Shaun White's Next Move May Be Trying Hollywood

A board sports superstar, the 23-year-old White skipped the skateboard season last year while preparing for the halfpipe snowboard competition at the Vancouver Olympics, where he won a second consecutive gold medal with a dominating performance.

With the next Winter Olympics more than three years away and summer in full swing, White has returned his attention to skateboarding, where he will compete in the Vert and Vert Best Trick events Friday at the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles. He borrowed a halfpipe ramp from the skateboard icon Tony Hawk, who uses it for demonstrations, and assembled it in a Paramount soundstage along with a bass, guitars, drums and a big amplifier, creating a kind of clubhouse for him and friends.

"We play a ton of music and then we skate and then we get into mischief on the lot," said White, an enthusiastic guitarist.

"It's the set of movies and different shows and stuff," he added. "It's been really fun. What a cool scenario. People will be walking by and I'll come skating down the lot and they're like, 'What are you doing here?' "

It's a good question. In addition to honing his moves for the X Games, where he has won three skateboard medals, including gold in Vert in 2007, White has been exploring entertainment opportunities.

He has relocated to Los Angeles, and earlier this year left his longtime agent Mark Ervin at IMG and signed with Creative Artists Agency, titans of Hollywood talent, to assist with a transition into movies and television.

"The possibility for moving into television and film is there to where before it wasn't something I pursued or thought about," said White, who declined to cite specific projects. "Now it feels like it would be time to look at some different things or at least have those options."