The Dawning
A New Product, Sport, and Era
My family moved to New Jersey from Alabama in November of 1961. I knew nothing of deep snow and winter activities and I had never experienced either. My first Christmas in Jersey brought an aluminum “Flying Saucer,” just like in “Christmas Vacation” with Chevy Chase. Every run brought uncontrolled speed and spinning that usually ended in a crash at the bottom of the hill.
Fast forward three years, to the winter of 1964, when my new friends invited me to tag along to the local sledding hill in town. The neighbor’s garage was filled with sleds and skis and everyone grabbed something to take to the hill. Not knowing any better, I grabbed a big, single wooden ski twice my size. I spent the entire day trying to conquer that hill by standing up with one foot in front of the other.
While I’ve never claimed that day was revolutionary, it sure was fun and challenging… and little did I know where it would take me.
Everything changed a couple years later, in 1966, thanks to a man named Sherm Poppen from Muskegon, Michigan. While searching for something to do with his two daughters on Christmas day in 1965, Sherm crafted a new winter snow toy by attaching two three-feet long children’s wooden skis for his girls to ride down the hill. His wife Nancy coined the activity, “Snurfing.”
The OG Snurfer
Sherm Poppen’s original Snurfer, as crafted for his two daughters and below, his OG design.
Mr. Poppen’s design soon caught the attention of The Brunswick Corporation, and the media, as well.
“Late last winter, out at Muskegon Country Club, [the executives of Brunswick Corp.] were grinning like kids again as they put Sherm Poppen’s handmade model through its paces. The way it performed convinced them this was a good thing.
So, at its Marion, Va., plant, Brunswick is producing the “Snurfer” under a manufacturing agreement worked out with Mr. Poppen. And the plant is in volume production… because the “Snurfer” is being pushed hard for this year’s Christmas market in catalogs…
What are the prospects? Well, it has a lot going for it.” (McCrea, Bruce D. “Snurfing with a Capital $. It’s All Aboard on a Ride That Could Become The Nation’s Newest Outdoor Craze.” )
I snurfed throughout the winter of 1966, trying to perfect a top-to-bottom ride on ever-higher terrain. So began a winter tradition of expanding my skill level and teaching others about snow surfing as a winter alternative. My childhood hobby turned into an obsession to expand our ability to surf mountains across the U.S. and Canada.
When the Brunswick Corporation later dropped production of the Snurfer, a group of Brunswick executives quit their jobs, bought the patents for the Snurfer and formed the Jem Corporation to carry the project forward.
Almost all of the early pioneers credit the Snurfer as their introduction to sliding upright on snow, and one million Snurfers were sold between 1966 and 1980.
By the mid-70’s, I was represented by Jem Corp. as Snurfer’s first pro sponsored rider. I helped build a national network of riders, create early guidelines for the sport and for competitions using the board, and created the National Snurfer Association, the first of its kind in the country.
To promote the product, the Jem Corp. also sponsored the annual “National Snurfing Competition,” a local winter event held by the Muskegon Community College as a fun-filled and beer-fueled party. But it was the 1979 National Snurfing Championship that changed the course and trajectory of snow surfing.
The Jem Corp. brought me out to Michigan to participate in meetings for the upcoming year before the contest and I came ready. My plans included redesigning the Snurfer into a legitimate, bigger, wider board with a stronger strap binding built for tougher terrain.
Paul Graves’ proposed prototype for Snurfer evolution
The Jem Corp., however, had different ideas. They wanted to change next to nothing, and had no incentives for me to continue representing them across the country. After having given them so much guidance for so little return, I knew that would be it. After the competition, I was done.
Before the race began, a young man walked up to the registration desk and wanted to enter the championship with his own newly designed board. Though it was based on a Snurfer, it was not a Snurfer, so he was refused entry.
Me, with my prototype board, and Leo Parks of the Jem Corp. discussing Jake Burton Carpenter’s entry into an Open Division category in the 1979 National Snurfing Championship, as well as my decision to discontinue my Snurfer sponsorship due to creative differences.
I happened to be standing there and I quickly protested that decision with race officials and Jem Corp. executives. After discussion, the Jem Corp. finally created an uncontested Open Division to allow this young man to compete on the course. Obviously, he “won” his division. This young man’s name was Jake Burton Carpenter.
After going to bat for him and his board, Jake and I became friends. Our paths would cross many times in the coming years, as we both strived to put snowboarding on the world stage.
The Jem Corp. was filming that weekend for a new promotional video and they expected me to put on a good show.
What they got was me leaving the downhill start and performing a freestyle routine involving multiple 360 degree spins and a front flip dismount at the bottom.
I was awarded a freestyle title when virtually no other competitor had the skills or training to do anything but shoot straight down the hill and hope for the best.
However, I refused to sign a photo and film release that day, knowing I was not going to move forward in partnership with the Jem Corp. I regret that now, because the only record of my efforts at the 1979 championship event were those captured in the “Snurfing News,” the first publication to report on what was happening in the young sport.
The caption reads:
“Entrant No. 156 is none other than Paul Graves, premier Snurfing expert from Cheshire, Connecticut. Paul, who delighted the crowd by doing a full 360* turn while Snurfing downhill, will soon be seen on national television in Canada on a beverage commercial which features a Snurfing theme.”
Snurfing News, Mar. ‘79
When the 1979 event ended, I realized that the era of snurfing was coming to a close, as well. The evolution of snowboarding was beginning and the opportunity to grow the sport was now.
But everything had to change. As I had recommended to the Jem Corp. to no avail, the boards we were using needed to be longer and wider, and incorporate bindings to handle the transition to mountain access. Plus, we could not grow a sport by refusing those who were riding a different product. That was insane to me.
As I left Michigan the seed was planted to create a serious competition that recognized all riders to showcase their talents, and their boards.
When I got home, I begged my wife to move to Vermont. Ever a supporter of my dreams, she consented. We were residents of the Green Mountain State before the snow flew in 1980 and my vision for the 1982 National Snow Surfing Championship began to take root.
The commercial that Snurfing News references in their caption above is an epic tale. The beverage was Labatt’s and my trip to Canada to film this commercial with Mark and Jane Halseth was one for the books. I’ll share that epic tale next, so…
