earlier, in the basic, simplest of ways, that they like you.

Right, right, for who you are. Yeah, they don't need any, you know, like, oh cool, you won the, that's great. But we care about you. So are we gonna go see Spider-Man? Or we gonna gonna you know whatever they they care um on that that deeper level and um you know at least i can only speak for my family's been that amazing that's cool support group for me so yeah that's great man i love

these truths i hope i i won that those are good those are good i've got my final question uh before i ask you i just want to acknowledge you Sean for the way you've shown up for the last couple decades of inspiring so many of us you know you constantly show up and dedicated to your mastery of your craft and you go big you know you go big you're relentless even when you crash getting back up like to you're just a symbol of inspiration to so many people thank you and i love your commitment to your craft and you have fun with it and i also really acknowledge you for the last couple years like doing the the inner work i think it's really hard to look within ourselves and see hey something's off and to do that work it's been a journey i've been on for a while as well and to be talking

about it as a you know a global athlete icon like you and phelps And to be talking about it as a global athlete icon like you and Phelps to be really talking about these things is really helping a lot of men especially who are maybe struggling in their inner world.

So I really acknowledge you for opening up. And everybody's got their thing. And that's why I didn't realize you look at Instagram and people and you go, oh, that guy's got it together.

And I'm like, no, he doesn't. He's got a crazy uncle. He's got a, you know what I mean? Like everybody's got something. And to know you're not alone in that. But I appreciate it. Thank you.

Thank you. It's been a learning journey. For sure. And it's still going. And I think that's the exciting part is I feel like I still have so much more ahead of me, you know, beyond competing, beyond everything. And I'm just like,

yeah, I'm so excited for what's next. That's great, man. Final question. What's your definition of greatness? Oh, I thought I was done with the three. I was like, I killed it. No way. Definition of greatness. Gosh, I mean, if you spoke to me like a couple of years ago, I had a different answer. But I now is is i mean something i've always carried with me was was being just i don't know being different i guess i don't know how to describe it it's like when you when you looked at athletes throughout history and you know it was like oh mike tyson would show up and he wouldn't just win he would win in a certain fashion he would win in a certain way and he would deliver when he

had to anymore the black trunks and he showed up or like you know Muhammad Ali had the the mouth and the word you know he had he had so much charisma and all these things and you know something that defined who they were and it's kind of like I don't know I've always thought I look at everything a lot of things in form of music so like the greatest accomplishment usually for a musician is yeah obviously to win an award or grand or something like that but it's to find your sound like what's your sound yes and and for me like I just kind of like I feel like I naturally fell into it like I looked different for I had long I had red hair so I kind of like fell into it. I looked different.

I had red hair, so I kind of leaned into it. I got huge red hair. And I would show up in a certain manner in certain things. So I don't know. I feel like greatness can be taken in so many ways. But I really feel like it's like seeing the same instrument but playing it your way. Taking a sport and doing it just different

yeah you know what i mean it's like it's the same thing but he just did it a little different than everyone else and i think that's what i strive toward even until this day it's not so much about like what trick am i going to do it's like what am i going to wear what am i going to listen to how is the run going to go down what would i say where's the you know there's so much that wraps around it other than just like showing up doing the tricks and trying to win yeah so i really try to like match all of that but um finding your finding your sound yeah finding my sound so i think that's that's greatness in in any way whether it's it's sports or it's music or you you just finding your own path i think it it comes in many forms. It doesn't have to be in the form of a gold statue or something. Sure, sure.

It doesn't need to be a trophy of any sort. Right, right. Love it, man. Right on. Appreciate you. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you so much for listening.

I hope you enjoyed today's episode and it inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a full rundown of today's show with all the important links. And also make sure to share this with a friend and subscribe over on Apple Podcasts as well. I really love hearing feedback from you guys. So share a review over on Apple and let me know what part of this episode resonated with

you the most. And if no one's told you lately, I want to remind you that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter. And now it's time to go out there and do something great.