As I am sure all of you guys know I currently ride a BurtonPrimo snowboard. This snowboard depicts a person mutilating their own hand to
make the word “OK”. Personally I have no problem with this and think that it is
kind of funny, and mostly everybody I know agrees. People either think it is
hilarious or repulsive.
It turns out that when these boards were first produced they were, and still are, banned for employee use at certain mountains. Along with banning the Primo they also banned Burton’s Love board. The Love board has pictures of former Playboy models on it. Technically, some of the girls are fully naked, but their behinds are the only things that can be seen. Everything else provocative is covered or did not fit on the snowboard. Personally, being a guy and all, I have absolutely no problem with the Love board at all. In fact I searched the web for one because it would be a great addition to my dorm/future man cave. Sadly I did not find any boards that were as steeply discounted as my Primo was. These two snowboards were released as limited edition boards; only one thousand of each board was produced. This means that I only have the same snowboard as 999 people, versus the millions of mass produced snowboards out there. This board will most likely become a collector’s item, which is also unique.
It makes me upset that employees of Vail, Beaver Creek
Resort, Breckenridge Ski Resort and Keystone Ski Resort in Colorado,
California’s Heavenly Mountain Resort and Vermont’s Smugglers Notch, Killington
Resort, Pico Mountain and Stowe Mountain Resort can’t ride these boards while
they are working. For crying out loud, this is AMERICA and we have the right to
express ourselves how we want! Over 100 people were crazy enough to go out and
protest in front of Burton’s Burlington Vermont headquarters. Do these people
have nothing better to do with their lives than trying to convince consumers to
stop buying Burton products? Really guys? Do you think that shitty quality
picket signs that say “Shame on Burton!” will tear down one of the biggest
snowboard companies around the world? Burton’s co-owner Donna Carpenter said in
a news release “These are not X-rated images…these are vintage Playboy images
from as far back as the 1970s. They are beautiful, kitschy, well-fed models;
nothing obscene is revealed. These board graphics are retro, tongue-in-cheek
and, in my opinion, harmless.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself, this lady is a total
bro. She understands that snowboarding is a sport that is as much about
self-expression as it is about skill and precision. When you are on the
mountain, you can dress however you want and express yourself through your
riding. It should not matter what you are riding as long as everybody is having
fun. Also, Burton Snowboards CEO Laurent Potdevin said, "Burton supports
freedom of artistic expression. Board graphics are artwork, and art can be
offensive to some and inspiring to others. ... We will keep these boards in the
market and have no intention of recalling them" This statement goes along
with what I just said about snowboarding. Why would the CEO of a snowboard
company want to recall a product that echoes the self-expression of
snowboarding? Also I would like to point out that the two people who advocated
for these boards are women; clearly having naked models on boards is not an
issue to them. If these boards do not mortify professional female company heads,
they should not disturb anyone.
When this board was for sale the product description was, “Hi.
My name is Love™ and I’m on the market for someone who’s looking to score
serious action, no matter where they like to stick it. I enjoy laps through the
park; long, hard grinds on my meaty Park Edges followed by a good, hot waxing.
Whether you’re hitting it from the front or the back, my mid wide shape, supple
flex, and twin tips like it kinky. Keegan and Mikkel love riding me, I hope you
will too.” Honestly that is the raunchiest description of a snowboard I have
ever seen; I love it and think it’s hilarious. Keegan and Mikkel are the pro
riders who helped design the Love boards. I also find this product description
to be very clever, whoever made this up must have had a field day relating
snowboard terms and the board’s tech specs to sexual innuendos.
The description of the Primo is not sexual at all, but it is
just as funny and makes the board sound pretty badass. “Like the father who
gives his son a carton of smokes for Christmas, the Burton Primo Snowboard
doesn’t care if you get straight A’s or help old ladies across the street. That
stuff is for sissies, which is one thing this twin-tip park slayer certainly
isn’t. From executing street rails to burying park features, this Burton
Coalition snowboard isn’t trying to make friends—in fact, it’s not really down
with people at all.” It makes it seem like this board is its own entity and it
is ready to get out on the mountain and shred.
According to Boston.com’s article Edgy snowboard graphics
test liberal Vermont, Mark Redmond de-affiliated his nonprofit,
Spectrum Youth & Family Services, from a Burton charity that donates
snowboards to needy children after “learning about the Playboy line and Primo,
which depicts fingers mutilated by razors, a dog's teeth, and scissors. Because
objectification of women increases the chance men will become abusive, he said,
the boards are an important issue for both sexes.” What kind of person would
take his nonprofit organization away from Burton because some of their graphics
are suggestive? And I am 100% positive that if I strapped into a Love board I will
not have the sudden urge to beat women. If you know of anybody who started to
abuse women because of this board tell me, because I will be very concerned. It is absolutely absurd that Redmond says
that this board can possibly increase the chance for men to become abusive. If
anything, you should respect the models that were willing to let their images
be displayed on this board for the enjoyment of others.
The sanest and most practical viewpoint about this graphic
comes from the article Scandalous Snowboards, “As an adult, I don’t
necessarily care,” said Bend’s Joy Wilson, a 37-year-old mother of two who has
written a letter to Burton. “If somebody was standing in front me on the
slopes, it wouldn’t matter. But I have two young ones (a son and daughter) who
snowboard, 11 and 8, and that’s the difference for me. As a mother tiger, you
don’t really want to expose your kids to stuff before it is necessary. In a
sense, it is just as important as someone else’s freedom of speech or
expression.” Since I am your typical snowboarder punk that is all about free
expression I still don’t agree with Wilson’s viewpoint. But I will acknowledge
that it is a parent’s duty to protect their children from raunchy material. But
in all reality how badly would seeing a Playboy model’s ass affect a little
kid? I am sure that it would make young boys giggle instead of become instantly
corrupt, like some people would think. If you want to ride a snowboard with a
naked woman on the bottom or a cartoon of a person cutting their fingers off,
more power to you. Ride that board and rock it; don’t let anybody try and stop
you!
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