Tom Sims
Tom Sims (December 6, 1950 – September 12, 2012) was an American athlete, inventor, and entrepreneur. Sims was World Snowboarding Champion (1983), World Champion Skateboarder (1975) and founder of Sims Snowboards and Sims Skateboards. He lived in Santa Barbara, California from 1971 until his death.
In 1963, in his 7th-grade wood-shop class at Haddonfield Central School in New Jersey, he made what he called a "skiboard," combining his two favorite sports, skiing and skateboarding.[1]
Sims was the primary snowboarding stunt double for "007" (Roger Moore) in the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill, which helped popularize both the snowboard and its usage.[2] Since 2006, the Sims Snowboards brand has been managed by Collective Licensing International, though Tom Sims was still very active in the company. Tom continued to be personally involved in the design and testing of the new snowboard and skateboard equipment being developed under the Sims brand until his death.[3]
Sims is credited with many of the most important innovations in both snowboarding and skateboarding, including the first metal edged snowboard, the first snowboarding Half Pipe, the first freestyle snowboard, and the first pro-model snowboard. He is also credited with building and marketing the world's first longboards for skateboarding in 1975. A young Tony Hawk rode Sims skateboards in the 1970s.[3]
References
- ↑ Atkin, Ross (February 11, 1998). "A Man Who Helped Skiers Get on the Snowboard". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- ↑ Bane, Colin (September 13, 2012). "Snowboard Pioneer Tom Sims Dies". Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hardaker, Mike (September 13, 2012). "Tom Sims Death Forever A Legend RIP 1950-2012". Mountain Weekly News. Retrieved 20 January 2014.