The passion for flying boards down snowy hills initiated a devoted community that would take the concept and ride it to the fullest.
Since the beginning of mankind, humans have been conquering unknowns so as to uncover exhilarating extremes. All progress comes from pushing the boundaries of what is understood, and likewise came about the pursuit of snowboarding.
Sherman Poppen
It is argued as to what stage in the evolutionary process should be deemed the beginning, but I hold the stance that a gentleman name Sherman Poppen planted the essential seed that lead to what we know of snowboarding today. Prior to Poppen there had been claims of riders standing upright on their sleds and toboggans, but in 1965 Poppen invented a particular toy for his daughter. “My wife was pregnant and told me I had to do something to get my two daughters out of the house or she was going to go crazy,” said Poppen, who admired surfers but had never tested the art of riding waves. “When I looked at that hill, I thought why not?” From this inspiration he bound two skis together, attaching a rope to the nose for enhanced control, and urged his daughters to test this new invention on the snowy hills outside. This contraption is what Mrs. Poppen titled as a Snurfer, short for snow-surfer.
His daughters’ friends started requesting that Mr. Poppen create Snurfers for the rest of the neighborhood children, and so he decided to license the Snurfer patent to a manufacturing company by the name of Brunswick. During the ten years following 1966 there were over one million Snurfers sold, while Poppen continuously organized Snurfer competitions to attract new riders and boost sales.
The Snurfer was essentially viewed as a mere children’s toy, but it was the first time the masses were offered a legitimized board with which to ride snow. The passion for flying boards down snowy hills initiated a devoted community that would take the concept and ride it to the fullest.
Dimitrije Milovich (Winterstick)
With his boarding foundation experienced on watery waves, Milovich was reminded of his love for surfing when he rode cafeteria trays down snowy hills at college. In 1969 he partnered with surfboard maker Wayne Stovekin, and they proceeded to patent snowboard plans based on a short surfboard design that included metal edges. When 1974 rolled around they started making these boards for a small network of their friends and interested riders.
In 1976 Milovich and Stovekin founded Winterstick with two different board types which they took to the SIA (Snowsports Industries America) and the NSGA (National Sporting Goods Association) tradeshows, but there truly wasn’t much interest for their radical product. From their efforts Winterstick received press coverage in Newsweek, Playboy, and Powder, increasing the recognition of snowboarding. Unfortunately, Milovich left the industry in 1980 before it fully began.
Jake Burton Carpenter (Burton)
Mr. Carpenter is now renowned around the world for a company which outsells all others in the snowboard industry three to one. Burton. Since Snurfers appeared in stores Jake had been devoted to conquering the competitions, and when he’d get home all he wanted was to modify and perfect his Snurfer. Out of NYU in 1977 he decided to “F the man” and move to Londonderry, Vermont, creating extra cash flow by making his own version of the Snurfer. Jake added bindings to his boards, which allowed for better response than had ever been seen before.
In 1980 Burton introduced ski technology to the construction of snowboards when he included P-Tex bases for his decks. As with most discoveries and innovations the actual creator is disputed, and ski tech meshed with boards is purported to have been started by Winterstick in 1974.
Tom Sims (Sims)
Parallel to Burton’s undertakings and chronology of achievements, Tom Sims built his initial board for the snow in junior high as a shop project. He first glued carpet to the top of a plank of wood, and then attached an aluminum sheet to the underside. This was his first experimental board prototype, and soon after in 1977 he partnered with Chuck Barfoot to start producing snowboards.
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People disagree about who was the true originator of snowboarding, but in my eyes the particular founder of this sport doesn’t matter. The rivalry between these several innovators incited such beautiful competition, producing the advancements in technology and the reshaping of ideologies that lead to what we know of snowboarding today.
What are your thoughts on who started it all, my snowboarder amigo?
