Original subtitles

[crowd cheering]

[panting]

[sports commentator] I think, uh, just the pressure built.

I mean, Shaun has trained for this Olympics more than any other Olympics.

[spectators exclaiming]

And after falling in that first run,

I swear I saw a different look in his eyes than I've ever seen.

Really? So you're going to go with that's more the mental pressure

than the pressure of the course.

I mean... Sometimes, you do fall.

[Shaun White] I was incredibly depressed. I was frustrated.

I should've done this. I could've done that.

I'm just churning, and there's just, uh, so much going on in my head.

It was hard to kind of separate

the competition and the sport from myself.

I was like, "Argh..." Like, maybe I should talk to somebody. [chuckles]

And I started going to therapy and...

I'm gonna tell you something,

and we can always cut it out later, but...

Honestly?

It sounds so strange, but like...

After Sochi was the time of my life. [chuckles]

Which is so weird to say, 'cause I lost. I didn't do well.

I just thought, like, I was gonna be, like, left and forgotten.

Um, and then this new person who won was gonna be

talked about and celebrated, and I was gonna be long gone.

But, like, everywhere I turn, people were like,

"What's up, champ?" Like, "Man, you're still the man." Like, [scoffs] "Whatever."

The world hadn't ended. I was still alive.

[triumphant music playing]

I was touring with the band I was in.

I had some amazing friends.

Like, my sister in town...

I don't know if I was, like, running a hippie commune at my place... [laughs]

at this point, but like, I had this beautiful home at the beach, and...

I found myself with time to actually be at that house.

[Jungle] * So you come a long way *

[Shaun] I remember really feeling that bubble of friendship and love.

You know, in the past, I just assumed

winning everything was gonna solve my problems.

You know, and it would make me happy.

And then, here I am. I just lost, and...

I found so much happiness afterward.

[Jungle] * Just busy earnin' *

I don't know if I would go back and change things.

You know?

I don't know if I would trade who I am today for who I...

could and would have been.

I have a new thought that occurred.

"How do I make this the best thing that's ever happened to me?"

[Jungle] * But I bet it won't change *

* Can't get enough *

[wind blowing]

["King of a One Horse Town" playing]

* Every day is just a little white lie *

* Telling myself I'm gettin' by *

* I just stay in this room and cry *

* The snow, it covers up the ground *

* King of a one horse town *

* I'm a king of a one horse town *

* And I barely pull my weight around *

[indistinct chatter]

[phone ringing]

[subdued music playing]

[interviewer] You good? All right.

Shaun, you said after not making the podium in Sochi...

-[Shaun] Mmm-hmm. -[interviewer]...that...

you had to kind of step back, look at yourself,

and say, "Okay, what am I doing here,

and am I still in the game?" Right?

Yeah, it was more like a-- A mental thing.

[man] So, going into the 2018 Olympics, this is gonna be your...fourth,

-Shaun? Yeah. -This would be my fourth Olympics, yeah.

[man stutters] How are you looking at it? Any differently or is it, like--

-[exhaling] -Thirty years old now...

-Thirty now, yeah. -You'll be 31...

-...in PyeongChang. -Thirty-one.

-Yeah. -How much of this is-- Is you saying,

"I'm not gonna end my Olympic career on what happened?"

-[Shaun chuckles] ...you know? -My heart was aching for you to watch other people

up on that podium bringing medals home.

Oh, that was tough.

Well, that's the thing, is that it-- It's been so long since I lost.

I've won every single snowboarding contest you can imagine,

and I've done it for years and years, and years and years.

And...just because I didn't win the last Olympics,

[spectators exclaiming]

Everything I've spent the last, like, 25 years of my life doing

has somehow gone out the window.

[all cheering]

I took a little time to do something for me, for once.

Go play music. Go enjoy some-- Something new in life.

Enjoy a summer at home, doing nothing.

You know, and I turn around, and...

there's a bunch of people that, like, don't think I have it.

"Well, is he really gonna be...Shaun White?

Does he really still got it?"

I don't know what will sustain the rest of my life.

Everything right now for me is hinging on the Olympics.

[tense music playing]

I went to Sochi and just had a disappointing performance.

And it's been stuck in my mind ever since,

and I wanna go back and do it right this time.

Shaun really walked away. He's burnt. You know, Sochi hurt. And it hurt deep.

And during that time, everybody had caught up.

The tricks had elevated, and everybody had their own variation

of the tricks that he had pioneered.

-[cars honking] -[wind blowing]

[JJ Thomas] It's so there, dude.

-[Shaun] I know. -[Toby Miller] You got it.

So the bet is... Shaun gets two tries of the YOLO flip.

If he lands one of them, I have to drink an entire bottle of maple syrup.

JJ needs to drink half a bottle of maple syrup.

He's got it. I know he's got it.

I honestly don't know why I made this bet, but it's gonna be dope.

[quiet music playing]

[breathes deeply]

[Jesse] Looking at the next Olympics, I think Shaun wanted to push himself.

