Shaun White is one of the most influential athletes of our generation. He is to snowboarding what Tony Hawk is to skateboarding. Anything that Shaun does becomes is quickly caught up by other snowboarders. He is the ultimate trendsetter of the sport. Even his iconic long hair, which gave him the nickname ‘flying tomato,’ became a hugely followed trend in the snowboarding community.

But with great influence comes great media attention. Given that, White was forced to hide an important secret from the media before his first Olympic games, which he recently revealed.

Shaun White and the secret that he hid

Being one of the most iconic athletes in a generation is not an effortless task. The feat requires years of hard work, dedication, and skill. And once you reach the top, everybody wants to know everything about you. Hence, it is hard for an athlete to keep things hidden.

Naturally, when there’s something significant happening in an athlete’s personal life, they wouldn’t want it to go public. Shaun White revealed a similar incident where he successfully hid his open-heart surgery from the media before the Olympic games.

During a candid conversation with comedy actor Kevin Hart, Shaun jokingly revealed the reason behind hiding the truth. He said, “I kinda hid that I had the heart surgeries for the first Olympics. Cuz, you know, they grab onto things in the media. And I didn’t want to be like ‘heart surgery miracle boy does whatever..'”

READ MORE: “Great Inspiration”- Shaun White Shares Heart-Touching Letter From Young Snowboarding Instructor Inspired by Him

White also mentioned he did not want a title to go alongside his name. “And I’m like, I don’t want that as my title- Miracle Boy.” Hearing this, Hart could not control himself as he burst out laughing with White.

Shaun White’s heart condition

Since his birth, Shaun suffered from a rare heart condition known as Tetralogy of Fallot. It is a combination of four heart flaws. The condition causes a poor supply of oxygen from the heart to the body.

Shaun underwent three surgeries to improve his condition. The surgeries could have put a premature end to his snowboarding and skateboarding career. Talking about the same, White said it was one of the scariest things he had to go through in his life. Every time they did stress tests on him, he would worry about what will happen if they found something wrong with him.

DIVE DEEPER: “Role Model”: Mother Credits Shaun White for Giving Motivation to Son Battling Heart Defect in an Emotional Tribute

Thankfully, Shaun could recover fully and continue doing what he loved most. After two decades of jumping, spinning, flipping, and twisting, White leaves behind a legacy that would be an example for generations to come.