Shaun White in Playboy

We just got this early scoop and are publishing it as we received it. Lauren

SHAUN WHITE IS PLAYBOY’S MARCH 20Q

Snowboarding’s Goofy Hero Talks about the Winter Olympics, Growing up with Tony Hawk, the Downside of Super Competitiveness and His Wandering Gold Medal

“It’s funny, because I’ve misplaced it a couple of times,” says Shaun White in Playboy’s March 20Q when asked where he keeps his Olympic gold medal (issue on newsstands now and online at www.playboydigital.com). “Then one day, I was in my mom’s car, and I went to put something in the back pocket of the front seat. I reached in and pulled out my medal. It was in a plastic bag. I was like, What? … So I’m stoked to have it again. It’s now in a safe place in my house in California.”

Shaun—also known as the “Flying Tomato” because of his long red hair—is already a legend in his sport at age 23. In advance of the upcoming Winter Games, he sat down with Playboy contributor Jason Buhrmester to discuss how early success affected his friendships in high school; his role as a stuntman for Disney; early family ski trips in crowded vans and hotel rooms; and whether or not he smoked pot with Michael Phelps. Following are selected quotes from their conversation:

On smoking pot with Michael Phelps: “With Phelpsy? Old Smoke on the Water? No. To be honest, I’ve never been into going there. My friends, I’ll admit, most of them do.…and now, because it’s Olympic time and everybody’s getting tested for drugs, you see them just sweating bullets, man. I’m like, Ah, whatever.”

On the pressure to perform in the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics: “Since I was 13 or so, I can’t remember showing up to an event where I wasn’t the guy to beat. I’ve always been that guy. Not that I was the best guy, but I was always the one who was counted on to perform at a certain level. And I like it, man… I can sit back and go, Wow, if everybody wants to talk to me about the Olympics, that means they think I have a really good shot at doing well. That’s an amazing feeling—that all these people have my back, in a way. To a certain extent they believe in me. I use that. I had a friend who put money on me last time around. I was like [pumps fist], Yeah! [laughs]”

On whether or not he cried after winning a gold medal in 2006: “It was debatable, man…I was starting to get choked up and I was at the point of crying—almost. I mean, my parents were there, the entire world was watching. And I remember Danny Kass made a joke. I swear. So it was a mix of a cry and a humorous thing that pulled me right out of it.”

On being upset at missing the 2002 Olympic snowboard team: “Well, I was 15. I didn’t really understand what the Olympics are all about. But everybody became aware of it in 2002 because the Americans swept the podium. All of the sudden it was this big deal…at that point I understood. I started seeing these guys everywhere, and I was getting phone calls about this guy being the best rider in the world. I was like, Yeah, I’m sure he’s great at that, but he doesn’t do everything. I pride myself as a snowboarder who can ride jumps, half-pipes, rails, whatever you put out there. So I was more upset to go through five contests and not make the big party at the end, ­you know?”

On his blue-collar background and family snowboard trips: “At first we’d take a really small van and drive up and stay at a Motel 6. We’d pile into a room and drop one mattress onto the floor and leave just the box spring for Dad. It was funny because I didn’t know any better. I thought, That’s cool—a slumber party. I was stoked. I had fun. And it made it possible for me to snowboard.”

On how high school classmates treated him after winning his first X Games medals: “That’s when it got weird. I was super-shy. I didn’t know what to do in that scenario. I remember being at school and thinking, Wow, these kids are really digging what I’m doing. This is awesome, and I’ve got all these friends. Then I started to pick apart the friends I had, like, this guy keeps asking me for stuff; this is just getting weird. I realized I was over it.”

On growing up with Tony Hawk: “He’s just a funny guy; he’s a great person. He has never sat me down and said, ‘Hey, here’s some great advice.’ It doesn’t really work like that with him. I was lucky to be introduced to the only guy I knew who could relate somewhat to what was going on with me. I remember hanging with him at airports, getting approached by tons of people and seeing how he dealt with it and how he was cool to every fan who came up. I’d see where he would draw the line and say, ‘Hey, give me a little space.’”

