Shaun White Is Barbie’s Third Kenbassador: ‘It Was a No-Brainer For Me’

The five-time Olympian has been Ken-ified, complete with his signature red hair and Whitespace snowboard

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“The Flying Tomato” is being immortalized as a Ken doll. Today, Mattel announced Shaun White as the third Barbie Signature Kenbassadors Collection honoree, following LeBron James and Lenny Kravitz.

The Barbie Signature Kenbassadors Shaun White Doll delivers a Ken-ified version of the legendary snowboarder dressed in a black-and-white outfit inspired by his brand WHITESPACE. He’s also (of course) holding a deck from the same brand and showing off his famous red hair. The Kenbassadors Shaun White Doll is available now at major retailers for $81 (while supplies last).

“Barbie’s just had such a big moment with the movie and all this stuff,” White tells Rolling Stone.
“And then I saw LeBron came out with his [Kenbassador] doll, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s awesome!’ And then I remember getting the phone call, like, ‘Hey, would you be interested in something like this?’ And I was like, ‘Heck yeah!’ It was a no-brainer for me.”

Barbie Signature Kenbassadors Shaun White Doll

Available now while supplies last

White says the creation of his Ken doll was “a trip,” but a process that he was heavily invested in. The five-time Olympian even scrounged up a wig from a KRAVE Beef Jerky ad where he dressed up as his younger, lighter-haired self to get the Ken doll’s color right. He also wanted the doll to wear snowboarding gear fans have actually seen him in, so he helped choose the WHITESPACE pieces and jersey from his sports TV program, The Snow League.

“[Creating the doll] is a really interesting thing because you’re obviously taking something big and making it small, and it doesn’t always compute,” says White. “It was really fun to see it all get like miniaturized, and yeah, so I’m pretty thrilled with how it came out.”

White’s Kenbassadorship is the latest in a long line of diverse business endeavors. Like the partnership with Barbie, White says he’s heavily invested in all endeavors rather than simply lending his likeness as an endorser. “Even working with Barbie, I could have easily told the team at Mattel, like, ‘Yeah, go do it and call me when it’s done!’ You know, but no. I like to get involved. I want to be a part of it. And [the Mattel team] were so thrilled that I wanted to be that involved, and I think you can see the results of the end product.”

One of White’s favorite aspects of being on the business side of snowboarding is owning his brand, WHITESPACE, which lets him sign athletes and provide young talent with the validation he got with his first sponsor (Burton) at age seven. “I’ll never forget my mom came to my classroom with my board that showed up because I’d been running home from school, like, ‘Did it get here?’ And it didn’t. ‘No, not today. Not today.’ And she just interrupted the class like, “It came!” he remembers.

Shop the latest from WHITESPACE here, and be sure to grab a Barbie Signature Kenbassadors Shaun White Doll while they’re still in stock.