Shaun White Is Enjoying Life After Snowboarding: 'That Lingering Pressure Is Gone'

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Shaun White might be done competing as a snowboarder, but the sport will always be a part of his life.

The 36-year-old professional snowboarder talked to PEOPLE about his post-retirement plans and the moments throughout his career that meant the most to him at Thursday night's U.S. Ski & Snowboard Gold Medal Gala, where he received their lifetime achievement award.

White says that he and snowboarding "grew together."

"When I first started out, the sport wasn't really much," he says. "I've been able to watch it grow over my entire career, and grow with the sport. And so to be here in this position recognized as, I guess, one of the greats and influential within the sport, the whole winter sporting world, it's amazing."

The three-time gold medalist says that despite being done with snowboarding in a professional capacity, he is learning to love the sport in a new way. "Everybody's asking me, 'Do you miss the idea of competition? Do you miss these things?' And I keep thinking about it and thinking that I still get to enjoy the sport in so many ways."

White, who attended with his mom and girlfriend Nina Dobrev, continues, "Nights like tonight, I could support the next generation, and I don't know. I'm excited to walk in these shoes for a bit… Traveling has been amazing, and that lingering pressure is gone."

And with retirement comes new opportunities for White. The Olympic champion recently released his snowboarding lifestyle brand Whitespace and is very excited about the feedback he has received so far.

"I'm so happy. I mean, I got chills," White says of the response to his new brand. He adds, "I was getting these DMs through my social pages, and one was this young girl opening her box with her board in it and smiling at her dad, and I was like… God, It just reminded me of when I got my first board, and I'm having that effect on that next generation."

courtesy Shaun White Whitespace

Looking back on his past and how he got to where he is today, White reflects on his favorite snowboarding memory that comes from his childhood. "I knew I was getting a board sent to me, and I was so excited. I ran home from school every single day and I'm like, "Is the board here?" My mom's like, "No, it's not here. It's not here." For a week or two every single day, I did that," White says looking back on the moment.

He continues, "And then one day I'm in class and my mom just bursts into the classroom, interrupting everything. She's like, "I've got your board. It's here." And I'm like, oh my God. And I'm like excuse me. I lost it. I was so excited. I was so thrilled. And that's what the sport meant to me. That's how dear I held it."

While that memory might not seem as special as winning gold in the Olympics, White thinks of it so highly because it was the moment he realized his passion for snowboarding. "I think from that moment on, I really knew that this is what I wanted to do, this is what I was going to be great at, and I just kind of carried that with me," he says.

And other snowboarding memories stick out for negative reasons, like the 2014 Sochi Games.

"For the Sochi Olympics, that one was a tough one for me because I had these winning runs and tricks, and it just got away from me. So I would've loved to what we call three-peat," White says about one of the more disappointing moments in his career.

Jae C. Hong/AP Photo

Despite his losses and let-downs in snowboarding, White says he wouldn't change a thing.

"Those ups and downs are what made me the competitor I am. You have to lose. You have to. You have to go through things in life in order to realize how great everything is, and start from somewhere and climb back up to the top," the snowboarder says.

He adds, "If you had a life that you just kept winning and things were great, and then the next chapter of life, things are great and you keep winning… You don't want to go see a movie where it's all great, all the way to the end. You need something to happen. You need those dramatic events in your life to grow as a person. So I wouldn't change a thing."

Samir Hussein/WireImage Shaun White and Nina Dobrev

Along with focusing on his lifestyle brand in the future, White also has his relationships on the mind. The snowboarder talked about how it felt to have his girlfriend and mom by his side that night.

"It's great. I mean, it's so amazing," he says. "It really represents the next chapter of my life, these relationships that I get to focus on."