On doing stunt work for Disney: “It’s funny now because we were talking to Disney people about some stuff recently, and I told them, ‘I don’t know if you guys know this, but there was a show called The Jersey, and I used to stunt double on the show for this one kid, Elliott.’ I did skateboard and BMX stuff and even Rollerblading if they needed it. I mean, the kid couldn’t even ride a bike.”

Olympic Athlete Interviews from SnowboardSecrets.TV

OLYMPIC ATHLETE INTERVIEWS HERE!!

The Snowboard Szine
SPECIAL BULLETIN !

exclusive from SnowboardSecrets.com
and our new snowboard internet TV channel
www.SnowboardSecrets.TV

from Lauren@SnowboardSecrets.com
2/15/10 Seth Westcott has Flexmeter Wrist Guards

==========================================
In This Issue
==========================================
Lauren is on a "radio tour" explaining Snowboarding in the Olympics and
Twifties and has been on 10 big radio shows in the last 2 weeks! List of shows and
clips here.
Also...

Olympic Athlete Interviews
We've got'em

Tonight is Snowboard Cross (Boardercross) at the Olympics.

This season we interviewed Snowboardcross/Boardercross athletes
Seth Wescott and Nick Baumgartner.
See what they told us about themselves in their word interviews at www.SnowboardProfiles.com.

See the video interview we did of Seth Wescott - find out about the secret tree stashes at Sugarloaf, and what Seth uses for Olympic brilliance on his teeth!
Here.

See the video we did of snowboard athlete and Olympic announcer Todd Richards here.

Torah Bright will compete in the Olympic women's halfpipe Thursday night and has an excellent chance at the podium. See our interview with Torah Bright right after she won the 2009 US Open here.


Shaun White looks good for the men's halfpipe podium for Wed., as long as he isn't too literally bent out of shape from his crash at the X Games. See our summer interview with Shaun White at the Tribeca Film Festival a few years back in NYC.


Torstein Horgmo and Jenny Jones were winners of the Dew Tour at Mount Snow 2 weeks ago. We've got the interviews here!


Shaun White trained in a private secret halfpipe last spring at Silverton, CO. Have you seen the videos? See 'em here!
http://snowboardsecrets.tv/index.php?page=2
http://snowboardsecrets.tv/index.php?page=3

==========================================
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Thanks for reading the Snowboard Szine!
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at www.SnowboardRegistry.com
===========================================

Skier Overcomes Paralysis

This story isn't about snowboarding, and it isn't even about skiing either though it may seem to be on first glance. It is about inspiration and the strength of the human will, and it brought a tear to my eye, so I will share it with you.
Lauren

Sipapu Employee Baffles Doctors:
Once Paralyzed, Now Skiing


Last week, Sipapu ski shop employee and Las Trampas native Frank Lopez made one extraordinary trip down the mountain at Sipapu. His legs were shaky, and his skis didn’t go very fast. However, this amazing journey had nothing do with his form or speed: Frank was skiing under his own power after countless doctors told him he’d never walk again.

On January 2, 2007, Frank’s day started like any other: he went to his job in Boston and during his lunch hour, he completed his daily workout at the gym. However, when he returned to work, things began to go very wrong.

Just 20 minutes after his workout, Frank felt a wrenching pain in his spine. Shortly thereafter, he began experiencing memory loss. His hands and legs started convulsing, and he was quickly losing feeling in his limbs.

“I knew something was wrong,” Frank said. “I thought it was a stroke, so I left the office and went straight to the subway.”

By the time he reached his subway stop, Frank couldn’t walk and couldn’t feel anything below his waist. With tremendous effort, Frank managed to get a cab and dialed 9-1-1.

By 6 p.m. that evening – less than six hours after his workout – Frank was paralyzed from the neck down.

Over the next three days, hospital physicians ordered a battery of tests to try and diagnose this bizarre paralysis. On January 5 – Frank’s 36th birthday – his doctor said he likely had a blood clot in his spinal cord, which could only be treated by placing a shunt in his spine.

The shunt would cause permanent paralysis.

Doing nothing would mean death, most likely within days.

“Paralysis or death: those were my two options that morning,” Frank said.
Frank agreed to have surgery. He took his last communion. He signed the Do Not Resuscitate form. Then he went to sleep, hoping for a miracle.

