Shaun White Talks New Doc and Why He’s ‘Thankful’ for GF Nina Dobrev (Exclusive)

Snowboarding legend Shaun White is peeling back the layers of his journey to gold medals and sports superstardom and in his new docuseries “Shaun White: The Last Run.”

The three-time Olympic gold medalist spoke to “Extra’s” Melvin Robert about his incredible career, the setbacks and injuries he experienced along the way, and the lessons he’s learned.

“This story has never really been told. I think this might be a great time to do it. I mean, this is my fifth Olympics. Let’s get into it.”

Reflecting on winning his first Olympic medal, which made him a millionaire by age 15, Shaun said that’s when he realized he could snowboard for a living.

“I remember being like, ‘Oh, that’s cool, that’s good.’ But I just remember thinking, ‘This is the indicator that this could actually be my forever thing.’”

It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Shaun, though, who has taken some spills along his journey in sports.

“I blew my knee out when I was like 16 at the X Games and I’m thinking my world’s over. I just started winning major competitions and got the contract, everything’s going my way, and I’m hurt now and can’t compete. I was like, ‘Oh, is this over?” Shaun told Melvin.

“And I’d never stepped foot into a gym before, never done any of those things. And now all of the sudden, I remember, I will never forget, I walked into the physical therapist’s office, and they had a big pool area, and it was all very elderly people in the pool area doing these exercises, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God! Is this where I’m at now in my life?’”

Shaun added that the injury did have one good benefit.

“Now having looked back, that taught me how to work out, how to stretch, how to take care of myself so I can prolong my future in the sport… Look how far I’ve been able to do that because of that moment.”

So, is he really done with the Olympics for good?

“There’s what your head tells you, like, ‘Yeah, you should do this. You could keep going.’ And in many ways, I could, for sure. It wasn’t a physical thing that was keeping me from it, it was just more the mental. Is your heart really in it?

“Because it’s a big difference from saying you want to do something and that gut reaction of it, and then actually kind of walking a line and going to do it, and like flying to the half pipe and being there day in and day out and doing the stretching and physical therapy and taking the crashes. There’s so much involved,” he explained.

“I think my mind loves to tell me, ‘Yeah, you can step back in, you could do it,’ but I know my heart is telling me I want something new in life.”

And that includes traveling and hitting the red carpet with his girlfriend Nina Dobrev.

“She’s incredible,” Shaun gushed about how Nina has impacted his life. “She’s just been so supportive and having her in my corner for this chapter in my life where I’m retired and looking for what’s next… And even making this documentary, I was like, ‘Can you help me? This isn’t my world. I don’t know the film industry. I don’t know what to ask for, what to do.’

“This was actually a three-part series, and it wasn’t fitting in all the episodes. She was like, ‘You need to call this person, you need to talk to that, you need to ask for this.’ So, she’s been so helpful in so many ways in my life. I’m feeling very blessed and thankful to have her in my corner,” he continued.

“And then the traveling thing. I said, ‘I’m gonna retire, line it up. Let’s go! I want to experience some places and things I’ve never done. And really enjoy this moment of nothingness,’” he added.

As for those engagement rumors?

“I think the last time was at Coachella, and I’m like in the thick of Coachella and this reporter was like, ‘So, are you and Nina thinking about this and that?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know, we’re just having a good time.’ And then this headline came out. We’re just taking our time and seeing what life has to offer right now. But yeah, we kind of laugh when we see these headlines pop up.”