Our SD December 2018 Issue

Written By: Charlotte Farrell
Photographed By: Nick Isabella
Styled By: Sara Borgese Locale Magazine Shaun White
Grooming By: Natalie Bohlin Locale Magazine Shaun White

Shaun White was all calm and smiles on the day of the shoot. Despite the traffic, the sun was bright, the vibe on set relaxed and the setting was cool and quiet, minus some quintessentially cool music in the background. In suits and modern athleisure curated by stylist Sara Borgese, Shaun was pleased with each look. In bright red jackets and velvety sets, even his team was surprised at how sophisticated and relaxed he was—we joked that he should take on another side hustle as a pro model. Watch out, David Gandy.

Photographer Nick Isabella was behind the camera, capitalizing on the perfectly modern, yet creature-of-comfort-friendly atmosphere at Herb & Wood in San Diego’s Little Italy. “Working with Shaun was easy and smooth. After discussing the concept the team had about the look and feel of the photos, we fell into a groove and worked together seamlessly. I felt like Shaun trusted my creative ideas and he seemed comfortable and confident throughout the entire shoot,” added Isabella.

When I sat down with Shaun after the shoot, he had just ordered some much-needed fuel—in the form of a loaded sandwich—to get him ready for the drive back home to LA. But as the conversation started, he didn’t even touch that sammy. It sat to the side as we chatted on and on about medals and the place San Diego still holds in his heart. At one point, I had to remind him to eat, but we were having too much fun talking about how my mom is one of his biggest fans and how skateboarding will be making its debut at the Olympics in Japan in 2020.

It was about 4 p.m. when we had to hit the road—peak rush hour in these parts. But it didn’t matter. Shaun’s sandwich disappeared, and so did he, but not before saying “hi” to my mom. She was pretty stoked. I may or may not be the favorite child now.