Eight hours later, he awoke and learned the good news: he did not have a blood clot in his spine. However, the physicians still had no explanation for his paralysis… nor did they think he would ever walk again.

Frank Lopez had always been an athlete. Growing up, he participated in every sport available in his small Las Trampas community, especially skiing. He was introduced to the sport as a third grader when some friends invited him to try it at Sipapu.

“My parents did not ski, so they didn’t want me to go,” Frank said. “My friends began writing letters to my mom, and she was eventually convinced to let me try it.”

The third grader fell in love with the sport immediately and spent many, many winters on the slopes at Sipapu; eventually he became a rental shop employee and ski school instructor.

“Being an instructor was fascinating,” he said. “I loved being able to instruct kids that wanted to learn,” he said. “I really found the most fulfillment in teaching the most challenging kids. Plus, the more I broke it down for them, the better I became.”

Now the man who had fallen in love with skiing – and sharing that love with others – was suddenly a quadriplegic, and no one could tell him why. In spite of his uncertain prognosis, Frank never gave up.

“I never believed I would be paralyzed for the rest of my life, not for one minute,” he said. “For days, I sat there in the hospital and tried to move my body.”

And finally, a small miracle happened: less than a week after his paralysis, Frank moved his left toe.

Doctors quickly ended the tests to try and diagnose Frank’s problem and, instead, focused their efforts on rehabilitation. After months of exhaustive work, Frank returned to Las Trampas using just a cane to aid his steps.

Once he returned home, Frank continued to do extraordinary things. He rallied his community (where his family was one of the 12 original families who established Las Trampas) to restore the historic Church of San Jose de Garcia. His body also continued to heal: he’s even regained some feeling in his legs – a sensation that doctors said he would never experience again.

His next goal was to ski again at Sipapu.

“I always loved skiing, and I promised myself I would feel that again,” he said. “I knew it would take some work, but it was important to me to do it.”

So, this season, he returned to work in the Sipapu ski shop, helping guests sign up for lessons or rent skis and snowboards. While he worked, he kept thinking about his goal: he wanted to ski on January 5, 2010 – his 39th birthday, and exactly three years to the day that doctors said he would never walk again. But when the big day arrived, Frank nearly talked himself out of it.

“I thought of a million excuses why I wasn’t going to ski,” Frank admits. “I was terrified. I was afraid I’d hurt myself. I feared I wouldn’t be able to feel it again.
Bruce Bolander, the son of Sipapu founders Lloyd and Olive Bolander, and his wife, Winonah, knew of Frank’s goal, and they weren’t going to see him give up.

“I went up to Frank that morning and said, we’re going on the slopes in 30 minutes!” Bruce said.
The Bolanders’ encouragement is just what Frank needed.
Most people are supportive, but Bruce and Winonah actually got in there and helped me achieve my goal,” Frank said. “They really cared about it as much as I did.”

So on the morning of January 5th, Frank stepped into his skis and stood in the lift line “shaking like a leaf.” But with Bruce’s aid, he started skiing.
“I took to it like a duck to water,” he said. “I knew what to do – it just took a lot of effort to make it happen. My legs were trembling from years of atrophy, but I was mostly in control.”

“You could just see the excitement in his eyes,” Bruce said. “His mental memory of skiing is phenomenal.”

When he finished his run and returned to the base area, his elation was obvious to everyone.

“I was doing these wide, long turns. I felt the whoosh of the skis. I felt the breeze,” he said. “And when I finished, all I could think of was three words: I DID IT!”

Physicians continue to have more questions than answers to Frank’s mysterious paralysis. And while it’s painfully difficult to not know why he was paralyzed – and how or if he will ever completely recover – Frank continues to make big goals for himself. His next endeavor is to bike the Boston Marathon.
Until then, he’s happy to be back at Sipapu.

“Lots of people told me I’d never walk again,” he said. “I took it two steps further – I decided I would not only walk again, but I’d ski, too. If someone says you can’t do something, it doesn’t mean it’s true. There’s always hope.”

Helmets for Ski Slopes - The Debate Continues

Helmets for Snowboarders and Skiers - The Debate Continues

by Lauren Traub Teton
for SnowboardSecrets.com

A federal report estimates 7,700 head injuries could be prevented every year if skiers and snowboarders wore helmets.