Put the board back under his feet.

And write down a-- A list of tricks that he knows he needs to do

in order to take a gold medal.

What's the statement piece? What's the thing we're gonna finish with?

What's the separator trick?

You know, YOLO flip, which is a cab double 14.

And then a front double 14.

Which is a combination that is incredibly difficult to do.

Both those tricks have a lot of blind spots, and so, they're just scary.

They're incredibly scary.

Just because you've done a trick doesn't mean that you have it, you know.

And-- And you have to work at it. It's-- It's kind of like a golf swing.

I mean, it could be there for you one day, and the next, it's just gone.

And I had done the YOLO, or the double 1440, probably since the last Olympics.

And the-- The intimidating part about the YOLO flip

is that, as you're coming around, there's a turning point.

You know, I know it when I'm in the air, but it's all memory.

The only way to get to that is by throwing yourself in the air,

and going, "Oh, here it is!"

-[JJ] Fuck yeah! -[Shaun exclaiming]

Whoo-hoo!

-[JJ] First try! -[Shaun cheers]

So, I'm standing there. It's well below freezing at night,

with, like, three other people and they're like, "All right! You're gonna do...

this amazing trick that's pretty dangerous."

And something amazing happens.

-[boy 1] Wait, is that Shaun White? -[JJ] Yeah!

Oh, my God!

[JJ] Go yell at him. Go and-- Go on the jump and say hi to him.

And cheer for him! Cheer for him loud! He likes that. Get him all hyped up.

[delicate music playing]

-[Shaun] Come on down! - [kids clamoring]

-[Shaun] You guys done for today? -Yeah.

[Shaun] All right.

-You guys wanna see something cool? -Yeah.

-All right, come. You gotta stand right here, though. -[kids] Okay.

-[Shaun] Stand over here. -[boy 1] Okay.

-[boy 2 exclaiming] -I'm gonna come down and hit this wall.

-Do some flip for you guys. -[kids chattering]

[kids clamoring]

[boy 3] This is awesome!

-[Toby exclaims in pain] -[man] Oh!

-[Shaun] Is he okay? -Yeah.

[Shaun adjusting straps]

-[suspenseful music playing] -[kids chanting] Shaun White! Shaun White! Shaun White!

[continues chanting]

They're chanting, dude. [laughs]

-[boy 1] He's coming! -[boy 2 cheering]

-[JJ] Yeah, kiddo! -[kids cheering]

[suspenseful music building]

[JJ laughing] Atta boy! Whoo-hoo!

-Whoo! -[Shaun] Whoo!

[kids exclaiming]

-[boy 1] Oh, my God! -[boy 2] You're the best! Awesome!

-[kids clamoring] -[JJ] Whoo-hoo!

Shaun fucking White! That's huge!

-Down the line. -Huge!

-[JJ] Think you broke it? -[Shaun] You all right, brother?

-[JJ] Yeah? Broke it? -[Toby] Mmm-hmm.

[JJ] All right, let's get to the hospital.

[Shaun talking indistinctly]

-[JJ] Dude, they got, uh, ski patrol coming? -Fuck.

-[man 2] They're already sending one on the way. -[JJ] Okay.

-[ski patroller] Do you know where you are? -Yeah. I didn't hit my head.

-[ski patroller] You didn't hit your head at all? -Not exactly. I mean,

I remember taking off. I remember dropping. I remember everything.

-[ski patroller] How did you land? -On my back.

-[ski patroller] On your back there? -Well, I hit the coping, like,

here and bounced.

-[Shaun] Yeah. -That's when I was just like...

-Saw the deck and was like... "Sick." -[indistinct radio chatter]

[ski patroller] All right. Are you able to, uh, board down to the med room,

or do you want a sled?

No, you'd be all right, right?

Or, I mean, have them look at it maybe, you know?

But I don't think you need a sled.

[indistinct chatter]

Bittersweet. My buddy, Tobes, went down. But, um...

At least we had the kids to cheer us on.

[child giggling]

[Shaun] It's all the mood. So once you get there, you gotta feel it out.

Some nights are great, and it just works.

Some nights you gotta force it a little, and some nights you gotta walk away.

[subdued music playing]

[Shaun] The mental...

I mean, the mental's always the same, I guess.

I mean, you gotta go out there and learn new tricks, and keep motivated and...

try to find the best in every scenario.

I mean, even if it's not perfect, try to learn

what you came here to learn, um...

The only bummer is just, like-- With age, you get wisdom. [chuckles]

And that's like, a doubled-edged thing, 'cause...

-That way. -You know, like... [sighing]

You get the fear now, and you get a little bit more...

Like, you know what's happening.

You know what it takes to recover from an injury.

[Esther Lee] You know, as a physical therapist,

I've witnessed some crazy crashes.

I've seen, before my eyes, someone fracture his, uh, femur.

I've seen broken ribs.

Collapsed lung.

Multiple concussions, which is crazy,

because whenever I ask, like, "Oh, what happened to the person?"

