"I think one of the big obstacles to the development of snowboarding–which you see in skiing–is it’s expensive. It would be cool if we could find a way to make the whole thing cheaper."

So said Jake Burton in 1991 in the first exlusive interview he gave to SNOWboarding Business. Concern for the cost of the sport was one of the major themes covered in the magazine during 1991 and 1992, as were ski company intrusion, the value of asymmetrical boards, and the future of the pro tours.

Here’s a look at some of the more interesting remarks that people made during these two early years of SNOWboarding Business.

•Inventing the sport: "I’ve always felt the sport wasn’t really invented, it just evolved. I think that certain people, and events, really accelerated it, but the concept was not invented. Really, whoever invented surfing deserves credit for all this stuff."

•The early days: "It was very tough, and at times, extremely demoralizing. We really developed a feeling for the sport, as much or more than for selling the product, because that’s really what you were forced into doing.

•Leading the industry: "We were always the biggest, but we’re not now. Black Snow sells a lot more boards than we do, but it doesn’t really faze me."

•Goals: "One of my real goals for the sport for the future is that we maintain a strong American base. I think we don’t want to see a World Cup tour take off and leave this country for the whole winter, and then bring them back for a week or two in March."

"Snowboarding has reunited the family. Parents used to send their kids to ski school and go off to ski alone. Now the whole family is taking snowboarding lessons together–because they’re all beginners."–Steve Lehr, director of the ski school at June Mountain, California

"The team riders have realized that the ‘free-ride’ days of pro snowboarding are over," says Chris Wartinger [Apocalypse product manager]. "They have to be involved in other aspects of the company besides just going out and riding."

•Company size: "We’re unique because we’re not a big company. We aren’t in every single store, and we don’t want to be. It’s one of those things where you have one of our boards, and it’s kind of a nostalgic thing."

•Ski companies: "I just heard that LaCroix is making a snowboard. I just about died on that one.

"The ski industry has jumped in and now they’re like, ‘Oh f@%!, what did we jump in for? We’re probably going to lose our shorts on this.’ But I don’t think any ski company involved in snowboarding can hurt us. They can make the pie bigger–if they work with us. But they’re too money-hungry to do so."

•On design: "People are going to learn there are a variety of ways to carve a snowboard. Asymmetrical sidecut is only one way to translate a carving board. People are going to experiment with things like convex.

"We don’t make an asymmetrical board. We make symmetrical race boards with rotated elliptical sidecuts and convex under the feet. It’s a pretty different thing."–Brad Steward, Morrow Snowboards

Character of the show: "The snowboard companies still have a persecution complex around the ski industry, but they really are the envy of all the companies here."–Roger Lohr, SIA Snowboard Committee Liaison

"From the looks of the show, a lot of snowboard companies woke up and became professional this year. There is a lot of off-pricing from some companies, but that’s probably good for the industry."–Jamie Salter of Kemper

"We had always said if we got involved with a winter sport, it would only be if it had the same psychographics and demographics as surfing. Snowboarding did. That was a few years ago and now snowboarding dominates our existence for half the year."–Bonnie Crail, Op executive vice president of marketing and advertising

"We’re looking at doubling next year, going to twelve events and 50,000-dollars per event. I foresee all our events being titled by major identities like Hawaiian Punch, Pringles, and others.

"We’ll be here indefinitely. We’re in the seventh year on our surf tour."–Rick Waring, PSTA director

"People ask us if the Gnu boards are being made overseas, and if we have the same old distributor," said Mike Olson of the resurrected Gnu line. "When we answer no to both they are ready to order."

Rich Novak, owner of Santa Cruz Snowboards, said: "Snowboarding will be 50 percent of the ski market within the next five years."

Rick Wright of Rick’s Action Sports, East Islip, New York: "The snowboard industry has to decide whether it’s going to sell itself to the ski shops that discount everything. Or does the snowboard industry want to sell their boards to the surfers and skaters, and sell their products … for the prices they should be?"

Warren Currie of the Inside Edge in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada, said: "My fears are that the ski industry sees the snowboard as a way out of the depression that it has gotten itself into. The snowboard industry should not look toward the ski industry for guidance. We should stay new, fresh, and different."

"While overall injury rate is similar to that of Alpine skiers, an injured snowboarder is two and a half times more likely to suffer a bone fracture, three and a half times more likely to injure their ankle, and seven times more likely to injure their wrist."–Snowboard injury report by Dr. Jasper Shealy

"As far as the Colorado scene is concerned, we’re hearing the same gripes … These concerns include the elimination of tedious catwalks, the organization of snowboard patrols, the addition of snowboard parks that would feature obstacles such as log slides, kickers, banked turns, etc., and more forgiving attitudes toward snow-riders in general."–Jeff Ingram, Wave Rave

•The price of boards: "Our goal is to keep snowboards affordable. The last thing I want to see is for snowboards to become too expensive."

•Distribution: "I would not like to see snowboards in all ski shops, but I’d like to see those ski shops that are willing to take a big chunk of their floor space and turn it into their snowboard center–then it’s okay.

"Snowboarding retailers need to pick three or four brands, understand the product lines, and go deep in those lines."

•Pro models: "I had wanted to make pro models for Craig Kelly, Burt Lamar, Terry Kidwell, and Shaun Palmer when they were all part of the Sims team back in the mid 80s. Kidwell threatened to quit if I made a Kelly model. That was a tough situation for me. Soon afterward, I lost Craig to Burton, who immediately made a Kelly board."

"MTV Sports wants to be in touch with what’s cool and happening," said Ed Capuano, associate producer. "The tagline for the show is, ‘Cool people doing cool things to cool music.’ The look, the attitude, and style of snowboarding just lends itself to MTV. Maybe it’s not for the Paula Abdul fans, but it’s definitely in the realm of 120 Minutes, Headbanger’s Ball, and even Yo! MTV Raps."

[Damian Sanders] created the prototype for the Damian Tech in the winter of ’92. "It was actually my wife’s idea," says Damian. "While I was thinking of new ways to make boots, she came up with the idea of bolting a highback on a hybrid (plastic lower) boot."

A departure from most modern snowboards, the Hots are horizontal laminate decks. "People pooh-pooh that," says Paul Alden, "but look at the track record of Hot on the race course. Further, these boards simply do not delaminate. They’ve got less than one-percent return rate."

•Board design: "A lot of our distributors and dealers ask if we’re going to have a race board or if we can build one, but we’re really one of the only companies that are exclusively making freestyle and freeriding products.

"We make a board that carves just as well as any race board. The edge contact and the sidecut on our models almost resemble slalom boards, but our boards have big kicks in them so you can freeride."

"I was a washed-up, burned-out DJ living with my girlfriend at the YMCA in San Francisco’s Tenderloin. I met Marshall Stern, who owns the Snowboard Connection in San Francisco. I’d only been riding for a year, and I wasn’t any good, but I liked it. I’d never been in powder before. I’d never even worn goggles."–John Logic, owner

"Jamie has taken a backseat in the promotion of the company," says Tim Pogue, head of North American sales and worldwide promotion for Ride. "He has an investment in Ride and will handle the international distribution, but otherwise, I’ll be in charge."

"We’re projecting no image except individuality. We’re going to focus on the sport and making good products."