Jake Burton Bio

This is why Burton is the biggest and most successful snowboard company on the planet.

Snowboarding has changed a lot in the past year, let alone in the past 34 years since Jake founded Burton Snowboards. One thing has stayed constant during all that time: Jake still leads the day-to-day workings of the world's most successful snowboard company, testing nearly every product Burton makes and taking rider feedback to heart. He is still relentless when it comes to listening to riders - whether it's feedback from the global team, a customer email or a kid who happens to sit with him in the gondola. He still walks Burton's halls almost everyday, saying hi to the dogs along the way and seeing what's up in Rider Service, Hardgoods, Softgoods, Sales and Marketing. He still has team riders over to his house for a four-day roundtable to give the final word on the entire product line. He still scrutinizes the catalog before it goes to print and leaves product managers note cards with feedback on zippers, waterproofing, fits, flexes, colors and board feel. He still can be found at Stowe almost every day it's open - and plenty of days it's not - hiking with his dog Maia to enjoy a rare two feet of fresh powder in mid-May or the first snowfall in late September. And he still makes many of the company's biggest decisions from a chairlift, not a desk chair.
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