Honoring Jake Burton Carpenter: Share a Message with Snowboarding’s Pioneer
We miss Jake Burton Carpenter every day, but his legacy will live on through the global snowboarding community he helped build. This year, we created a message board where friends, riders, and fans can submit stories about Jake’s impact on their lives. Below are a few of our favorite entries so far. Each message is unique, but one thing remains clear: Jake's impact on the world was undeniable. We hope you read these personal notes and use them as inspiration while crafting your own message to Jake.
George Burton Carpenter
Thank you Dad (Jake).
Thank you for creating the world for me and so many others.
Thank you for showing us how to live.
Thanks for teaching us how love.
We miss you!
Love, George
Jeff Veldhuizen
Jake,
Snowboarding is the singular thing that defines me.
Without it, I would have never known what having a true passion was like and wouldn’t have taken that feeling into the other aspects of my life. It also taught me about grit: working hard, resilience, failure, falling on my ass and getting back up.
I've been riding Burton boards for over 30 years. Thank you for being such an influence on my life!
- Jeff
Ben Clark
Thank you, Jake for teaming up with Donna to bring the Chill Foundation into the world and pouring so much heart and soul into its growth. There are more than 25,000 young people out there who would not have otherwise had access to snowboarding, whose lives will forever be different because of your giant heart and mountain-top vision. And we’re just getting started. As you’re smiling down at us, know there are 25k Chill participants and alumni smiling back up at you, saying THANKS JAKE!
Kelly Keating
Dear Jake,
If it weren’t for snowboarding, I’d never know how much fun you can really have outside on a snow day... taking turns on a mountain, on a hill in the backyard, or even down some steps in the center of the city. I started as a kid sledding, then skiing, then finally had the courage one day to borrow my kid brother’s snowboard and send it down a homemade hill. We’ve been riding together ever since.
THANK YOU, JAKE, for fighting for the future of our sport and keeping it FUN. Ride on Jake.
Nick LaCour
Dear Jake,
Thank you for thinking differently, never giving up, and always following your own path. Your vision for the potential in that little plank of wood helped shape an entirely new way of being that changed my entire life. Thank you for the endless inspiration.
Ride on Jake!
Abby Young
Jake,
You made everything more fun. Everything - meetings, meals, flights, riding, writing press releases, disagreements, doing dishes, notecards, even illness - you found the fun in it all. Working with you for 18 years was the honor of my life. 16-year-old me with your Burton Air in the dunes of Muskegon Michigan would've never believed it.
Love you.
#RideOnJake
Mark McMorris
Thank you Jake for sharing your love of snowboarding with the world and being a prime example on how to live life to the fullest!
Love you brother❤️
Chelsea Waddell
Jake,
Thank you for it all. NOTHING in my life would be what it is without snowboarding. Working for you and your family has been one of the greatest honors of my life. Truly a dream come true, and each day only gets better. Thank you for opening the gateway to connect likeminded people from around the world.
We owe so much to you.
Thank you.
We love you.
As riders, we all share endless gratitude for the man who created our global community and connected us to our life’s passion. This message board will live on our website for anyone who needs to say a quick thank you to Jake or read stories from fellow riders. Feel free to submit an entry at any time.