"Oh, it's fine. It's just a concussion."

I'm like, "Uh--" [laughs]

The risk that he's taking to just be out there and compete...

I think he's starting to realize, like...

"Gosh, my body does not bounce back as quick."

And I've had to break it to him. I'm like,

"Uh, welcome to getting older."

I'm 31 today, in New Zealand.

-[JJ] How does it feel? -[Shaun] Feels pretty good.

We did, uh, a little, like,

hangout dinner at home.

The older I get, the more I'm like, "Oh, let's just, like, keep it casual."

I guess we start riding at 7:30.

Yeah, it's pretty gross.

The Japanese are already up there.

But I just got here to the pipe, I'm gonna-- I gotta run before the...

other teams really get the good ice.

[chuckles] I gotta get in there before them.

-[JJ] Oh, someone's in. -They're already in there.

[indistinct chatter]

-[man] Little early. -Yeah.

For some reason, I'm kind of feeling used to it.

'Cause we've been doing this for so many years. [laughs]

It's just... You know what you're getting into when you're coming.

[Shaun] The fuck are we doing here?

[laughs] Did you see that? This is a half-pipe right now.

It's my fucking birthday. I'm pumped on everything.

[JJ] Mindset's huge. I mean, confidence is everything in this sport.

When it comes down to going big and riding fast in a half-pipe, that's mental.

That's just a decision you make.

Some people have different gauges.

And some are willing to risk more and go higher, and Shaun's that guy.

He just goes.

The guys who wanna go big can go big.

It's not technique. People get all caught up, like, "How do you do this technique?"

[scoffs]

It's just balls and, like, mentality. How much do you wanna risk?

[muted intense music plays]

[snowmobile rumbling]

[Shaun] I remember this crash, 'cause it was so painful. I--

I-- I thought I broke my pelvis.

I mean, I couldn't walk. I couldn't get up. I didn't know what to do.

I had to, like, slide my way to the bottom of the pipe, and I'm thinking, "Wow."

Like... we're done. That's it.

[Shaun groans softly]

This looks like a bathroom.

[indistinct chatter]

-[Shaun exclaims] -Easy, cowboy.

[Shaun exclaims] I'm still pissing blood.

-It's pretty dark. -[JJ] Yeah.

[Shaun] I did just kind of bleed for a while.

I don't know, dude. I've never dealt with organ injuries.

-[Shaun] Me neither. -It's my first experience. I mean...

I think-- I was reading about it, and it's-- It's more like, people, like--

-It's like car accident type stuff. -[Shaun] Oh, wow.

'Cause the body's going so fast, just hitting, you know?

[Shaun] Yeah.

Hey, guys. We're here to do a blood test.

We were in the hospital last night for Shaun White.

He had, uh, some bruising of his liver.

[doctor] If you lie just comfortably, I'll just get--

[exhales]

-[exhales] -[doctor speaking]

You just don't know how the cookie's gonna crumble when people fall like that.

You don't know. It could literally--

Something like that could be a game-over season thing, a career-over thing, or...

a two-week deal.

You just don't know. That's what so scary when that happens.

You said the tests were looking better?

-They seem to be improving? -[doctor speaking]

-Okay. -[doctor speaking]

Mmm.

[exhales sharply]

[JJ whistles] That's great.

Six weeks sounds...long.

I'd give it four. You could probably snowboard in a month. Just don't crash.

-Yeah, of course. -[JJ] But...

-You know? No problem. -Yeah.

-No air bagging and shit. -[JJ] No.

[Shaun] You know, it's just like...

Shit happens, but...

I'm just so good at avoiding situations like this.

I just can't believe this mistake happened.

You know what I mean? Just...

It's like, you take your eyes off the road for a second, and look what happens.

[birds chirping]

[car approaching]

-I still got it. -[JJ chuckles softly]

Argh! I hate this.

[exhales audibly]

[singing] * Mama, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys *

["Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys" plays]

-[Shaun singing indistinctly] -[song plays over Shaun]

* Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys *

* Don't let 'em pick guitars or drive them old trucks *

* Let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such *

[Shaun] I took six weeks off,

and we came back to New Zealand with, like, a vengeance.

This is gonna be different. We're gonna set the tempo.

Here we go, round two.

It's gonna be everything we'd hoped this first session was gonna be

and more, you know?

That was the mindset going in.

* Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys *

* Don't let 'em pick guitars or drive them old trucks *

* Let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such *

* Mamas, don't let your babies grow up *

[song abruptly stops]

[JJ] Call the heli back. Right now.

[tense music playing]

[ambulance siren wailing]

-[woman] You want to see if he's okay? -[JJ] Yeah.

-[woman] He's in 315. -[JJ] Thank you.

-[Shaun] Pretty gnarly. -[JJ] Yeah, I know.

And they'll be authorized to do one thing. Sew it back up.

-[JJ] I was hoping you wouldn't flip. -[Shaun] What?

[JJ] I was hoping you wouldn't flip.

