Shaun White Interview: Gold Holbrook Launch in NYC

When Shaun White unveils anything new, you better believe it'll be a grand affair. Whether he's revealing ink on a new deal with a corporate sponsor, busting out tricks never before stomped, or debuting a revamped version of Oakley glasses or goggles- Shaun White doesn't settle for mediocrity.

I was able to taste this first hand at a recent launch Oakley put together with Sunglass Hut in NYC for the release of the Shaun White Gold Collection Holbrooks, which is a line comprised of four sleek, retro-rocker shades. (Read the story of the glasses here.)

For months, emails have been popping up in my inbox about this launch and through this correspondence, an invite to the event and an interview with Shaun came to fruition.

On the afternoon of July 7th, I took a taxi from the West Village in NYC to the Tribeca Grand Hotel located in the heart of downtown Manhattan. Here I was to meet with Shaun and Oakley reps for the interview. Armed with my IPhone as a recording device and a list of ten pinpoint questions, I made my way through the expanisive lobby. After fifteen minutes of twiddling my thumbs, I was given word that I should go to room 709 and wait for the crew. Up the escalator and around the triangular hallway I walked until finding the right room.

The door was propped open and I let myself in, discovering it was empty. I surveyed the modestly sized space and began trying on two pairs of a signature Gold Collection Holbrooks displayed on the dresser. The first pair had stunning gold lens and were set inside a chic black frame. The second also had glamourous gold lenses and were positioned in crystal clear frames. I later learned these were the Sunglass Hut exclusive. Both frames boasted a clean, sleek design that exuded rockstar class.

Moments later, the bustling bunch of PR people came in with Shaun in tow. He entered the room and took notice of a peculiar orange chair sitting in the corner. He commented on its similarity to a couch of his own and took refuge in it as I began asking a series of questions.

Trying to cover all of the avenues of Shaun's career in a 15 minute window is nearly impossible, but we were able to hit on the Olympics, plans to compete in slopestyle, upcoming skate events, and his inspirations for all of these projects. When you've done as many interviews as Shaun has, answers can seem automatic, but his sincerity overrode the monotony.

Following the interview, we made our way to the Sunglass Hut on 5th and 48th Ave. Floor to ceiling images of Shaun sporting the Holbrooks lined the walls and pairs of glasses were displayed for attendees to try on and purchase. A gorgeous backdrop depicting the highway entrance into the glasses namesake was draped near the back for party-goers to strike poses for pictures. Servers strutted around the room with nibbles of cakes and agave-infused water.

The eclectic DJ mixed sounds as the crowd meandered through the brightly-lit space. Sal Masekela, veteran X Games announcer, took post behind the Dj booth and tweeted fans for questions they wanted to know about Shaun. Soon, the man of the hour took the stage and spoke about the inspiration for the glasses and what this hubbub was all about. Photographers snapped away, their flashes reflecting off the gold detailing of the shiny new collection of Holbrooks.

The event was another reminder that the red-haired wonder is much larger than his humble action sports beginning. As he transforms from a sports icon to a super star, what could be next for the Shaun White?

The following are excerpts from the interview and give a glimpse into the mind of the marketing machine.

Your relationship with Oakley has grown exponentially through the years. You've been with them for 10 years. What it's like to be a part of that family?

It's been amazing. It's one of those things that started out just as a great home to have quality products. These guys are making the best stuff and what's more important than good vision on and off the mountain? Through that idea, I moved my ranks with the company and then came out with the Holbrooks and it's been doing amazing. We're all over the place with these in stores and even into places like China, which is really cool. I've been going to Oakley since I was a little kid and it's definitely more like a family than a sponsorship.

That's what I strive for in all my relationships with different sponsors, to have a true connection with them. I've not a big fan of jumping around to different things. I'd rather establish myself with someone that I believe in and want to be apart of. That's why this whole thing (with the Holbrooks) has been blowing up and doing great. The glasses are killing it, so it's really cool to see what we're accomplishing.

Any other products or events with Oakley we should know about?

We have the Airbrake coming up which will be available in stores soon. The Airbrakes are amazing. Your peripheral view while riding is so important and these new goggles actually open it up, allowing you to see in more places than ever before. We're also are doing an event in Beijing that's going to be at the Olympic Birdsnest. It's the Oakley Shaun White Air and Style.

You're planning to do that again? Last year it was the first TTR event, but you didn't compete.... Not going to bring that up but-

No it's cool... It was like I hadn't hit a jump in like two years, so come December it was like and show up to this event and just go. For me I felt like it was kind of strange to just show up and possibly win an event with my name on it, or possibly lose an event with my name on it?.. I was just excited to go because China is an amazing place and snowboarding is just on the rise there, whereas in other places like Japan it's already booming. China is just becoming savvy to it, so it's really exciting.

Since we're talking about the China, I'll jump to this- It was just announced that the 2018 Olympics will be in Korea. You'll be 31 by then, thinking it could still be something you'll want to strive for?

I've been to Korea once before and it's a really cool place and the fans were out of control awesome. I had a guy literally show up to the autograph signing with an IV pole and in a hospital gown. He legitimately had his friend sneak him out of the hospital to come by the autograph signing and he was in his sick gown. He's like 'Hey, I just want a photo.' I thought, this is amazing! Really dedicated, intense fans over there.

