Shaun White Receives Lifetime Achievement Award At Gold Medal Gala

Retired Olympic snowboarder Shaun White received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Gold Medal gala on Thursday night.

The gold-winning Olympic athlete retired from the sport after competing in the Winter Olympics in Beijing earlier this year. That being said, he has no plans to retire from his active lifestyle any time soon.

Shaun is still going to be involved in sports through his new lifestyle brand, Whitespace, and talked a little bit more about his career goals in an Instagram post honoring his achievement.

In an Instagram carousel full of snaps from the night, the star athlete shared photographs of him posing alongside his Golden Goat Award.

"What an honor to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Gold Medal gala!!!" he wrote. "I have to say I’m shook. The sport of snowboarding has changed so much from when I first started, and I’m so proud to have been a part of that progression. The next generation of talent is just incredible and I’m so excited to see where they take this sport that I love so much."

"If I can give them some advice it’s this… don’t look at what people are doing around you, think to yourself 'what are they NOT doing …and how can I find my own path?' Look for that gap, the white space in your sport, and create your own unique trail," he continued.

"That thinking has served me well over the past 31 years on the mountain and 23 years as a professional snowboarder," he went on. "It's also what inspired me to start my brand @whitespace_create. I’m hoping [to] mentor the next generation of riders and develop products that shape the future of the sport."

"Lastly, I can’t talk about this incredible journey without saying thank you to the people that have supported me along the way. Your kindness and guidance mean more to me than you will ever know," he continued. "And it’s impossible to talk about support without mentioning my family. It’s pretty wild that this journey started with the 5 of us living out of a van … and ended at the Olympics. Not once, but 5 times! So thank you to my entire family, you mean the world to me. ❤️❤️❤️."

Many fans and friends showered his post with red heart emojis to show their support. His girlfriend of over two years, “The Vampire Diaries” alum Nina Dobrev, commented, “??? so proud.” Another fan commented, “And now I'm crying. Congratulations on the award, IMHO no one deserves it more.” Another follower added, “Congrats! Best of luck in your next chapter.”

On Thursday night, E! News caught up with Shaun at the event, where he revealed that he still had "so much to achieve in my life," where he revealed a bit more about his Whitespace lifestyle brand.

"After years and years and years of working with brands, I finally decided at this point in my career...that I really wanted to do this and now is the time," he explained. "I can take all the expertise from working with these brands, the knowledge of snowboards themselves and product development, and put that all into my own thing."

"We are talking to some really talented young riders in this space and I am hoping to get them on the program and really help their careers," he continued. "That would really just be the full circle for me."

During their chat, Shaun was also asked if he planned to pop the question any time soon. "Time will tell," he teased. "Things are great with Nina and I, and I am so excited to focus on our relationship and my relationship with other friends and family."

The two have been traveling all over the world since he announced his retirement, but he revealed that a trip to France to visit with Nina's mother was his most memorable trip yet. "It was just the best," he recalled. "These are those moments. You can have the glitz and glam of it all, but real family quality time with people is what I want for the most—and now I am doing that."