Shaun Palmer
Encyclopedia
Shaun Palmer (born November 14, 1968) is an American
professional snowboarder
, skier
, mountain biker
, and motocross rider
. "Palm Daddy" is known as one of the forefathers of extreme sports.
From a young age, Shaun maintained a strong interest in all things fast. His mother told People Magazine in 1999 "Whether it was on wheels or on a board, it had to be superfast—he had no fear. I remember once when he was 13, I had grounded him. Well, he jumped out of his second-floor bedroom window, got on his bike and took off. He was like that—always pushing the limits."
While Palmer showed potential in both skiing and baseball, Shaun grew enamored with the still-infant sport of snowboarding
. At the age of 12, Shaun built his own snowboard.
, as he was never formally schooled in the sport. In an interview with People Magazine, Palmer stated: "I didn't watch tapes or study other guys—I just figured out what felt right." Just three years after building his own board, Palmer dropped out of high school to become a professional snowboarder.
Throughout his snowboarding career, Palmer received various accolades, including USA Today's World's Greatest Athlete, Details Magazine's Athlete of the Year in 1998, and the NEA Extreme Athlete of the Year in 2000. In February 2001, Shaun Palmer was awarded the ESPY Awards
' Action Sports Athlete of the Year.
In 2006, Palmer earned himself a spot on the 2006 U.S. Olympic Snowboarding Team. Palmer was a long shot, qualifying for the team after an 11th-hour World Cup podium finish in Bad Gastein, Austria, just one month before the 2006 Winter Olympics. Unfortunately, Palmer tore his Achilles heel just two weeks later, rendering him unable to represent the United States.
In 2010, Shaun Palmer was left off the 2010 U.S. Olympic Snowboarding Team. Palmer had sought to fill the last spot on the 18-member squad, but was bumped in favor of Nick Baumgartner. Shaun would have been the oldest man to qualify for the Winter Olympics in history.
By the end of the biking season, Palmer was number five in the World Cup rankings and seventh in the NORBA National Championship Series. Palmer's debut year landed him a $300,000 annual contract with Mountain Dew Specialized Bicycles team, making Palmer the highest-paid mountain biker in the world.
In the 1999 Mountain biking season, Palmer won the NORBA downhill championship.
In 2003, Shaun began his professional motocross career racing on the Supercross Tour. Palmer qualified for the tour on his first 125cc Supercross main event, an almost unheard of feat.
In 1998, Palmer won the Toyota Celebrity Grand Prix auto race. His interest in auto racing continued, winning the Pike's Peak Hill Climb auto race in 2000 as well as the Jeep King of the Mountain championship in 2008.
In 2001, Palmer went head to head with the world's best professional skiers, winning the Skier cross event at the 2001 Winter X Games, as well as the Skier cross gold at the Gravity Games
of the same year.
band called Fungus.
Palmer teamed up with Activision
, publishers of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
, to create Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder
for the PlayStation
in 2001.
Palmer has suffered from admitted problems with both alcohol
and drug addiction.
He has a daughter named Melanie and a small son.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional snowboarder
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
, skier
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
, mountain biker
Mountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...
, and motocross rider
Motocross
Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...
. "Palm Daddy" is known as one of the forefathers of extreme sports.
Early life
Shaun Palmer was born in South Lake Tahoe, California on November 14, 1968.From a young age, Shaun maintained a strong interest in all things fast. His mother told People Magazine in 1999 "Whether it was on wheels or on a board, it had to be superfast—he had no fear. I remember once when he was 13, I had grounded him. Well, he jumped out of his second-floor bedroom window, got on his bike and took off. He was like that—always pushing the limits."
While Palmer showed potential in both skiing and baseball, Shaun grew enamored with the still-infant sport of snowboarding
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
. At the age of 12, Shaun built his own snowboard.
