Scotty James made his name flying high in halfpipe events worldwide. Now the snowboarder wants to uplift the next generation of stars.
That’s one of the main reasons the Australian star decided to become an investor and brand advisor at X Games, the action-sports series formerly owned by ESPN where he captured six gold medals. In that role, James is positioned to help shape the future of snowboarding alongside the brain trust at private equity firm MSP Sports Capital, which is planning to launch a first-of-its-kind year-round snowboarding league called the X Games League starting in 2026.
It comes on the heels of the launch of Shaun White’s global snowboarding competition, The Snow League, which is also backed by private equity firms eager to become major players in action sports. James joined Business Beyond the Game to discuss competing again with former rival and friend White and his growing aspirations as an entrepreneur. The three-time world champion, who released the children’s book MOOKi vs The Big Scary earlier this month, has embarked on a set of new ventures including producing content via his owned and operated production company 11Oakland.
But James—who is married to Chloe Stroll, the daughter of Aston Martin F1 team owner Lawrence Stroll and older sister to driver Lance Stroll—made it clear that he has no plans to retire yet as an athlete. Before the budding businessman completely dives into his life off the halfpipe, with a chance to pick another X Games gold next year, he has his sights set on competing in his fifth and potential final Winter Olympics.
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