As the history of snowboarding would have it, there are many conflicting reports as to who created the first snowboard. The earliest claim is that the snowboard was invented by M.J. Jack Burchett in 1929 and was composed of a piece of plywood with horse reigns as bindings. Next, in 1963, to-be famed snowboard designer, Tom Sims created something similar to a modern snowboard as a class project. He called his creation a “Ski Board”. Another story claims that the first snowboard was called a Snurfer (combination of the words surf and snow). The Snurfer was designed by Sherman Poppen for his daughter as early as 1965 in Michigan. The Snurfer was designed similarly to a skateboard but without wheels. It included a hand-held rope and no bindings. Finally, the individual that evolved these primitive snowboard creations into its modern day likeness was Dimitrije Milovich. Milovich was a surfer who started developing a snowboard based on a combination of a ski design and a surfboard shape.
By the 1970s and 80s, the popularity of snowboarding skyrocketed and several companies were created solely for the mass production of the snowboard. In the early 80s, snowboarding competitions began to spread across the United States and throughout the world. Popularity of snowboarding boomed and transcended to a mass public audience and was no longer a sport just for extreme athletes. In less than three decades since the snowboard began being mass produced, it was introduced into the Olympic Games in 1998.
The mainstream popularity of snowboarding had taken off and so had the marketing potential of the sport. Snowboarding first began appearing in the magazine Powder in the late 70s, but quickly entire magazines were dedicated to snowboarding. The first entirely snowboarding magazine was called Absolute Radical (later renamed International Snowboarding Magazine) which hit magazine racks in 1985. Quickly there were dozens and dozens of snowboarding magazines throughout the world.
Presently, snowboarding continues to thrive. Most ski slopes have eliminated the “no snowboarding” policy and many have slopes, pipes and parks dedicated for the exclusive use of snowboarders. The future of snowboarding looks bright. The number of new riders between the ages of 12-24 continues to grow each year.