I was cleaning out the garage the other day and dug up my old Sims snowboard. This board brings back memories! Back in 1982 or 1983, I really can't remember the exact year, me and my buddy Bob would hang out at the small Sims factory just off of Milpas Street in Santa Barbara. Bobs sister was married to Tom at the time so we had our "in" at the shop. One day we walked in the side door and I saw these cool looking new snowboards and I knew I had to have one and I knew this would be my new sport. They were not allowed at Ski resorts at the time so we would take them up to Tahoe and climb to the tops of the mountains and just rip down the hill. I still have the Sims board and will never part with it. The rest is history and we all know how big the sport got.
Now for the Standup Paddle Board part of the story. About 3 years ago I discovered SUP boarding. The second I saw the board and the paddle I knew this was going to be my new sport and I had to find a board ASAP! None of the local SB shapers wanted anything to do with it so I then found Ron House down in San Clemente. Ron was hand shaping all of Lairds SUP boards and I knew that if they were good enough for Laird they were sure as hell good enough for me. Ron shaped me my first SUP board and yes, I still have it and it surfs like a mo-fo!! I will also never get rid of this board. Ron and I are good friends now and sometimes talk about the good old days. All of us that have had the privilege of getting involved in this sport in it's early stages should take lots of pics and enjoy what a fun sport we have discovered. Be positive, have fun, and just sit back and watch the sport explode just like snowboarding did 25+ years ago. OUT.
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