Shaun White ~ snowboarder

the other day i was reading the Olympic Diary. it is basically a look through the Olympics, with tons of great pictures. i did my research on Shaun White, and all i have to say is WOW! and wow again. i was reading his bio in awe. he is an amazing guy. his life has been jam packed with sports, not to mention some difficulties along the way. at only the age of one he endured two major surgeries correcting a heart defect. you would never think that, and never imagine that, knowing that he was playing soccer, surfing, and snowboarding at a young age. and i diffidently never would have thought that, looking at him today. but what a great story to share. he overcame so much and is on
top of the world now. 

Shaun started skiing at first. he lived in California. ya, no ski mountains there. but his family would take road trips to a mountain for the weekend. Shaun proved himself fearless, because that young, he was racing down the hills at full speed with his older brother Jesse. at age six his mom made him try snowboarding. thinking that it would slow him down, Shaun's mom told him to do exactly what his brother did. at the age of 7, he entered his first amateur contest - and won. he got a wild card to nationals and came just outside of top 10. his mom sent a homemade video to Burton. at that time they were creating a kid-sized snowboard line. they were impressed and offered him a deal, at the age of 7. with the support of Burton, he turned pro at 13. just stop and say wow. that is amazing. his first year of his teen years, and he was offered a deal of a life time. Shaun is now a professional. he is doing his favorite sport.

his life is pure bliss. and it only gets better from here. from then on Shaun entered many competitions and was winning all of them.

because Shaun is amazing at snowboarding, he has many skills at skate boarding. at the age of 9, he met Tony Hawk, and he helped Shaun turn pro by the age of 17.  in 2003 he became the first athlete ever to compete and medal in both the summer and winter Games in two different sports. the 2006 Olympics came along, and Shaun got gold. four years later came the 2010 Olympic Games, and he also got gold there. Shaun also has a talent as a businessman. he and his brother created their own line of t-shirts. and two video games - which are doing amazing!

Did I mention Shaun is only 24?! He hasn't even lived half of his life yet. He has been, seen and gone through so much, and his life is literally just getting started. Shaun inspires me to live one of my mottos - live with zero regrets. he is living his life to the fullest, and tackling every opportunity that comes his way.

Shaun didn't see any obstacles and nothing was stopping him, result: he turned pro at such a young age. he just focused on the end reward. with that in mind, it inspires me to go after my own dreams and goals. this young man with crazy hair is still going far. life is his to own right now. see you in 2014 - on the tv! :)

~ amy