[Shaun speaking]

Yeah.

[indistinct chatter]

[sighing]

[sighs and sniffles]

[sighing]

[sighs]

It's eleven at night, and they just, uh...

cancelled the surgery till tomorrow morning, so...

I've gotta...

stay like this overnight.

And it's pretty awful. And now, I'm trying to eat some food.

[monitor beeping]

[Shaun speaking]

-[JJ] You did. -[Shaun speaking]

[JJ] Yes.

[Shaun speaking]

[Shaun exclaims]

[sighs]

Oof.

-[JJ] I know. -[Shaun] Yeah. Hurts, man.

-[Shaun sighing] -[monitor beeping]

[JJ] Universe is smacking you in the face, saying,

"Shaun, slow down. You're the best...

Stop the pushing."

You've been pushing after 20 years.

And it's literally telling you to slow down.

-You know? Then I think that's the message. -[Shaun speaking]

[JJ] I know it is. I can feel it in my heart, dude. I can feel it.

You've done... You've really done everything you're doing this for.

-[Shaun] Yeah. -[JJ] You have nothing left to do.

-[Shaun sighs] -[monitor beeping]

[Shaun speaking]

-[chuckles] -[JJ] Yeah.

And you need to listen to that and honor it.

-Because-- -[Shaun speaking]

[JJ] You gotta honor that. Don't listen to it and just--

Because I did, and it was really hard.

It was really hard, but--

Looking back, I made the right call.

-[Shaun speaking] -[JJ] And I'm healthy. And I got out.

-And-- -[Shaun speaking]

And life's really good when you're done. There's so much cool shit you can do.

It's really, like, kind of relieving. It's almost like you get a new--

-[Shaun speaking] -[JJ] You get, like, a new lease on life.

[Shaun speaking]

[JJ] No pressure. All of a sudden, you start sleeping through the night.

[Shaun speaking]

[JJ] But it's gonna be a lot harder for you, 'cause you're so good.

You're the best right now.

-That's why it's hard to walk away. -[monitor beeping]

[man speaking]

I don't know. And if someone--

If you're-- If you're asking me, I think he's definitely not--

It's 50/50.

I don't know. I honestly don't know.

-[tense music playing] -[monitor beeping]

[JJ] Shaun White is happy and content.

Shaun White is the 2018 Winter Olympics gold medalist.

Shaun White is an inspiration.

[JJ] I'll, uh-- I'll call you in a few hours there, Cathy.

-Let me get there and get situated. -[Cathy White] Okay.

-I'll give you an update. -[Cathy] Give him a hug for me, okay?

I will. We're gonna bring flowers and stuff.

-[Cathy] Okay. -We're gonna be fine, Cathy. All right. Talk soon.

[Cathy] You know, it's a mom's biggest fear.

That-- That was such a horrible injury. I-- I couldn't believe it.

When I got that call, Shaun made a mistake and sent me the picture of his face.

[JJ in recording] Shaun White is the 2018 Winter Olympics gold medalist...

[Shaun] Yeah, I know-- I know my mom wanted me to hang it up

when the crash went down.

She was like, "We're done. It's over. Just stop."

It's always in the pit of our stomach to think that, like,

it could happen that quick.

I don't know. It's terrifying.

[JJ] How do you feel?

So much better.

I was really freaked out.

[Cathy] I just can't watch him. I just...

I think when you almost lose a kid, and I see-- You know, I just-- [exclaims nervously]

I don't wanna live through all that again.

[JJ] Kid's out.

-[exclaims] -What's goin' on?

[Cathy] It was really hard 'cause he wanted to leave.

He didn't wanna get better, and that was the hardest thing on me--

Is, like, keeping him in the hospital.

'Cause he kept checking himself out.

He wanted to come home, and I'm just, like, "No, don't come home.

Get yourself fixed."

[breathing deeply]

[Shaun] I remember walking out of the hospital and just...

taking this breath, thinking, "Thank God I made it out."

Thank goodness I'm alive, you know. Whatever's out there that--

That kept me from, you know...

not-- Not walking out of there, you know. I don't-- I don't know.

[JJ] How does it feel to get out, Shaun?

[sighs in relief] Feels amazing. Feels like a miracle.

[delicate music playing]

[grunts]

[Esther] When someone's laying on a table in front of me for hours every day,

it's a vulnerable place.

You're often in pain.

Whether I'm giving you the pain, or you're in pain from an injury.

We've really bonded through a lot of rollercoaster days together.

-Good. -[Esther] Yeah?

I've seen him cry. I've seen him be the happiest

and the saddest.

And, um, so, I feel like he's my little brother.

We've gone through a lot, and I think, um,

even more so in the last couple years.

[Shaun] I remember getting a phone call from Esther.

She was like, "I'm sick."

And... [exhales]

I was like, "What do you mean?"

You know, like, [stammering]

I think I remember being, like,

"Oh, [chuckles] like,

you got the COVID, didn't you?"

