Shaun Palmer

Shaun Palmer, nicknamed Napalm and Palm Daddy, was born on 14 November 1968 in South Lake Tahoe and is an American professional snowboarder who also competed as a skier, mountain biker and motocross rider. He is regarded as one of the forefathers of extreme sports. He built his own snowboard at age twelve, taught himself to ride and left high school to turn professional about three years later. He started Palmer Snowboards in 1995, took up professional mountain biking the same year, and finished second in downhill at the 1996 UCI World Championships by 0.15 seconds. He won the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year award in 2000 and qualified for the 2006 U.S. Olympic snowboarding team before tearing his Achilles tendon.