[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 18 (Tuesday, February 3, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S734-S735]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING BURTON SNOWBOARDS

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, for generations, Vermonters have 
contributed to the global culture of winter sports. Whether the sport 
is snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling or

[[Page S735]]

snowboarding, Vermonters never pass up an opportunity to claim the 
first run of the day.
  Almost four decades ago, Jake Burton's passion for winter sports led 
to the creation of Burton Snowboards, one of the leading snowboard 
manufacturers in the world. Jake at a young age enjoyed ``snurfing''--
surfing on snow--but he never anticipated the path he would eventually 
take, becoming one of the pioneers in snowboard manufacturing.
  In the late 1970s, Jake started exploring the idea of manufacturing 
snowboards, building prototypes from a barn in Londonderry, VT. At the 
time, most ski resorts did not allow snowboarders, as snowboarding was 
not yet considered a sport, and gaining recognition as a sport proved 
to be harder than one might expect. Jake didn't let his optimism or 
passion wane, and interest in the fledgling sport finally spread. Jake 
and his wife Donna explored the European market, eventually opening a 
distribution center in Austria, while maintaining their national 
headquarters in Burlington, VT. For a little-known sport, it quickly 
gained international notoriety and stature. In 1998, snowboarding 
debuted at the winter Olympics in Nagano.
  Jake is now one of the most successful business leaders Vermont has 
ever known. His commitment and passion allow him to remain one with the 
pulse of his company, with consumers, and, most of all, with the sport, 
on a level unique to Burton Snowboards.
  The Wall Street Journal recently chronicled the multiple ways in 
which Jake keeps himself healthy, in shape, and on the slopes. Jake's 
lifestyle is one that truly speaks to the Vermont spirit. Marcelle and 
I are proud to have Jake and Donna as friends.
  I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the article 
from The Wall Street Journal.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

             [From the Wall Street Journal, Dec. 22, 2014]

    Jake Burton, Snowboard King, Sets Multiple Goals for His Workout

                            (By Jen Murphy)

       The founder and chairman of Burton Snowboards, finds 
     multiple ways to keep his lower body in shape for 
     snowboarding and surfing.
       Jake Burton sets an annual goal of snowboarding 100 days a 
     year. A snowboard pioneer, and founder and chairman of Burton 
     Snowboards Inc. in Burlington, Vt., has hit that goal nearly 
     every year during the past 19 years, with the exception of 
     2011, when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Mr. 
     Burton went through three months of chemotherapy. In January 
     2012, his doctors gave him a cancer-free bill of health and 
     he slowly began regaining his strength in the pool and at the 
     gym. Today, at age 60, he is charging harder than ever on the 
     mountain.
       ``I got in 114 days this season,'' he says. And when the 
     snow is gone, he takes to the ocean for his other obsession, 
     surfing.
       Mr. Burton relies on four regular activities--hiking, yoga, 
     swimming, and biking--to keep him fit enough to snowboard and 
     surf. He thinks of his workouts on a point system, awarding 
     himself one point per workout, with 10 being his target each 
     week. ``I usually manage six.'' Some days he tries to double 
     up on workouts by mixing business with an activity. He might 
     bike with a colleague and discuss new snowboard gear.
       Mr. Burton includes his family in as many activities as 
     possible. He and his wife, Donna Carpenter, who is president 
     of Burton Snowboards, have trails within minutes of their 
     Vermont home in Stowe. They often set out together on hikes, 
     but ``hiking with Jake is a solo sport,'' jokes Ms. 
     Carpenter. ``He recently had a minor knee surgery and still 
     beat me up the mountain.''
       He takes about six surf trips a year. This year he brought 
     his three sons, ages 18, 21, and 25, on a surf trip to the 
     Maldives. Recently, he and his wife started booking bike 
     tours when they visit cities such as Florence and Paris.


                              The Workout

       Hiking is Mr. Burton's main form of cardio. ``I have to 
     keep it up to keep my weight in check,'' he says. One of his 
     favorite hikes is up the Pinnacle Trail, which is 10 minutes 
     from his home. It takes him about 50 minutes to hike up and 
     another 50 minutes to hike down. He will also drive to Mount 
     Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak, and hike the Long Trail, 
     which is nearly 5 miles round trip. Mr. Burton always takes a 
     watch when he hikes. ``My watch is like a heart rate monitor. 
     The times tell me how hard I'm working,'' he says.
       In the winter he often hikes up the mountain with his dogs 
     and snowboards down four or five times before the ski resort 
     is officially open. Bigger trips, most recently to Japan, 
     allow him to have full days snowboarding in the backcountry.
       While attending New York University, he was the captain of 
     the swim team and he continues to get in the pool every other 
     day when he is home. He swims intervals, warming up with 800 
     meters and then doing a few intervals of 500 meters and 50-
     meter intervals for speed.
       Two days a week, Mr. Burton uses weight machines at the 
     Swimming Hole, a nonprofit pool and gym facility in Stowe 
     that he and his wife helped fund. He does an all-body workout 
     with a focus on legs. ``The stronger my legs, the better my 
     snowboarding,'' he says. He says he used to lift more but 
     scaled back when he began practicing yoga. ``I might not be 
     as strong as I once was but I feel better doing yoga,'' he 
     says. ``It makes surfing easier and every day things easier, 
     like standing on one leg when you're drying your feet after 
     you get out of the shower.''
       He takes a private Ashtanga-style yoga lesson in his home 
     once a week.


                                The Diet

       Mr. Burton is pescetarian and tries to eat mostly organic. 
     He and his wife hire someone to help prepare meals, which are 
     left in the fridge. ``We're spoiled,'' he says. In the 
     morning Mr. Burton has a smoothie made from frozen mangos and 
     frozen peaches or frozen berries and bananas. Lunch might be 
     vegetable soup and an avocado and tomato sandwich with a tiny 
     bit of mayo on whole wheat bread. They might have a squash 
     soup with some cheese or lentils and a salad with avocado. 
     ``I average more than two avocados a day,'' he says. His 
     wife's vegetable garden provides many of the ingredients that 
     go into meals. They freeze vegetables to use during the 
     winter. His splurge is pizza.


                                The Gear

       Mr. Burton estimates he has about 30 different snowboards 
     at home. His favorites are the Burton Namedropper (retail 
     $419.95) and the Burton Barracuda (retail $519.95). Right now 
     he is riding with Burton EST Genesis bindings (retail 
     $329.95) and wearing Burton Ion leather boots (retail 
     $499.95). Mr. Burton likes to hike in Adidas trail running 
     sneakers. In 2006, Burton purchased Channel Islands 
     Surfboards and Mr. Burton is constantly trying out new 
     boards. He has recently been riding the Average Joe short 
     board (retail about $1,500) and a Waterhog longboard (retail 
     $765) from Channel Islands.


                              The Playlist

       ``I'm hooked on hip hop,'' he says. ``It drives Donna nuts 
     so I try not to listen to it at home but I'll put on my 
     headphones when I hike. The music is so clean and raw. It 
     really motivates me.'' He says he'll listen to the classics 
     from Biggie [The Notorious B.I.G.], Tupac, and 2 Chainz or 
     he'll put on the hip-hop channel on Sirius XM Radio. ``I also 
     love classic rock so much that my kids now like it.''

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