You know, and she's, like,

"No."

I was diagnosed with stage four cancer last year,

and so...

...he's really helped me a lot.

[Shaun] I couldn't, I couldn't even take it in.

Wait, like, why?

Like, what do you-- You know what I mean?

Like, you hear about this, these things, and I'm just thinking...

...like, how could this, like...

...bundle of joy, this fun, beautiful person

have this thing happen to her?

I was still lying in bed

when he told me that

he was gonna go for another Olympics.

I've been questioning if I'm pushing myself too much,

and if it was any other season,

I probably would be, like,

"No, I'm not gonna, you know, I'm not gonna work."

But this is his last Olympic run.

[Shaun] It's just been so amazing having her around,

and I don't know, if you took everything away,

you know, the competitions and all the stuff,

just that kind of storyline of us getting to hang together

and, and, and...

...you know, spend time when...

[sobs]

...when we didn't think we'd have it.

I don't know, it's frustrating.

If it lessened up, and, like, we had a, like, window,

it would work, but I think it's a little much.

[JJ] It's going in gust,

it will blow, and then it slows down.

-It's funny until somebody gets hurt. -Yeah.

[Shaun] Honestly, the only way these guys are gonna get out

is if they just all stop riding.

Just stop practicing if you don't wanna compete,

it's the only way it's gonna happen.

Hey, I think, I think I'm out.

-[JJ] Yeah, just gym. -I'm not gonna...

-You should tell those guys that. -Yeah.

Tell the event organizers.

-Oh. -Right there.

-[indistinct chatter] -Down there.

'Cause they're gonna follow you.

-If you tell 'em to get out, they're gonna do it. -Yeah.

J wanted to, you know, let you guys know,

I'm probably gonna sit it out either way

if you guys did that.

Just letting you know, I'm not, not pressuring you to do it.

There is other, there is other window and opportunities,

just not right now, this makes no sense.

That's great, that'll be cool.

They were really nice about it.

-Hey, good job. -Yeah, they were cool.

'Cause if you do that, then that's,

you just spoke for everyone, you know?

[man 1] Thanks, guys.

-We have tomorrow night. -Yes.

We then need to be reduced

to two run finals and not a three run final,

we always have the wild card of Mammoth.

[Shaun] So I caught this cold

that was going around...

...and turned out, that cold was COVID.

I'm spent.

I mean, I'm testing positive pretty much everyday,

until I get here, and they swabbed me and I'm negative,

and I'm, like, "Really?

Okay."

Here we are, I'm gonna make the best of it.

I'm still, like, it's not just,

like, yeah, you test negative,

but there's still, like, lingering effects,

like, I have a cough still, like, I'm... I'm run down.

[clears throat]

I'm basically at this competition to try and...

One, better my scores from before,

and, obviously, I've been saying this every time,

but, like, lock up that position on the team,

but I don't know...

...uh, we'll have to see.

[commentator 1] Tonight, we have the halfpipe qualifiers and finals.

[commentator 2] I'm pretty fired up about this, man.

[commentator 1] We are gonna be all killer no filler.

We're gonna have rider after rider dropping.

[JJ] You got 14 minutes off to practice, right?

So let's get out there.

[JJ] Holy shit, baby boy.

[man over radio] Well, let's go with Shaun's drop the next time, please.

[Shaun] I'm having trouble breathing.

[JJ] You're good, dude.

-Let's just be smooth. -[Shaun coughs]

-[JJ] Oh, it's coming' out. -[Shaun] I'm sorry, man.

-[JJ] It is hell. -[Shaun continues to cough]

[JJ] Oh.

We'll spray him down with some Lysol or something.

[clears throat] I'm okay.

[crowd cheering]

[commentator 1] You and I actually have to start this thing right now.

[commentator 2] Okay.

We have a halfpipe qualifier under way.

[commentator 1] Let's get down to business, here we go.

Ayumu Hirano drops in,

first run of the evening.

So he is gonna start things out,

frontside 14,

now finishing things off, putting a solid one turn,

that's what he needs to qualify

going to the finals,

that was a good enough run

probably to make it all the way through.

Let's go, kid, bold, bud, come on, come on.

[commentator 1] Heat number two.

[commentator 2] And here comes Shaun White.

Run number one for Shaun, let's what you've got here.

Yeah, boy, that's it, that was good.

[commentator 2] Great run, Shaun.

[crowd cheering]

- [commentator 1] Luckily, that's the run he needed. -Oh, okay.

[commentator] The time he needed, the run he needed.

[JJ] That's what we like, that's what we like.

[commentator 2] So that's gotta be a big sigh of relief for Shaun.

[commentator 1] Oh, yeah.

[Shaun] Can you just check it and make sure it's not broken?

I landed real hard, real flat.

-[man 1] Yeah. -[man 2] Right.

[man 3] Yeah.

[Shaun] Did a little number on my ankle on that.

You gotta big ass score, dude.

-You're in the fucking finals, you know what I mean? -[Shaun] Yeah, okay.

