A Quick Tale of Tom Burt’s Life
START
Grew up in Lake Tahoe skiing since 1968 Started snowboarding in 1982, became professional in 1985 Became a teacher of Mathematics and Physics in 1986 at Sparks High, Nevada.
PURSUITS
Quit teaching to continue as a Professional Snowboarder in 1987. Design work with snowboards, boots, bindings, and clothing since 1886.
SUCCESS
Still Snowboard and design professionally today. Known around the world for Snowboarding the Steeps.
Things I do:
Snowboard, Ski water and snow, Windsurf, Surf, Rock climb, Skateboard, Beach volleyball, Fish, Mountain bike, Kiteboard, Tennis, Wakeboard, Mountaineer
Places I have Traveled
All 50 US States, Mexico, Canada, Japan, Peru, Argentina Beach, Nepal, Kenya, New Zealand, Tahiti, Iran, Europe(Germany, Italy, France, Swiss, Austria), Bolivia
People always tell me they don’t have the time. I tell them, “We have the same time, It is just how you use it!”
From Alaska to South America to Europe, Iran, Africa, and Asia, from day one to the present moment, Tom Burt has been one of the best riders in the world. Forget Nolan Ryan and Kareem, T.B. is the athlete for the ages. In his early Tahoe days, Tom was surrounded by freestylists like Damian, Terry Kidwell, and Keith Kimmel. It was then when he began developing an interest in self-ascents and backcountry knowledge. Soon T.B. was striking out beyond the halfpipe, accomplishing several local first descents with friends Bonnie Leary and Jim Zellers.
As the names and faces change, Tom Burt remains. From fins and nylon-buckle bindings, to halfpipes, neon, jib, Valdez, the Olympics, big money, jib-revival, and the current landscape, Tom has lived though every era in snowboarding, viewing them mostly from a literal and figurative summit. As other riders slowed down or got out, T.B. was turning up the volume and dropping into increasingly technical lines. Perhaps more than anyone, Tom Burt has shown snowbarding to be a skill whose mastery can increase with age; Tom has perhaps more edge-to-edge control in tight situations than anyone. Most importantly, he is as stoked today as he was in the fins and sorels era.
Tom lives his life by three rules.
1 and most important, we must have as much fun as we can with what we have.
2 we must eat as well as we can so we can have the health and strength to have as much fun as we might.
3 we must keep the house reasonably in order, wash the dishes and such things, but we will not let the last interfere with the first two.
Current sponsors: Winterstick Snowboards, DaKine, Salomon Boots, Helly Hansen