From halfpipes to Halfpops, business ventures are sizzling with synergy for this Olympian
Ongoing endorsement deals with snowboarding apparel brand Burton and sunglasses maker Oakley (to name just two) and a new exclusive-to-Macy’s clothing line aren’t all that the “Shauntrepreneur” has in the works. Here are a few of the other business ventures in which Olympic gold medalist and Los Angeles-area resident Shaun White has a stake:
Air + Style: White bought a majority interest in this event, which combines music and snowboarding (at which he won competitions in 2003 and 2004), from Innsbruck, Austria-based founder Andrew Hourmont in early 2014. The just-announced upcoming tour dates include Beijing (Nov. 18 and 19), Innsbruck (Feb. 3 and 4) and a return to Los Angeles’ Exposition Park (Feb. 18 and 19).
The day before jetting off to the Rio Olympics -- where he would officially announce his intent to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympic games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, two-time gold medal-winning snowboarder, entrepreneur and SoCal native Shaun Whi
“There’s talk of, after the next Olympics, creating a [snowboarding] tour that may be branded Air + Style that would be an [Olympic] qualifying event,” White says. “It could solve a lot of problems.” airandstyle.com
Mammoth Resorts: In January, White purchased a minority stake in the company that owns the Mammoth Mountain, Snow Summit and Bear Mountain resorts in Southern California. “Big Bear was the mountain I grew up riding. It was home court so it all came together naturally,” he says. One of the ideas he has percolating is to bring youth skateboarding clinics based on the soccer-camp model to Big Bear Mountain Resorts.
“We’re planning to make camps up there,” he says, “And make it more accessible to kids from the city. There will be qualified instructors, the best facilities and a way to get your kid safely to the mountain and back home the same day.” There’s also the possibility, White says, of using one of the mountains as a future venue for one of his Air + Style events. mammothresorts.com
Halfpops: In May 2015, White bought a stake in Halfpops, a 5-year-old Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company that makes a partially popped popcorn snack food that crunch-wise falls between corn nut and traditionally popped kernel delivered in a compact shape roughly the size of a shelled pea.
“My family is really into popcorn — it’s our guilty pleasure. We’ll get big bags, and they’ll be all over the house,” White says, “And I stumbled across these, and they’re good to carry in your pocket when you ride because you can’t crush them.”
In addition to helping dream up new flavors, including his favorite Brooklyn Dill Pickle, White’s involvement has given the snack food company more exposure, including getting samples of the snack into the hands of thousands of attendees at the February 2015 Air + Style event in L.A. Halfpops.com
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