Shaun White on His 'Heavy Decision' to Retire at the Beijing Olympics and His Plans to Coach (Exclusive)

"I'm happy with what I did," the three-time Olympic gold medalist tells PEOPLE about his decision to retire last year

A few moments into Max’s new documentary Shaun White: The Last Run, a 10-year-old Shaun White is asked what he wants to be when he grows up: “Pro snowboarder,” the future Olympian confidently tells the camcorder. He answers without an ounce of hesitation.

Two-and-a-half-decades and three Olympic gold medals later, the 36-year-old retired snowboarder tells PEOPLE his life’s path was never in doubt.

“I had a vision,” White says. “Finding what I wanted so early on in life really set the tone. I just had this streamline on what I wanted to do from probably like 8 years old or younger, and I just stuck with it.”

Max’s new four-part docuseries examines White’s record-breaking career from start to finish — from road trips in his family’s van that solidified the San Diego native’s love for snowboarding at a young age, to his meteoric rise to pop culture icon after winning back-to-back Olympic gold medals in 2006 and 2010.

There’s White’s loss at the Sochi Games in 2014 that he says “haunted” him, his “big comeback” for a third gold at the 2018 Games in PyeongChang, and then White’s last run at the Beijing Games where he hung it all up.

“It was a heavy decision,” White says, noting he first wanted to retire if he won gold at the 2014 Sochi Games. "But I ended up going home with no medals. I was ready to finish this whole journey and put a nice ribbon on it and walk away, and now here I am, not satisfied with the finish and still unmotivated to compete. What do I do now? And that was a really interesting turning point in my life, because what do you do in that kind of situation?"

The expansive docuseries features candid footage from throughout White’s entire life alongside interviews with family members, friends and competitors, capturing their reactions to White’s highs-and-lows — a record 15 gold medals as a snowboarder and skateboarder at the X Games, five appearances at the Olympics, and an avalanche of injuries that threatened to cut his unprecedented career short. It all leads up to White’s decision to walk away, and his coming to terms with the choice.

“It was therapeutic,” White says after re-examining his life for the series.

Chances of unretiring are “pretty slim,” White laughs, one year removed from competition. “I'm happy with what I did. And I'm sure I wouldn't want to knee-jerk jump back into something and not be fully committed. Something told me to retire at this point. If there was truly something burning in me that's like, ‘I have to do this,’ then I would follow that. I'm nostalgic for the old days, for sure. I miss getting on podiums and certain things, but there's new things in life.”

White promised his family — and his “amazing” girlfriend Nina Dobrev — that he was done chasing dangerous tricks in order to add more medals to his already historic trophy case.

“I told her, like, just line up the trips. let's go!” White says. “I just want to travel for fun. I want to enjoy life. And we’ve been to Antarctica, Indonesia, Switzerland, you name it. We've been all over. I've been really enjoying that, and now that the dust is slightly settling, I’m going to look for that next thing.”

Related: Nina Dobrev and Shaun White Enjoy Some Fun in the Sun During Joint Family Getaway in Mexico

Since retiring, White has focused his time on his snowboard brand Whitespace — “a saving grace” that’s helped him feed the competitive edge that rarely dies when an athlete retires.

He wants to sign young riders to endorsement deals, travel with them and one day coach at the Olympics, bringing things “full circle” by helping the next generation of American riders stand atop the podium he once seemingly held as a throne.

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White’s been asked to join the 2026 Olympic broadcasting team, too. “I’d love to do that,” he says. “But it’d also be fun to have some horses in the race.”

Although White’s made promises to himself and to others that his days competing are behind him, the lifelong snowboarder still hits the slopes as often as he has since his parents Cathy and Roger first taught him to ride when he was six years old.

“I still skateboard, snowboard and surf,” White says. “It’s just that no one gives me scores anymore. It’s all for fun.”

Shaun White: The Last Run begins streaming July 6 on Max.

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