
Holiday Gift Sparks Michigan Man’s Creative Snowboard Invention
What started with a simple Christmas gift revolutionized competitive and recreational winter sports across the globe.
And none of it would have been possible without this Michigan man and a set of K-Mart skis!

According to GlobeNewswire thanks to an increase in global participation in the sport and a rise in popularity at home in the U.S., the snowboard equipment market,
is projected to progress at a 3.9% [compound annual growth rate] over the next decade to land at a value of US $455 Mn by the end of 2033.
That being said, I'm sure creating and growing a million-dollar global industry was not what Muskegon, Michigan man Sherman Poppen had in mind when he nailed his daughter's skis together on Christmas Day 1965!
Originally Poppen thought it could possible be a new toy to rival and replace the sled however, the invention took on a life of its own. Sherman's wife dubbed this new creation the "Snurfer" by combining the words "snow" and "surf". Poppen also compared the mounds of snow to ocean waves but instead of waiting for another wave to come along, as with surfing, all the snurfer needed to do was walk back up to the top of the hill to ride the next "wave".
Peferfect timing for Poppen as his invention came along as the counter-culture skateboard movement took over the nation in the mid-'60s. The snurfer was seen as skateboarding's winter equivalent.
Renowned bowling manufacturer the Brunswick corporation, which was located in Muskegon at the time, got wind of Sherman's creation and wanted to capitalize. Poppen filed a patent in 1966 and by 1968 two hundred spectators showed up for the World Snow Surfing Championship in Muskegon.
Word of the snurfer made it all the way to snowy Vermont where businessman and avid snurfer named Jake Burton Carpenter made improvements on Poppen's original design. Burton's board had a wider shape and foot bindings to hold the rider in place, essentially creating the modern-day snowboard. Poppen himself even credited Burton with seeing the future of the snurfer that he couldn't see himself.
Although Sherman Poppen passed away in 2019 his legacy lives on as an inductee of the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame and the statue located in downtown Muskegon.
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