"I come from a background of going sideways."
Albert Mendoza, referring to growing up skateboarding and surfing in Southern California
I just saw a story on him on CNN yesterday...but this dude out of Venice Beach invented a true spin on regular snowboarding, called the Dual Snowboard. It's kinda always cool to see where the original inspiration came from, but as one of the original inventors, Albert talked about being a kid and heading up to Bear Mountain with his handful of friends, all up there to share the use of riding an inflated tire down the hill.
Once there, their fun demeanor went sour when they all got on the tire and it popped, extinguishing the air inside and fun for all. As a young kid acting on desperation for entertainment, he found some regular aluminum soft drink cans lying around and stepped on them, so that the main part of the can smashed flat, but the ends "locked" on his shoes on the side (I think we've all done this as a kid at some point or another).
He spent the rest of that day sliding on the snow using his new cans as "mini-boards" and the main seed for his new boarding invention had been firmly planted. As the snowboard craze started to overtake regular skiing, he got motivated with his idea and filed for a utility patent at the U.S.P.T.O back in 1999. Roughly two years later, lucky Albert (lucky to be approved in just two years) and his co-inventor (wife maybe?) had an approved utility patent (named "Individual Snowboard For Each Foot", U.S. patent number 6,244,615).
Sometime thereafter, he then joined forces with Scott Rickett, whom had recently sold his skateboarding company. Scott was most likely looking for the next adrenaline filled product to feast his entrepreneurial fangs. Together, it looks like they've formed a formidable force to bring Albert's vision to the market, a cool new board offering for the masses.
I've tried boarding, but grew up with skis so I haven't acclimated to the snowboard falls that happen about 98% more often with the newer boarding sport compared to the regular (old fashioned) front-facing skiing. But what I also didn't like about snowboarding was the awkward sidestepping needed to hobble your way closer in line to the chairlift. I also didn't like the fact that both my legs were locked together while boarding the hills, a little too restricting for me.
I haven't tried the Dual Snowboard, but the freedom to move your legs freely about the cabin, I mean the hillside, while still locked into your individual feet boards is very appealing. I hope to check these out in the very near future...
But in the meantime, check out the wares and the start of a new craze at:
http://www.dualsnowboards.net/
Albert Mendoza, referring to growing up skateboarding and surfing in Southern California
I just saw a story on him on CNN yesterday...but this dude out of Venice Beach invented a true spin on regular snowboarding, called the Dual Snowboard. It's kinda always cool to see where the original inspiration came from, but as one of the original inventors, Albert talked about being a kid and heading up to Bear Mountain with his handful of friends, all up there to share the use of riding an inflated tire down the hill.
Once there, their fun demeanor went sour when they all got on the tire and it popped, extinguishing the air inside and fun for all. As a young kid acting on desperation for entertainment, he found some regular aluminum soft drink cans lying around and stepped on them, so that the main part of the can smashed flat, but the ends "locked" on his shoes on the side (I think we've all done this as a kid at some point or another).
He spent the rest of that day sliding on the snow using his new cans as "mini-boards" and the main seed for his new boarding invention had been firmly planted. As the snowboard craze started to overtake regular skiing, he got motivated with his idea and filed for a utility patent at the U.S.P.T.O back in 1999. Roughly two years later, lucky Albert (lucky to be approved in just two years) and his co-inventor (wife maybe?) had an approved utility patent (named "Individual Snowboard For Each Foot", U.S. patent number 6,244,615).
Sometime thereafter, he then joined forces with Scott Rickett, whom had recently sold his skateboarding company. Scott was most likely looking for the next adrenaline filled product to feast his entrepreneurial fangs. Together, it looks like they've formed a formidable force to bring Albert's vision to the market, a cool new board offering for the masses.
I've tried boarding, but grew up with skis so I haven't acclimated to the snowboard falls that happen about 98% more often with the newer boarding sport compared to the regular (old fashioned) front-facing skiing. But what I also didn't like about snowboarding was the awkward sidestepping needed to hobble your way closer in line to the chairlift. I also didn't like the fact that both my legs were locked together while boarding the hills, a little too restricting for me.
I haven't tried the Dual Snowboard, but the freedom to move your legs freely about the cabin, I mean the hillside, while still locked into your individual feet boards is very appealing. I hope to check these out in the very near future...
But in the meantime, check out the wares and the start of a new craze at:
http://www.dualsnowboards.net/
Dual Snowboards, Sans Bindings
