Shaun White-Winter Olympian Snowboarder Gold Medalist!!!

Congratulations to Shaun White,winner of a gold medal in the Mens Snowboarding-Halfpipe of the 2006 Winter Olympics at Torino,Italy. Shaun is a 19 yr old resident of Carlsbad,California and has been skateboarding/snowboarding the majority of his life.
With a trampoline and a skateboard ramp in the backyard, Shaun also surfed and played soccer growing up. He started skiing on his family's trips to Mammoth, Calif., but by the time he was 6, he wanted to snowboard. Resort rules, however, said boarders had to be 12 to take lessons, so his father, Roger, took the lesson to learn how he could get on a snowboard with Shaun. Meanwhile, Shaun rode up the mountain with his older brother, Jesse, and came down the hill on an oversized board. The next year, when he was 7, White entered (and won) his first amateur contest, competing in the 12-and-under age group. The result earned him a wild card entry into the national championships, where he placed 11th. The following year, White won the first of five national titles.
White's snowboarding ambition didn't make for much financial flexibility early on, though, as his parents estimate it cost the family $20,000 a year. The Whites would drive six hours to Mammoth every Friday in their 1964 Econoline van, nicknamed "Big Mo," and instead of paying for a hotel room, Shaun, Roger, Jesse, Cathy and Kari would sleep in the van, cooking meals on a stove in the back. Should they happen to go out to eat, which was a rarity, everyone would drink water to save money. But as Shaun got older, the family started staying at Super 8 motels. He turned pro at age 13.
I personally met Shaun White 4 years ago,(where I worked at the time) along with his mother, Cathy....he was in the process of buying one of his homes in California; seeing that he was a minor, Cathy had to do all the legalities of the escrow for him. I mentioned to Cathy how my 4 sons were into snowboarding,skateboarding and surfing...she told me about their gargage full of snowboards,boots,bindings...etc, that Shaun's then sponsors had bestowed upon him for endorsing their products., and if I would like to stop by and pick some out for my sons...I gracefully declined..
Cathy is smart & has it together...she and Shauns father decided from the beginning that the money Shaun White earned in pro sports would go into investing in Real Estate.... at this time I believe he now owns 3 homes! And.....he's only 19!!

Congratulations....Shaun White, on your win of the Gold Medal!!

Read more here: Extreme-Snowsports