Photo: Jason DeFillippo

“My parents never really told me I couldn’t do anything.” – Shaun White

This particular episode comes from a fun event — my first live podcast at the iconic Troubadour in L.A. It sold out through my newsletter in 30 minutes, so thanks to all of you who came. If you haven’t signed up for the email newsletter, you should check it out. It’s free. Just go to fourhourworkweek.com/friday.

There were quite a few amazing guests at the event, and we’re going to divide them up into a few episodes.

Shaun White (@ShaunWhite) is our first — a professional snowboarder and skateboarder. Among his formidable feats of strength:

He’s a 2x Olympic Gold medalist.

He holds the X Games record for gold medals at 15, as well as the highest overall medal count at 24.

Shaun has earned the number two spot on BusinessWeek’s list of the 100 most powerful and marketable athletes.

And — ACH-TUNG! — for those near L.A. or willing to travel, Shaun is hosting an incredible event called Air + Style. Think of it as X Games meets Coachella, where you can listen to world-famous bands and then see jumps off of a 16-story ramp (no joke), among other excitement. Check it out at airandstyle.com. For 20% off general or VIP admission, you can use code “TimFerriss.” I get no cut, and I’ve already bought four tickets for myself and friends. The code is only good until midnight PT on February 19th (Friday).

If you only have a couple of minutes, listen here to discover who Shaun considered one of his biggest mentors and the lessons he learned.

Enjoy!





#140: Shaun White: The Most Unholy Snowboarder Ever https://rss.art19.com/episodes/517d88b4-0dc5-4748-9c90-cc8cb918d33f.mp3 Download

Listen to it on iTunes.

Stream by clicking here.

Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

Want to hear another podcast from a world-class athlete? You will probably enjoy my podcast with Triple H. In this episode, we discuss pre-fight rituals, injury avoidance, and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (stream below or right-click here to download):

#72: Triple H on Pre-Fight Rituals, Injury Avoidance, and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. https://rss.art19.com/episodes/bdd6fef3-04c3-4b1b-8e01-d20360a37b12.mp3 Download

This podcast is brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs.

I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body, and I’ve also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you’re happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run.

This podcast is also brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is a massively disruptive (in a good way) set-it-and-forget-it investing service, led by technologists from places like Apple. It has exploded in popularity in the last two years and now has more than $2.5B under management. Why? Because you can get services previously limited to the ultra-wealthy and only pay pennies on the dollar for them, and it’s all through smarter software instead of retail locations and bloated sales teams.

Check out wealthfront.com/tim, take their risk assessment quiz, which only takes 2-5 minutes, and they’ll show you—for free–exactly the portfolio they’d put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Well worth a few minutes to explore: wealthfront.com/tim.

QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: Based on Shaun’s two-goal philosophy, what two goals would you set for yourself? How would they help with your life or business? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Selected Links from the Episode

Air + Style | GO90 | Website | Twitter | Instagram

Show Notes

Shaun’s heart defect that made the life of a world-class athlete unlikely. [06:27]

Shaun talks about the first time he met Tony Hawk. [08:09]

Shaun discusses his family background. [14:59]

How did Shaun’s parents keep him grounded when he started getting attention from sponsors like Burton at age seven? [16:26]

How has Shaun managed to maintain creative control and avoid the pitfall of bad decisions that often plague athletes? [18:47]

Shaun talks about some of his career mentors. [21:28]

What opportunities is Shaun glad he said no to? [23:45]

What advice would current-day Shaun give to his 2006 Winter Olympics self in Torino (when he won his first gold medal)? [26:54]

Shaun describes picture day at school with two black eyes. [27:58]

Shaun explains his lifelong admiration for Andre Agassi and lessons he’s learned from the tennis great. [33:07]

Shaun sets two goals every season: something serious and something funny. [40:29]

What is Shaun’s internal dialogue when he’s competing? [44:07]

Most gifted books. [47:24]

Was growing up in Southern California a disadvantage for an aspiring snowboarder? [48:41]

Shaun tells us how his physical training differs now from when he was younger. [50:39]

Shaun’s superstitions and what he does before competitions. [55:30]

What was so unholy about Burton’s White Collection? [58:52]

How did Shaun get involved with music? [01:01:51]

Shaun tells us about inheriting the Air + Style event. [01:10:15]

Who is the first person who comes to mind when Shaun thinks of the word “successful?” [01:14:40]

Who does Shaun rely on to tell him when he’s wrong? [01:15:28]

When does Shaun tend to come up with new tricks? [01:16:39]

Are there any historical figures Shaun wishes he could meet? [01:17:25]

What would be on Shaun’s non-advertisement billboard? [01:17:41]

People Mentioned

Posted on: February 18, 2016.

Share this: Facebook

Twitter

Email

Reddit

Print



Please check out Tribe of Mentors, my newest book, which shares short, tactical life advice from 100+ world-class performers. Many of the world's most famous entrepreneurs, athletes, investors, poker players, and artists are part of the book. The tips and strategies in Tribe of Mentors have already changed my life, and I hope the same for you. Click here for a sample chapter and full details. Roughly 90% of the guests have never appeared on my podcast.

Who was interviewed? Here's a very partial list: tech icons (founders of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Craigslist, Pinterest, Spotify, Salesforce, Dropbox, and more), Jimmy Fallon, Arianna Huffington, Brandon Stanton (Humans of New York), Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Ben Stiller, Maurice Ashley (first African-American Grandmaster of chess), Brené Brown (researcher and bestselling author), Rick Rubin (legendary music producer), Temple Grandin (animal behavior expert and autism activist), Franklin Leonard (The Black List), Dara Torres (12-time Olympic medalist in swimming), David Lynch (director), Kelly Slater (surfing legend), Bozoma Saint John (Beats/Apple/Uber), Lewis Cantley (famed cancer researcher), Maria Sharapova, Chris Anderson (curator of TED), Terry Crews, Greg Norman (golf icon), Vitalik Buterin (creator of Ethereum), and nearly 100 more. Check it all out by clicking here.