Jake Burton Carpenter, pioneer of snowboarding and creator of the Burton snowboarding empire, has died of cancer at the age of 65.
A statement on his company’s social media says,
“It is with a very heavy heart that we share that Burton founder Jake Burton Carpenter passed away peacefully last night surrounded by his family and loved ones as a result of complications from recurring cancer. He was our founder, the soul of snowboarding, the one who gave us the sport we all love so much. #RideonJake”
Burton founded his company in 1977, initially based in his garage in Vermont, creating what was ultimately a much more successful board than the ‘Snurfer’ which had been invented a decade earlier by Sherman Poppen and which Jake Burton was an expert rider of.
From humble beginnings, over the next four decades Burton became the worldwide name in snowboarding, sponsoring events, terrain parks, top riders and becoming the driving force behind the sport’s global expansion and inclusion in the Winter Olympics.
Burton are asking that in lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the The Chill Foundation
