Shaun White

“I wasn't your average kid. I was signing autographs in Japan at 12.”

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

“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 wer...”

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

“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 wa...”

“Boards and myself get along somehow.”

“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'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.”

“Cement doesn't give as much as snow.”

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

“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.”

“I mean, I get letters in the mail because I had a heart defect when I was one, I had surgeries and stuff. And so you get these letters in the mail that just, they are crazy, they are just li...”

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

“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.”

“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.”

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

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

“I'm not too big on moisturisers and fancy skin products. I keep my grooming regime nice and simple.”

“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.”

“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.”