BURTY. it's always be something more than...

more than just a snowboarding
just a brand
just a Man, behind it
..burton history

"As the founder, cultural guru and chief prankster of the world's largest snowboard company — and the guy who almost single-handedly turned snowboarding into a multibillion-dollar sport — he's got a lot to do. Like snowboard 100 days a year. And surf for another 50, or so.

•He can't stand losing. Terje Haakonsen, a Burton athlete widely regarded as the world's top snowboarder, says Jake Burton constantly challenges him at everything from snowboarding to swimming. "Jake just doesn't want to lose," he says.

•He can't stand shoddy quality. During his 100 days of snowboarding, Burton isn't goofing off. He tests most of the company's equipment — from boards to gloves — before it goes to market, and he makes detailed notes on index cards. Designers wince when they receive one of the cards, says Burton's CEO Laurent Potdevin. "He has no patience for anything that jeopardizes the riding experience."

•He can't stand the easy way. While boarding at the Vail resort 22 years ago, Jake Burton persuaded a group of friends to snowboard off the trail — in the dark — to a mining town named Minturn and hitchhike back, says Michael Jager, whose design firm does work for Burton.

•He can't stand boredom. One morning five years ago at a sales meeting in New Zealand, Jake Burton asked Dave Downing, who does outside marketing for Burton, if he was up for surfing and boarding — the same day. The two sneaked out of the meeting and took a chartered helicopter to a beach to surf then to a mountain to snowboard.

•He can't stand leaving things alone. Jake Burton will test any product the design team sends him, says Chris Doyle, who oversees product development. He was the first — and last — to test pants with an internal fan ventilation system controlled by a pocket switch. He gave the all-clear to a glove, a hot seller this year, that comes with a beer-can holder. Even after designers work months on new products, Jake Burton has turned them upside-down — or even nixed them — based on a suggestion from a teenage boarder on a ski lift.

•He can't stand serious. At a recent roundtable with top executives and team riders, Jake Burton broke it into "a no-holds-barred wrestling match," says Greg Dacyshyn, company creative director. "Jake will take on anyone at anything."

•He can't stand still. Shaun White, the Burton rider who is an Olympic gold medalist and one of the USA's great hopes in Vancouver, says there's no stopping Jake Burton on a slope. "When he's in the trees, he does ripping turns. He's a wild man."

His form on the slopes can be, well, creative. He's known for swinging his arms. He's broken a leg twice — and a finger once — while snowboarding. He's broken his collar bone five times, though only once snowboarding.

•He can't stand combs. Jake's wife, Donna, who helps run the company and has been married to Jake for 22 years since meeting him at a ski resort bar, remembers her mother's comment after first meeting him: "I don't think he combs his hair."

USA TODAY read more..