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Snowboarder Shaun White saved by Sochi failure

Crashing out in Sochi may just have been the failure which saved the snowboarding career of the iconic Shaun White.

The dual Winter Olympics gold medalist, currently in Australia with Oakley to promote his self-designed Enduro sunglasses, now admits finishing fourth in the half-pipe at the 2014 Winter Olympics reinvigorated his flagging desire for the sport.

“I always assumed that I would hang it up once I was uninspired, and that could have been this last Olympics if I had won,” he said.

“(Now) I’m more motivated than ever, I’m super excited about the sport again.

“I did hit this lull (before Sochi) where I was not that motivated and it’s frustrating and it’s very hard to admit that to yourself when you’re in the thick of it.

“ You’re trying to fight it and you’re trying to make it work and this whole sport ever since I started doing it was never about fighting it - it just would happen.”

It's fair to say White is not accustomed to losing, having dominated the world of snowboarding since winning his first Winter X Games gold medal in 2002.

However, in a frightening realisation for White's rivals moving forward, all his past disappointments have proven to be nothing more than catalysts for extraordinary success.

And the 28-year-old already has one eye on Pyeongchang 2018.

“Everything in my life has had a real drastic cause and effect,” White said.

“I didn’t make it to the (2002 Winter) Olympics when I was 15...and it made me so upset and so driven that I ended up catapulting myself to the top of the rankings of the best snowboarders in the world.

“I had a devastating year in 2004 where I had a knee injury...and then I got crushed at X-Games – I got like fourth place.

“The next season I was so upset with that that I came back and I won every single competition I entered.

“Every time I’m faced with that upsetting challenge, I’ve always grown from there.”

White with his rock band Bad Things. Source: Oakley
White with his rock band Bad Things. Source: Oakley

In recent times White has swapped his snowboard for a Stratocaster to focus on one of his other passions in life – music.

He learned his way around a guitar after winning one as a trophy at a snowboarding competition in 2004.

The Californian now plays lead in rock band Bad Things and distracted himself from the disappointment of Sochi with the release of a debut album and a European tour in July.

“Music really saved me – it was an outlet for me to go on and (realise) life goes on,” White said.

“It was a big eye-opener for me to pick up an instrument. It changed not only my life around sport but also just my style, the things I was into, the friends I made, the choices in life from then on were affected by music.

“You realise there’s so much more in the world than just your sport.”

Juggling multiple vocations is of course nothing new for White, who credits the duality of his snowboarding and skateboarding careers as keeping him at the top of his game for so long.

But you can be sure, despite all other distractions, the world's most successful snowboarder is already envisaging that half-pipe in South Korea where he plans to set the record straight.