-Maybe I'll go chill. -That's kinda what I'm saying.

Just have your phone on you in case something goes crazy.

-[groans] Little crunchy. -Yeah?

[commentator 1] Hongbo Gao.

Top scores are gonna be Yuto Totsuka for 86.66

and Shaun White in heat number two with a 79.33.

All right.

[groans]

I really jammed it in that last run.

-You did? -Yeah, really hard.

With all the space here--

[Esther] Dude, you're not even heading to the stand yet.

I know.

-[Esther] Are you hydrating? -I'm just trying to get through.

Yeah, I'm gonna take a run

and see of my ankle is feeling good.

[JJ] We got 14 minutes for practice.

[Shaun] I'm gonna get broke the fuck off.

I can feel it coming.

Why don't we just ride, stay warm,

and get your confidence back up on that hill, like--

Okay, I'll do that.

Yeah, I really jammed it in that last run.

Yeah, I'm done.

[man] You're talking about Shaun?

Yeah, he is out, he did a little ankle jam, so he's gonna skip.

-Are you sure? -Yeah, he's out for sure.

-So we'll scratch him off. -Yeah, thank you, guys. Thank you.

[commentator] Something is going on with Shaun White

who did qualify for the final

is now at DNS and will not start.

- [commentator 2] Wow. - [commentator 1] Yeah.

Lucas Foster will get things started off in the men's competition,

get an opportunity to earn himself some points,

and with Shaun now being in DNS,

this will now kinda shake things up a little bit.

This is the last qualifier in the States,

let's not forget there's still another event coming up

in a weeks' time in Laax, Switzerland,

with the Olympics now less than a month away.

Not ideal, but it is what it is.

[man] What about the team? Was that enough points?

No, [chuckles] he won't get into the team today with that,

he needed, uh, top five or three,

which he could've gotten easily,

but, um...

...now he's gonna have to play the waiting game,

he's gonna have to hang out

and just see what happens...

...next week at Laax.

[producer] How painful would it be

if Shaun didn't make the team on this last run?

[chuckles] If Shaun didn't make it,

that would be a massive bummer.

I mean, I haven't even really contemplated that because that kind of,

I mean, I don't even know how to digest,

I don't even know what to say, that would just be weird.

[Shaun] I already regretted at this point

not staying and finishing the Mammoth competition,

but then again, I could easily be sitting here with you guys,

saying,

wow, with my arm in a sling, like,

"Oh, I really I wish I wouldn't have done the Mammoth contest."

Like, I don't know, I could've been injured,

so I... I just, I wasn't feeling it.

And the reason I think I've gotten this far,

you know, in my career is from listening to my gut,

and, like, walking away when I don't feel safe.

[JJ] I've always said that the Olympic qualifying process

for the US team is more of a show than the actual Olympics.

The Olympics is just like the,

you got the candle burning on the cake,

and you're blowing it out, like, "Happy birthday."

This process of getting there is a, it's a grind.

We both kinda thought he was in a pretty safe position,

but anything can happen, we're learning,

and what happened that night.

[woman] 15 seconds, we're good.

Yeah, boy, come on.

Lucas had a good performance,

couple of top guys didn't land,

Shaun didn't compete at all,

bummed him out,

so I said, "You should probably get on the jet and come to Switzerland,

or you can stay at home and just watch the roulette table

and hope it doesn't hit."

[commentator 1] Do we see a switch double?

Yeah, we are.

Bam! 1260 in perfection.

[JJ] Now we're here for the last event in Laax,

which is the Super Bowl of snowboarding, really, this is prime time.

It's the last Olympic qualifier.

It's basically the Olympics before the Olympics.

[interviewer] The reason you're here

is so you can qualify for the Olympics, give us an explanation.

This is an important day 'cause I need to,

you know, just solidify my points,

um, in order to make the team,

I'm on the bubble, it looks really good,

but, uh, I didn't want to leave it up to chance,

I wanna go.

[JJ] I'd say, right now it's safe to say

it's between Shaun and Chase Blackwell

for the fourth spot.

It's gonna be a battle to the end,

and then you have the wildcards like,

Joey, Toby, Ryan Wachendorfer,

if they have a big performance today and Shaun doesn't,

they could pass him, too.

Fucking hell.

[commentator] Joey Okesson, 20, 1260.

[crowd cheering]

-Hey, man. -Good to see you.

Thanks, man.

Can you give us a ride?

[commentator 1] 2022 Laax Open

from beautiful Switzerland under the lights,

we get set for the last major event

before the big showdown goes down

in Secret Garden in Beijing

in less than three weeks' time.

There are still some spots to be nailed down.

[commentator 2] Yes, there are,

and most notably, Shaun White.

Now, this is a big event for him here,

he's not officially named in the team,

I couldn't see the US going over there

-without him because he's the ringer. - [commentator 1] Yeah.

[commentator 2] But, I mean, he is not on that list as of yet,

so we'll see what happens here tonight.