Snowboarding career
Palmer taught himself to snowboardSnowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
, as he was never formally schooled in the sport. In an interview with People Magazine, Palmer stated: "I didn't watch tapes or study other guys—I just figured out what felt right." Just three years after building his own board, Palmer dropped out of high school to become a professional snowboarder.
Throughout his snowboarding career, Palmer received various accolades, including USA Today's World's Greatest Athlete, Details Magazine's Athlete of the Year in 1998, and the NEA Extreme Athlete of the Year in 2000. In February 2001, Shaun Palmer was awarded the ESPY Awards
ESPY Awards
An ESPY Award is an accolade presented by the American cable television network ESPN to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony. The first ESPYs were awarded in 1993...
' Action Sports Athlete of the Year.
In 2006, Palmer earned himself a spot on the 2006 U.S. Olympic Snowboarding Team. Palmer was a long shot, qualifying for the team after an 11th-hour World Cup podium finish in Bad Gastein, Austria, just one month before the 2006 Winter Olympics. Unfortunately, Palmer tore his Achilles heel just two weeks later, rendering him unable to represent the United States.
In 2010, Shaun Palmer was left off the 2010 U.S. Olympic Snowboarding Team. Palmer had sought to fill the last spot on the 18-member squad, but was bumped in favor of Nick Baumgartner. Shaun would have been the oldest man to qualify for the Winter Olympics in history.
Palmer Snowboards
Palmer began Palmer Snowboards in 1995, as an offshoot of one of the most popular names in extreme sports. Palmer currently acts as CEO of Palmer Snowboards.Mountain biking
In 1995, Palmer took up the sport of mountain biking, spending time around some of the sport's foremost authorities. Just one year later, Shaun began competing in the professional mountain biking circuit. Palmer shocked the mountain biking world by proving to be a more than worthy competitor. Shaun placed seventh in downhill at the second 1996 World Cup event of the year, before finishing second in downhill at the 1996 NORBA Championships, missing the top spot by just .15 seconds. The event drained Palmer so completely that he could hardly speak after placing.By the end of the biking season, Palmer was number five in the World Cup rankings and seventh in the NORBA National Championship Series. Palmer's debut year landed him a $300,000 annual contract with Mountain Dew Specialized Bicycles team, making Palmer the highest-paid mountain biker in the world.
In the 1999 Mountain biking season, Palmer won the NORBA downhill championship.
Motocross
Palmer is a professional motocross racer. Palmer claims that motorcross is his favorite sport, dubbing it "the best sport in the world."In 2003, Shaun began his professional motocross career racing on the Supercross Tour. Palmer qualified for the tour on his first 125cc Supercross main event, an almost unheard of feat.
Other achievements
Between the snowboarding and mountain biking seasons, Palmer took up two new sports, reaching similar levels of success.In 1998, Palmer won the Toyota Celebrity Grand Prix auto race. His interest in auto racing continued, winning the Pike's Peak Hill Climb auto race in 2000 as well as the Jeep King of the Mountain championship in 2008.
In 2001, Palmer went head to head with the world's best professional skiers, winning the Skier cross event at the 2001 Winter X Games, as well as the Skier cross gold at the Gravity Games
Gravity Games
The Gravity Games were a multi-sport competition originating from Providence, Rhode Island that is broken down into Winter and Summer adaptations...
of the same year.
Personal life
Throughout the 90's, Palmer was the lead singer of a punkPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band called Fungus.
Palmer teamed up with Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
, publishers of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
-Reception:The game was very well-received by most critics, scoring an outstanding 92 on Metacritic based on 18 reviews for the PS1 version. IGN gave the N64 version of the game a 9.1 out of 10 praising the gameplay for "genius control, combo system and design" despite little criticism with sound...
, to create Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder
Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder
Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder is a PlayStation 2 game with a similar feel to the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series, published by Activision 02. The game features many famous snowboarders including Shaun Palmer and Shaun White...
for the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
in 2001.
Palmer has suffered from admitted problems with both alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
and drug addiction.
He has a daughter named Melanie and a small son.