It’s been three years since Shaun White won a gold medal at the Turin Winter Olympics — which he wore on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine — but the redheaded snowboarder still gets approached by countless sponsors and by one popular reality show: “Dancing With the Stars.”
“I’ve been asked a couple times,” White said after an autograph signing at the snowboarding store Burton (56 E. Walton St.) Tuesday night. “I’ve always been into watching more than dancing. I’ll dance sometimes. You know, gangster dancing — I keep it real. But I don’t think I’ll do (the show).”
What reality show would the 23-year-old most like to do?
“Probably ‘The Amazing Race,'” he said. “I’ve been around the world already, so I’m pretty savvy. Or maybe ‘Survivor’ to see this hair grow (wild).”
White isn’t too big on having his own reality show (“It would be pretty brutal to have a camera at my house on my days off”), but he is more than happy to have his own video game. “Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage” comes out for the Nintendo Wii in November.
During Tuesday’s signing, White frequently ran his fingers through his long, red mane. And by frequently, I mean almost every other minute. White knows he has wild man’s hair — and he seems proud of it — but even he felt his video game character’s hair was a bit much.
“They get pretty wavy with the locks,” White said. “There have been times where my hair looks wild and I’m like, ‘You (guys) have to tone it down a little.'”
Sightings: Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was spotted Sunday at Park Grill in Millennium Park. Hoffman, best known for his Oscar-winning role in “Capote,” returns to Chicago next year to direct “The Long Red Road,” which will premiere at the Goodman Theatre in February. … “The Bachelorette’s” Jillian Harris dined at Hub 51 with three girlfriends Tuesday. … Detroit Tigers outfielder Curtis Granderson hung out at The Fifty/50 on Monday. Crystal McCahill, Playboy’s Miss May 2009, also stopped by the Ukrainian Village sports bar that night.
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For more Luis Arroyave, go to chicagotribune.com/aboutlastnight.