The NY Times ran an article January 2, 2010 about how prevalent helmets have become on the slopes of snow resorts. Vail Resorts, Aspen Skiing Company, and Intrawest all have helmet policies for employees and recommend that their guests wear them. Stewart Levy, a Denver neurosurgeon says that wearing a helmet could reduce reduce the chance of sustaining a brain injury by 50 to 80%.

The flip side of the coin is voiced by Jasper "Jake" Shealy, a professor emeritus at Rochester Institute of Technology who says that in high speed crashes helmet use does not make a difference. Shealy who has studied head injuries among skiers for over 30 years also says regarding the ski slope death of Natasha Richardson "an unhelmeted head actually has more time and distance to decelerate when the snow is soft — as was the case in Ms. Richardson’s fall — and the fall is slow, because it will penetrate further into the snow than a helmeted head." He still believes skiers and snowboarders should wear helmets, but believes they should not be oversold on the safety a helmet will provide.

We at SnowboardSecrets.com spoke to Dr. Robert Williams of Vermont Children’s Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care who has been studying ski helmet use for years.

He says "I agree with Dr. Levy's impression that a helmet would have been expected to make a crucial difference in the Richardson tragedy. Although Professor Shealy's comments are well meaning, they may muddy the waters concerning the use of helmets. The medical literature is very clear that helmets are an effective method to decrease the chance of sustaining a traumatic brain injury while riding. Helmets are similar to seat belts in that they need to be worn every time a rider is on the slopes. There are no downsides whatsoever to wearing a helmet. I cannot imagine a practical instance in which a rider sustains a fall and would have been better off without a helmet.

It is also important to remember that resorts have changed dramatically in just the past few years. Much riding now takes place in terrain parks and gladed areas where the high speeds mentioned in the Times article are much less common. We published an article in Wilderness and Environmental Medicine that measured the speed of expert skiers and riders in the glades and on rails. In 85-90% of measurements, the speed of even expert riders was less than 15 mph. This is a speed where helmets can be expected to be highly effective. Since there are numerous hazards (trees, rocks, metal rails, machine packed snow) in these areas, wearing a helmet makes even more sense.

Riding in control is the first message to preventing head injuries, but it is essential to stress that wearing a helmet is always a good idea."

Dr. Williams, an avid skier and snowboarder, has worked with the University of Vermont for the past 6 years to study helmet use, and to develop a non-coercive approach to increasing their use that has proven to be very effective. The program is called PHAT (Protect Head at All Times).
See details at www.fletcherallen.org/PHAT.

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First Stop Of The Winter Dew Tour - Breck 2009

First Stop Of The Winter Dew Tour 2009
Breckenridge, CO

by Jackie Williams for SnowboardSecrets.com

Breckenridge, Colorado - Sunday, December 20^th marked the end of the first of three stops of the 2^nd annual Winter Dew Tour. It was an amazing weekend with skiers and snowboarders from around the globe swarming in for the competitions.

And they did not disappoint! There were a lot of firsts at this year’s Winter Dew Tour:

• Danny Davis claims the biggest score ever in the history of the Winter Dew Tour with a 96.50
• Jamie Anderson’s 92.00 run in the snowboard slopestyle finals earns her the highest score earned a in the women’s event
• Tyler Flanagan, 16 years old, earned his first ever victory in a pro contest in the men’s snowboard slopestyle final

Highlights from the snowboarding finals? You’d be screaming along with the crowds as Danny Davis threw it out hard on some insane double flips, 1080s and tail grabs on his first run in the Men’s Superpipe Finals. I felt sorry for everyone who went after him! He didn’t even have to do a thing for his second run – it was in the bag – but he still performed. Judges were looking for some major air, rotations and grabs.

Most of the finalists had solid runs, but seemed to play it safe. Riders like Iouri Podlachikov, JJ Thomas, and Mason Aguirre, though, hyped everyone up when they came screaming out to the pipe with huge airs right out the gate. The end of Mason’s run was awesome when he came too far out of the pipe and crashed into the fence – and spectators! That was great. I think it surprised him, too.