[commentator 1] This is 23-year-old, Ayumu Hirano.

Two time Olympic silver medalist.

Giant 1440.

Wow, fucking hell.

[commentator] 1440 frontside grab.

[JJ] Oh, my God!

[commentator 1] 1440 backside.

Backside 2160--

-[JJ] Holy-- -[crowd cheering]

-[crowd cheering] -[woman] Yeah!

[commentator] That was a fantastic run.

[JJ] Oh, man.

[commentator] And walks off like it ain't not a thing.

[JJ] Wow, what a bad man!

[commentator] All these younger crop of kids,

they're all Shaun White's fault.

The reason that these kids are all ripping right now

is because they saw Shaun White stand on top of the podium,

and they said, "I want to do that, too."

So if he's gonna blame anybody,

he gotta blame himself

'cause he's created this whole crop of new rippers.

[Shaun speaking]

-[JJ speaking] -[Shaun speaking]

[JJ speaking]

Another American that made the trip over here, Lucas Foster,

coming off a great performance in Mammoth.

Really getting it going here.

There's that double,

really smooth between the walls.

Wow! Huge front 12

drifting way down into the backside 12,

the best one I've ever seen him land in competition.

Holy cow!

Bowman coming out of Mammoth Lakes, California,

and now here he is in Switzerland under the lights.

Oh, my God, he's going fast!

Into a huge Cab double cork 1080,

Switch, double cork 1080,

into frontside 1260.

What are you doing out there, Josh?

Are you kidding me?

Wow!

[commentator] 81.75 for Josh Bowman,

that moves him into third place.

Hey, who's Shaun after?

That will be right after Ao Gu.

Okay, thank you.

[commentator] So, the 35-year-old from Carlsbad, California,

gets set to make his final run ever

in the Laax halfpipe.

[crowd cheering]

[clapping]

[JJ] Yes, Shaun.

[commentator] Ladies and gentlemen, dropping in next...

...a man who needs no introduction.

Multiple Olympic medals.

Most of them gold.

Multiple X Games golds.

The most famous snowboarder on the planet,

make some noise for Shaun White!

[audience cheering]

[commentator] Here he goes!

- Look it's a frontside 16, triple entry. -[JJ] Oh!

[commentator] A massive frontside doublecork 1080

into a Cab double cork 1080.

A sky-hugging signature frontside 540 tailpin.

Backside double full 1260,

and now to finish off,

frontside grab.

[crowd cheering]

Whoo!

[crowd cheering]

[commentator] That's unbelievable!

[chuckling] Whoo!

[laughing]

[commentator] The fans appreciate what he has done for the sport,

and what he just did.

Oh, my God!

That was dope.

[chuckling]

[commentator] With an 84.00 full-up.

Shaun White getting it done.

[commentator] Unbelievable.

The guy said he's, like, the most famous snowboarder,

and then the crowd blew up, and I was like,

-"I hope he's hearing this shit..." -He loves that. He loves that.

And then he just was, like, whoo,

like, ten feet higher than he went the whole trip,

I was like, "Ohhh!"

[commentator] So, it's now Ayumu Hiarno,

Jan Scherrer, and Shaun White, the top three.

What a podium!

Let's go!

Yeah! [laughing]

Yeah!

On the last run!

On the last event.

Oh, here we go,

China.

Uh, we going, we going.

[man over speakers]

[crowd cheering]

[man over speakers]

[crowd cheering]

[Shaun] We got it done, I'm so happy. Oh!

It feels so good to just earn it.

Here we go, next stop is the Olympics.

[crowd cheering]

Whoo!

Yeah!

[interviewer] And what does this mean to you now?

What do you take from this event

looking forward to Beijing.

[Shaun] Oh, well, now it's, it's all about

how do we win this thing, you know?

I've been, I've been trying to make the team,

trying to stay healthy, trying to stay strong and motivated,

and, at this point, it's, it's all about

what I can do now to try to get that top spot

when we get out there, but, um...

...I'm a competitor, so, I want it, you know? [chuckles]

[crowd cheering in background]

[interviewer] Shaun, thank you so much. Congratulations.

[Shaun] Yeah, thank you, thank you.

Whoo!

Oh. we're going to China! [laughing]

-[man] Wait, is that 31? -[Shaun] Thirty-one.

Man, this is so exciting.

-[man] Yeah, it's awesome. -Right?

-If you don't have carpal tunnel, but-- -No, we'll be good.

I'm so excited to announce.

Hi, everyone, um...

So I've been smiling like this all day,

and I will tell you why,

it's because today I'm announcing that I've started my own

snowboarding and active wear company

called Whitespace.

Um...

[chuckles] Sorry.

It's just so exciting to me, I've always wanted to do this,

and, um...

We've decided we would do a soft launch,

so I went ahead and made 50 boards.

[man] This is 26.

Checking this thing.

[Michael Strahan] Winter Olympics in Beijing is kicking off in two weeks,

and this morning we're excited to have Shaun White joining us.

