Jake Burton Carpenter pioneered the sport of snowboarding and is the founder of Burton Snowboards, headquartered in Burlington, Vermont. His wife Donna Carpenter is the company CEO.
In their conversation recorded at the StoryCorps mobile booth in Burlington, they talk about how the sport and the worldwide community of snowboarders shaped their lives. They also reflect on how a grave illness that Jake suffered last year strengthened their relationship. He says, “I never really understood living for the moment and living in the present, and I do now."
Their conversation was one of dozens recorded during August while the StoryCorps mobile booth was at the Echo Center in Burlington. StoryCorps is a national initiative to record and collect stories of everyday people. Excerpts were selected and produced by VPR. All StoryCorps conversations are archived at the Library of Congress.