As for the Slopestyle Finals, the men’s competition ended with a trio of first-time podium finishers. “It feels amazing; it’s like a dream come true. I came out only wanting to get top ten, and I’m stoked that I came in first,” said Flanagan. “I’m chasing the Dew Cup. I’m trying to get that Dew Cup now!”

Anderson won the Women’s Slopestyle Finals by throwing a backside 180, a switchback 540, and a backside tailslide on the Nike 6.0 rainbow rail. Coming in second place was Sarka Panc, who landed variations of backside 180s, and third place went to Jenny Jones with a 67.50. “I was really nervous but I feel great to have won this first stop of the Winter Dew Tour season,” said Anderson. “I’m glad I pulled it together and landed what I needed to win the first run.”

So there you have it! The four-day competition ended with 32,000 people visiting Breckenridge to see their favorite athlete compete. The conditions were good, the sun was out, the crowds were hyped and the moose were roaming…

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RESULTS for Winter Dew Tour Breckenridge 2009

SNB SUPERPIPE MEN FINALS
1	Danny Davis	96.50
2	Iouri Podlachikov	91.25
3	JJ Thomas	84.75
4	Mason Aguirre	80.00
5	Steve Fisher	78.50
6	Zachary Black	75.00
7	Ilkka-Eemeli Laari	71.00
8	Fredrik Austbo	68.50
9	Roger Kleivdal	64.50
10	Janne Korpi	62.00
11	Matt Ladley	56.50
12	Scotty Lago	49.00

SNB SLOPESTYLE MEN FINALS
1	Tyler Flanagan	93.00
2	Sage Kotsenburg	90.00
3	Eric Willett	87.50
4	Torstein Horgmo	86.00
5	Halldór Helgason	85.50
6	Brandon Reis	83.75
7	Charles Guldemond	74.25
8	Sam Hulbert	62.50
9	Mikkel Bang	56.00
10	Scotty Lago	53.50
11	Heikki Sorsa	50.75
12	Stef Zeestraten	41.75

SNB SLOPESTYLE WOMEN FINALS
1	Jamie Anderson	92.00
2	Sarka Panc	80.25
3	Jenny Jones	67.50
4	Spencer O'Brien	42.75
5	Janna Meyen-Weatherby	40.75
6	Shelly Gotlieb	38.00

SNB SUPERPIPE WOMEN FINALS
1	Queralt Castellet	92.50
2	Sarah Conrad	89.00
3	Kjersti Østgaard Buaas	87.00
4	Kelly Marren	84.00
5	Elena Hight	83.75
6	Kaitlyn Farrington	80.25

The Winter Dew Tour continues with two more events across the US:

Wendy’s Invitational @ Snowbasin, Ogden, Utah (Jan. 15-17, 2010)

Toyota Championship @ Mount Snow Resort, West Dover, Vermont (Feb. 4-7, 2010)

The Eastern Boarder Video 2008 Review

The Eastern Boarder Video 2008

reviewed by Lauren Traub Teton
for SnowboardSecrets.com

When it all comes down to it, why do we watch snowboard videos? My answer is to watch people have fun on the snow when we’re not on it ourself, and to see something new. EB’s Eastern Boarder Video for 2008 provides for these needs, in spades.

We love Scott Stevens stalling on a log rail then doing a forward somersault in the air off. We love seeing Colleen Quigley and all our other homegrown shreds doing their gnarly thing. And we love the price of this disc in this day of shrinking buying power, ‘cuz it’s FREE for the asking at your local Easter Boarder. Online too, here!

It’s the opposite of some of the slick vids you’ve seen, it has a feeling of being one step ahead of the cops and anarchy, and those antics are what we most love in a snowboard flick – just watching kids having fun while their adrenaline flows. Riding stuff they shouldn’t. Like brick walls and roofs and hey, is that a dam they’re sliding? Not every part is credited, we’d like to see the names of each entertaining perp who performs. We like seeing the always-stylish Niko Cioffi who besides his cool riding gets the most fashionable jacket award in this flick.

New Englanders are gnarly and not afraid to show their mistakes on film. Brandon Reis goes huge, clips a pine tree, and then lands upside down in it’s tree well in his first shot, with a cracked board. Chris Beresford shreds a SKATE park on his board. Yale Cousino gets best pants award.