Yeah, thanks for having me.

[George Stephanopoulos] What else are you working on besides the Olympics?

My goodness, um,

I started a, a snowboarding and active wear company with my brother,

uh, it's called Whitespace,

it's, uh, it's right behind me.

-Little product placement, um... -[all laughing]

[Shaun] I keep getting this, like, idea in my head where,

you know, I was seven years old when I first got my, uh,

I actually first got a snowboard from Jake Burton,

who unfortunately passed away, uh, recently.

-[interviewer] So Shaun White is about to drop in. - [Jake Burton] Yeah.

-[interviewer] You've watched him from a young age. - [Jake] I know.

He loves to compete,

but he loves to snowboard and skate

and do a lot of other stuff, he's a great guy.

[Shaun] I was first sponsored by Burton Snowboards

when I was six or seven years old.

That encouragement and support that early on

meant the world to me and to my family as well.

We started, you know, going to the mountains and doing the competitions,

and, like, this became very real all of a sudden.

[Kari White] I think that's kinda like

where he separated from, like, that amateur vibe,

and then it just kind of, like, exploded from there.

[Jake] It's not so much about...

...how many days you ride, it's about how much fun you have, you know?

You know, I'm just another rider,

but to be up there with the best riders in the world,

it doesn't get much better than that.

Dave, it was sick, man.

And to see everybody so much happier

and so much more alive

when they're doing their thing...

...it's cool.

[Shaun] Jake Burton was a huge inspiration in my life,

I mean, he was really the father of the sport.

[Jesse White] It's cool to see how, you know,

you can go from such early days

from Jake Burton handing the torch to Shaun in many ways,

and Shaun taking it and now handing it to somebody else.

[man] Forty-eight.

[Shaun] When I had heard Jake had passed,

I mean, I was devastated.

We all were,

were all pretty shook in the fact that

this figure that was larger than life to us

wasn't gonna be around,

you know, wasn't gonna be at the bottom of the halfpipe when we came to the finish,

and that was the hardest to come to grips with.

You know, he gave me that start,

and I keep thinking, like, "Wow, if I could be that for the next generation."

You know, some young boy or girl or,

you know, whoever is starting out

and has that spark and excitement for this sport

and to me there to support.

[Shaun yells]

I'm not mad at it, I'm really not, bro.

I'm not that mad at it, I mean...

Slow.

The last three were, like, way better than that one.

Fuck you, you fucking piece of shit.

I mean, I think it's safe to say,

the tricks he's working on right now,

that's front 16 and the front triple,

are really his ticket to the gold medal.

We're playing this game of,

I need the, the shutdown trick, the triple...

...so, we-- I'd love to see him get one on snow,

but we're pretty late in the game right now,

I mean, we're five days out from our flight to China.

Fucker.

[groans]

We saw Ayumu come through here today,

and that guy is a ninja,

he is just, he is the only one who can do this trick

consistently in the bag.

[Shaun] Fuck, so perfect.

Triple.

Ayumu is landing like, he's like this before he even hits the bag.

Okay, here is the one thing that we know

from the guy who does these the best in the world right now.

Dude, that last flip comes into just pure triple.

'Cause right there, he just hold.

[Shaun] I'm really close, it's just, like,

I... I have...

...all the components, I just need to find the rotation,

and then I'm there.

It's like, I can either stop and try to do how he's doing it

or just do it how I'm doing it.

Do you want me to do the, the Ayumu throw

and then hold on?

-Yeah. Yes. -See that that does?

[JJ] Ooh, I think the grab helped.

That's what I'm talking about.

I love right here how you're still holding on,

that's key,

and now you just wrap it.

[Shaun] That's a fucking triple, bro.

[JJ] Yeah, it's gonna be heavy, it is a triple.

I think it's working,

he's looking pretty good right there.

I think he just needed to see someone do it,

do it perfectly...

...and you can see, he's got the energy.

When you're... When you're on to something, you get that invigoration.

He can get it, he just gotta stay connected.

So if he comes out at the Olympics

and lays just one of these last hit...

...I mean, that could go gold for sure.

-Close. -Almost.

[JJ] We're getting closer.

[Shaun] Fucking three more feet, I'll be on my feet.

-You know? -[JJ] Oh, yeah.

One, two,

three,

and then you landed on your butt, flash feet.

I'm just trying to push up the speed.

See, that's what I don't like.

That would've been fuckin' death.

That's my biggest fear.

Fuck!

-[JJ] You missed the grab? -No!

-[JJ] It just felt weird? -It's just off axis.

[JJ] Yeah.

Watch how I'm flipping, it's like, end over end.

-We're so close, J. -[JJ] Yeah.

This is the closest I've been.

[JJ] If he decides to do a 16 or a triple on snow,

how big is the risk?

It's massive.

So do we really wanna be taking that risk

three says before we fly to Olympics?

No.

But...

...it could seal it up but it could also put you out of the whole Olympics.

[Shaun] So stressful.

So stressed.