TOP 13 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BURTON
1. JAKE
Jake Burton Carpenter has dedicated over 30 years of his life to snowboarding. He founded
Burton in 1977 and has played a vital role in transitioning snowboarding from a backyard
hobby to a world-class sport. In the early years, the business was based out of Jake’s Vermont
barn and he delivered boards out of his station wagon. Jake is Burton’s most avid product
tester and rides over 100 days per year.
2. THE INDUSTRY LEADER
Burton has fueled the growth of snowboarding worldwide through its groundbreaking product
lines, its grassroots efforts to get the sport accepted at resorts and its team of top
snowboarders. Burton dominates the snowboard industry worldwide with global headquarters
in Burlington, Vermont and international offices in Innsbruck, Austria and Tokyo, Japan.
3. PRIVATELY HELD
Burton is a privately held company owned by Jake. Because it is privately owned, Burton
does not release financial information.
4. WORLD’S TOP PRO RIDERS
Burton supports a team of many of the world’s best snowboarders. From halfpipe
competitions and slopestyle contests to snowboard video parts and backcountry descents in
Alaska, Burton’s team dominates all aspects of snowboarding. Burton sponsors riders who are
in the earliest days of their careers to the best pros in the world like Shaun White, Nicolas
Müller, Hannah Teter and Kelly Clark.
5. RIDER-DRIVEN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
Riders are involved in each step of the product development process at Burton. Pro riders
give product managers feedback on everything from the ride and flex of a board to the
color of bootlaces and the texture of jacket linings.
6. FAMILY OF BRANDS
Since 1996, Burton has both started and acquired independent companies that have their
own individual identities and product offerings. As Burton grows, so does its family of
brands. Founded in 1996, R.E.D. is dedicated to the evolution of impact protection by
creating helmets that unite forward-thinking style with the latest technology. Gravis started
in 1998 and creates footwear, bags and accessories rooted in the snowboard and surf
lifestyles. Anon is a premier optics brand that began in 2001 and offers unique goggles and
sunglasses driven by fashion and the action sports lifestyle. Analog launched its first apparel
line in the fall of 2003 and is currently based in Irvine, California. In 2004, Burton acquired
California-based snowboard brands Forum Snowboards, Special Blend, Foursquare and
Jeenyus and collectively named these brands ‘The Program’. In 2006, Burton purchased
the world’s most prestigious surfboard company, Channel Islands. Founded by Al Merrick in
1969, Channel Islands is based in Santa Barbara, California where the company shapes
boards for many of the world’s best surfers. Like their parent company Burton, all Burtonowned
companies support teams of professional athletes who drive the product
development process.
7. MORE THAN SNOWBOARDS
Burton makes everything for snowboarders to enjoy the ride and look good on and off the
hill. From snowboards, boots and bindings to travel bags, belts and apparel, Burton knows
what riders need. Burton’s special collections include the high-end Mark XIII outerwear line,
Idiom outerwear line, Burton Apparel and B by Burton collection for women.
8. EVENTS
Burton’s world class annual snowboard competitions include the Burton Global Open Series
and the Abominable Snow Jam. The Burton Global Open Series is an international series
of snowboard competitions organized and owned by Burton Snowboards that allows riders of
all skill levels to compete for a chance to win an overall championship title. The
Abominable Snow Jam grew out of the same rider-driven mentality that makes the Opens
the center of snowboarding events worldwide. A summer competition held at Timberline
Resort in Mount Hood, Oregon, the Abominable Snow Jam brings riders together for a laidback
summer contest on the glacier. In addition to snowboard competitions, Burton also
runs one of the largest product demo tours in the industry.
9. BURTON RETAIL STORES
Burton has a select group of flagship stores around the world. Burton stores are currently located
at the company’s global headquarters in Burlington, Vermont and at the Burton European
headquarters in Innsbruck, Austria. Burton opened its first urban location in New York City’s
SoHo district in 2005. In 2006, Burton opened its first store in Japan in the Harajuku district of
Tokyo. In the fall of 2007, Burton opened three new stores: one in the Gold Coast shopping
district of Chicago; the company’s first store dedicated to surfing, skateboarding and
snowboarding in Los Angeles on Melrose Avenue near Crescent Heights Boulevard and a new
store in Osaka, Japan. Burton also has an outlet store in Wrentham, MA. Burton-owned Gravis
Footwear has a freestanding store in Tokyo just three blocks away from the Burton Tokyo store.
10. GIVING BACK
In 1995, Burton started Chill, a non-profit foundation that works to improve the self-esteem,
confidence and resilience of at-risk youth by teaching them how to snowboard. For six
weeks, Chill takes kids out of cities and into mountain resorts where they learn to snowboard,
get a break from everyday life and meet new friends and mentors. The program provides
Chill participants with everything they need for the experience: lift tickets, instruction, bus
transportation and head-to-toe gear. Through Chill, thousands of inner-city and at-risk kids
experience the outdoors, develop valuable life skills and have the opportunity to succeed at
a sport. Since its inception, Chill has touched the lives of over 12,500 kids in North
America.
11. LEARN TO RIDE
In 1998, Burton created the Learn To Ride (LTR) program by teaming up with the American
and Canadian Association of Snowboard Instructors and resorts around North America,
Europe and Japan. At the time, Burton was the only snowboard company in the industry to
focus on instruction methods and beginner-specific equipment. The goal of LTR is to give
beginner snowboarders the best learning experience possible by using a proven instruction
method and equipment created specifically for beginners. There are now several Learn To
Ride programs including Adult, Women’s, Kids and Freestyle Centers aimed at helping
people learn or progress their riding skills.
12. POWDER DAYS AND DOGS
Bringing your dog to the office and skipping work when it snows more than two feet are two
of the best benefits of working at Burton. The dogs are some of Burton’s most valued
employees, and a free season’s pass at Vermont-area resorts keeps Burton employees on
snow all winter long.
13. DONNA
Besides her husband, Jake Burton Carpenter, Donna Carpenter has been involved with
Burton longer than anyone. In 1984, Donna officially became Burton’s first European Sales
and Operations Manager and successfully expanded the company’s market to the European
continent. After five years of managing the European market, Donna returned to the States
and became CFO of Burton for three years until she started her own gourmet food business
in Stowe, Vermont. Recently, Donna has focused her energy and experience on taking
Burton’s long-standing commitment to women’s product, team and staff to the next level.
Through Donna’s leadership, Burton established new women’s marketing, product and
creative departments to drive the women’s business – this is critical to making product that
women are stoked about. For women who work at Burton, Donna has led the charge to
create committees and programs that make sure women’s voices are heard at all levels of
the company. Burton also has progressive maternity and childcare benefits so that women
and parents can continue to grow at Burton while they’re growing their families. Donna’s
personal mission is to teach any woman at Burton who doesn’t ride how to snowboard. On
top of all this, she has three sons, a pack of dogs and Jake to look after.
