MAYBE TOO INSANE

The Best Version of Spencer Whiting

“Spencer Whiting, strapped in and ready to drop at Baldface Lodge near Nelson, BC. Photo: Dustin Lalik
“Spencer Whiting, strapped in and ready to drop at Baldface Lodge near Nelson, BC. Always a student, he constantly checks in with guides about snowpack and terrain. It’s this mindset—paired with his insane work ethic—that truly sets him apart.” Photo: Dustin Lalik
Words: Michael Ciaramella

“I have a $175,000 camera in my hands. We’re at the top of a half-pipe. Shaun White is there. It’s just me and him, and the president of NBC at the bottom. Shaun pulls out his phone and starts playing ‘Hells Bells.’ He puts it back in his pocket, and the song echoes through the pipe. That was it. That was the moment where I was like, ‘What the fuck is this? How did I get here?’”

Despite what he’d have you believe, Spencer Whiting—known to friends as Spenny, and his nearly 250,000 Instagram followers as Gimbal God—didn’t arrive here by accident. His story is not one of chance or fate, but a case study in convergence and discipline.

Back to Issue 23.2