For some vids, you know the crew sat and waited in their hotel rooms for days until bluebird skies appeared and avalanche danger passed. In this vid, it’s more like they said “Tonight’s the night” and the crew got together whenever and wherever for some ninja style filming. This film is like watching The Monkees with snowboards (ask your parents.) And we love it.

See the video now FREE here!

From EB's Site

This is the Eastern Boarder Movie. It is amazing that this is the first EasternBoarder Snowboard Movie with past riders including Eric Kovall, Alexi Garick, Doug Byrnes, Shane Flood, Nicke Franke, Jamie Mcleod and more. Its about time we did this, The video and EB team would not happen without the amazing riders and filmers that represent EB. Most of all we would like to thank the huge Eastern Boarder Family.

This is the changing of the guard, the talent has never been hungrier. Last season (08) was record breaking, tons of snow, tons of fun, tons of coverage. It might go down as the best season ever. This Movie features the riding talents of Tanner Pendleton, Teddy Lavoie, Colleen Quigley, Brandon Reis, Sam Hulbert, Chris Carr, Yale Cousino & Shane Fortier. Appearances by friends like Kade Madsden, Chris Beresford & Niko Coiffi & More. Chris Carr wraps up the video with some tricky tricks that need to be watched three times minimum.

This video was filmed by Tanner Pendleton, Matt Roberge and random others, If a person is in it they probably filmed a bit. Edited by Tanner Pendleton. Thanks to Tanner for his hard work making this movie happen, and thanks to Everyone for your support. Thanks to the sponsors, Watervile Valley, K2 Snowboarding, Red Bull, Oakley, Ride, & Forum.

The B. Burton Movie Premiere NYC 9.14.09

by Lauren Traub Teton

Tonight was the first big movie premiere of the NY snowboard party season in NYC. Hundreds of people lined up in front of the Tribeca Cinemas on Varick Street downtown to see Burton's new 40 minute film. They showed the film in 2 theaters simultaneously, and then had a quickly scheduled second showing to accommodate the crowd. See the vid here. Seeing the film in a theater instead of at a party gives you the chance to look at the film a lot more closely, hear the soundtrack, and enjoy it all comfortably. Burton is taking a page from the Warren Miller juggernaut in this regard.

The NY Snowboarding Meetup kicks ASS by the way, with 1660 members as of today, and over 100 attending tonight. Thanks Keith and Agatha for arranging the movie meetup! And so did The B. This movie, unlike most snowboard films actually kind of has a plot. Well, a theme is more like it. The "B" has a role in the film, as a 100 foot long playground at Northstar, Tahoe, for the riders to do tricks over and off of. Fun idea and photogenic too! See what the B looks like and what this evening was like in our video here.

Standout parts in the film went to Shaun White with the leadoff, riding his private halfpipe and dressed in a black catsuit. We actually see Shaun fall, and as we well know about Shaun White, that just makes him try super harder to succeed. (More Shaun White here.)

Nicolas Mueller uses the Alps like his own giant natural terrain park and his riding reminds us why he was twice crowned snowboarder of the year. His buddy and business partner Fredi Kalbermatten has a part. Best part was Jeremy Jones (rail rider) from Salt Lake, looking lean and mean. He also astounds with his no hands motorcycle riding, and then, well, I won't tell you what else he does on the bike. You'll have to see it to believe it, but don't try it, please.

There's fun rail riding with great beats in the beginning. Snowboarding in an icy skate bowl was new to me, and then the little trick at the end where the 2 riders jump off their sleds and swap is cute, like something your parents might have seen on "The Monkees" tv show.

Shaun White himself made a quick late-night run through the premiere after-party (at Bar 169) where he appeard from midnight to 12:30, then took off in a cab, with cheers from his fans. This party actually had fancy hors d'ouevres served by wait staff on trays upstairs.

Here's a photo from last year's bowling party in Boston, with Nico Mueller lower right, Fredi Kalbermatten center, Liam Griffin upper left, and Yale Cousino upper right. Read our brand new interview with Yale Cousino here. And read about that Burton Boston party 2008 here.











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