SAM Magazine—Mammoth Lakes, Calif., Feb. 4, 2016—It's not every day a guy gets to own a piece of the resort where he learned to snowboard, but then again, Shaun White isn't your everyday snowboarder. The two-time Olympic gold medalist and San Diego native now owns a minority stake in Mammoth Resorts, which recently acquired Bear Mountain and Snow Summit—the SoCal resorts where White, 29, began riding at age 6.

"It's amazing that I'm now an owner of the mountain where I grew up riding," White said. "As an owner I'll be able to make changes and shape the future of the mountain and how people enjoy it—whether they're beginners or professionals."

While details of the agreement were not made public, White made a “seven digit” investment in the company, according to Rusty Gregory, Mammoth Resorts' chairman and chief executive. Gregory said White will play a key role in reinventing the resorts within the company's portfolio—which also includes Mammoth Mountain and June Mountain—and help expand the base of young visitors as well as open the mountains to more year-round activities.

White said he already has a few ideas to draw visitors to the resorts, including organizing more sports and music events on the mountains and developing classes to teach snowboarding with less pain and frustration.

"There are so many situations where people don't get introduced to snowboarding in the right way and they never come back to it," he said.

While some might view this as a marketing tactic—and there's no question White's celebrity will generate excitement around Mammoth's resorts—he doesn't plan to play a passive role. “I'm completely vested in it,” White said, and insisted he will be actively involved in the development and operations of the resorts, particularly Bear and Snow Summit. In the coming months, Mammoth Resorts and White are expected to roll out their initiatives.

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