Shaun White is the third addition to Mattel’s signature Kenbassadors Collection, joining rock star Lenny Kravitz and NBA legend Lebron James with his own Ken doll. The collaboration comes as part of Mattel’s 65th anniversary celebration of the iconic Ken doll, which was introduced as Barbie’s partner back in 1961 and became one of most recognizable children’s toys in the world.
The signature doll, which is already on sale for $81, features White’s likeness decked out in head-to-toe outerwear promoting two of his main business ventures: WHITESPACE outerwear and snowboard gear, and a Snow League competition jersey.
People have already taken note that the Shaun White doll is missing one feature that’s still synonymous with the five-time Olympian: the red locks he chopped off back in 2012. White told media he wanted to include the old look when designing the doll, but the process revealed how difficult that would actually be to execute.
“Taking something obviously big and then miniaturizing it, it doesn’t always compute,” he said. “I remember we got the first samples and the hair was like, ‘Oh God, okay, I don’t know if this is working… Maybe we need to rethink this.'”
The athlete-turned-business-mogul says he was heavily involved in the process of creating the new piece.
“Even working with Barbie, I could have easily told the team at Mattel, like, ‘Yeah, go do it and call me when it’s done!’ You know, but no. I like to get involved. I want to be a part of it,” he said. “And [the Mattel team] were so thrilled that I wanted to be that involved, and I think you can see the results of the end product.”
White’s Snow League has three events scheduled for its second winter, beginning with two North American stops in Aspen, Colorado and Park City, Utah in January, 2027. Event Three will move to Laax, Switzerland in March.