But yes, 31.. I imagine so. This next one- 27, should be cool. I'm trying to imagine what I'll be doing, what tricks will be going on. I have to take each trick as they come. But it will be cool.

I'm more thinking about 2016, if skateboarding makes it in...I know it's been on the tipping point.

What do you think about that? Skateboarding in the Olympics- Totally for it?

Ya, I mean I don't know. It was funny because I came back to skateboarding after doing the Olympics when I was 19 and all those guys were talking about skateboarding possibly getting in the Olympics. Everyone turned to me because I was the only one that actually had ever been. They asked, 'What was it like? Were people cool? What was the judging like?' They were asking about all these different questions. I feel it displays our sport on such a wide scale and gives credit to all these athletes that do all these great things.

Do you think the Olympics are good platform for skateboarding and snowboarding? Does the standardization of these sports allow the true essence of the action sport to shine through?

I think it's tough to say. I feel like a lot of the times people are like 'well back in the day, in the old days we used to do this' but not it's not those days anymore. Not to say that this is the new way and this is how we should do it, but I just like the fact that people now know about snowboarding and snowboarders. I'm sure you can look at the number of snowboarders before and after the Olympics and I'm sure it's a massive upswing of more snowboarders.

The cool part about that is it not only affects the riders who are making more money and can actually have a career in the sport- but now the mountains are competing for the best snowboard parks as well. It's definitely a cool place to be, whereas before we weren't even allowed on mountains. It's a great swing in our favor. That's what the Olympics brought. I like that fact that slopestyle has just come into play because those guys work just as hard as I do, so why shouldn't they have a place to earn their credit as well? I do slopestyle also, so it's really great for me, because it's not like it'll be a one shot deal at the Olympics. Before it was make or break for me in the halfpipe. Now, it'll be a fun scenario.

So you'll definitely be gunning for gold in both, pipe and slope?

I mean yes...That's the spot I usually go for. It's kinda of a make or breaker. I would just love to compete. It would be fun. I mean why not. It's what I've always done in the past and this would just give me the fuel to do it. You always need some sort of inspiration or big thing looming in the distance to get yourself going, and get the motivation to do it. I remember sitting there, when I got second in Mammoth to Danny Davis at the Grand Prix, and I was so upset about it. Literally two days after that, I learned the double McTwist 1260 at Park City. I was so bent out of shape about not doing as well as I wanted to and thinking things weren't going my way... I felt the pressure and wanted to succeed. I wanted to do better.

With slopetyle getting into the Olympics and you failing to make finals at the X Games this past year, is that your push to go for slopestyle in 2014?

Oh ya. It was awesome. That was the best thing ever. It gave something that is just so priceless. It's motivation. I learned three new tricks immediately after that. And that's what's rad. I mean I took some slams, which sucked, but it takes some to learn some. I immediately went back and was like I need this now in order to do well. It gave me something to strive for. It would have been awesome to roll up and win or do really well, but I'm the type of guy where if I'm just hands down beat, then I'm cool with it. I would way rather have that happen. I think everything happens for a reason. I've learned a lot of things that I'm sure have helped me through the years.

You'll be skating the Dew Tours and X Games coming up- Do you have any new tricks you'll be unveiling?

For X Games coming up, I've got a couple new ones. I don't want to unveil anything just yet, but I've got something I've been working on. It's a bit of a take off of snowboarding. It's a spin... It's a flip... Ah, it's a spin-flip in a way. There's a bunch of small tricks that I''ve been really wanting to dial in but I haven't had the time. With X Games closing in, the Dew Tours are a great practice for that. You need the first event to get you going again. To put you in that mindset that you need to land, and it gives you motivation to win and do well.

Tell me about your BF Goodrich deal... Rally Car Racing?

I mean it's bizarre. That was the idea behind the whole thing when we worked with BF GoodRich on the campaign. Look I'm not the best driver, I mean I'm a good driver, but my rental car track record wouldn't seem to support that statement. I've crashed some cars and done some things, so I'm like it would be really cool to really learn how to drive. I've always looked to Travis Pastrana and all these guy behind the wheel rallying and doing these crazy things so I signed the deal with Goodrich and partnered with them. It's been amazing.

They take me out and teach me everything about cars. I'm really into cars but I've never really known or possessed the skills needed to really drive them properly, so this has been fun. It's taken me from every single type of driving. In the beginning it was just like a crash course on race cars and different types of cars.

From there we went up to Skip Barber's at Laguna Seca to the racing track to see the open wheeled style of racing cars. Then we went to Seattle to Dirt Fish and the rally cars were definitely the coolest. With them, braking turns you more and gas actually slows you down- it's really bizarre. But when you understood the basic mechanics of it then you can just rip through the course. I felt like I was in this crazy movie, but I felt protected. You have the helmet on and you're in the car, so you're not as exposed when skateboarding or snowboarding...

With that it was time to head to the launch------

We wish Shaun well throughout all of his upcoming endeavors and thanks to Oakley and Sunglass hut for putting together the event and interview.

Head here to check out the full Holbrook story and snag yourself a pair-

More photos from the launch after the jump.

Source: http://www.grindtv.com/skate/blog/28604/shaun+white+interview+gold+holbrook+launch+in+nyc/

tony hawk rodney mullen bam margera rob dyrdek paul rodriguez