Snowboarders have been calling Shaun White the future of their sport ever since he dropped into his first U.S. Open halfpipe run at the tender age of eight. For the rest of us, White is that dude who won a gold medal in last year's Winter Olympics, then went on to grace the cover of Rolling Stone, host Saturday Night Live, and star in the innovative Hewlett-Packard ad series that also featured Jay-Z and Pharrell. But Shaun's no sellout. Coming off an undefeated 2006 snowboard season that culminated with him being voted number one by his peers at the Trans-World Rider's Poll Awards, the 20-year-old has achieved his mainstream success without sacrificing his core fan base. Regardless of how you know him, for Shaun White, the future is now. Just don't call him the Flying Tomato.

How did you deal with the post-Olympic hype fest?
Last year was crazy. I had no idea about the madness that was going to happen afterwards. I'd walk through airports, and the whole place would start clapping. It was on a whole other scale than just being a snowboarder.

You still get the same response?
Well, kind of. I'll be sitting in an airplane and a person next to me will approach me like, "So, what do you...?" They always think that I'm in a band, 'cause of my hair. I tell them we're called Death Kitten.

Aside from Rolling Stone and SNL, those Hewlett-Packard ads put your face in front of a lot of people as well.
That commercial was one of my favorite things after the Olympics. They're telling me, "Yo, you're gonna be with Jay-Z," and I was just like, "Sweet!" It's insane to be in that kind of company.

It's rare that action-sports pros work like that with corporations outside of the industry. How is it dealing with companies who don't necessarily understand the culture?
I'm lucky in my dealings with these companies. When a huge corporation gets involved in promotions, they're usually going, "OK, this is what we're going to do, this is how we've done it before." I've set it up so they approach me saying, "OK, you tell us how you want to do it."

Do you wind up vetoing a lot of wack shit?
Straight up, I've had to tell these guys that certain ads they bring me are lame, but they're stoked because they want to do it right.

How much creative control do you have over the projects?
Pretty much every deal I do, I won't do it unless I have complete control. It's important to keep up my image in a sport like snowboarding, because the kids can tell right away [if you're doing something fake], and they'll be the first ones to call you out.

Snowboarders are flipping over your signature outerwear line, the White Collection. Who do you work with on that?
The White Collection is conceived and designed by my brother Jesse and me, with a couple of Burton guys to chaperone the whole thing to make sure we don't go too nuts. We design the line with a suit feel, and each year we sit down to pick out the colors, the fabrics, and how I want the cuts. The kids get psyched on the little details we add to the construction.

So you're heavily involved with the designs?
As much as I can be. If someone buys one of my jackets, I want them to be completely stoked on it, to really own it, to the point where they're saving the box.

You recently debuted a signature skateboard shoe as well.
I had been offered a shoe about two years earlier, and at the time I didn't think I had earned a shoe in skating yet. There are a lot of respect levels that you need to earn within these sports.

But now you've decided to go for it?
Yeah, the shoe dropped right around Christmas, with Adio footwear. I finally feel that after medaling at X Games and winning some contests, coupled with what's going to be a big push this year, it's a good idea to go with the shoe.

What's the "big push"?
I'll be hitting my skateboard season real hard after this winter and try to do well at the X Games. I've also got this 1080 to land. I've tried it in the past, and this year I'm bent on getting it.

What about your plans for the rest of the snowboarding season?
I'll be doing all the big contests, and this winter is big for filming with Mack Dawg Productions, too. All these kids worship the new film each year, watch the new movie like a hundred times a season. I was going to do my own video this year [again], but I just needed a break. I never thought I'd say it, but I do need a rest sometimes.
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