We know we said we were done, but: today Jake and Donna “Burton” Carpenter appeared on Vermont Public Radio (on whose board Donna is a member) to “respond to criticism of the graphics on some of their boards.” (Click here for the MP3 version)
Jake Burton Carpenter and Donna Carpenter said that for them, the controversy and stories in the media have been hurtful and out of line.
“Hurtful” and “out of line”? Really? Guess everyone is a victim in this love story. Here are a couple more quotes from snowboarding’s first family. First off, Donna is fine with the Playboy boards:
When I first heard about the Love board – I heard the idea that we were putting Playboy centerfolds on the boards and I said, you know, ‘no way.’ And honestly, I was totally prepared to fly off the handle. . .
But she didn’t because after seeing the designs she thought they were tasteful and had a sense of humor. She added that:
The young women that I speak to are not offended by these images at all. They’re really not. I’ve actually had women in the U.S. but also around the world who are buying these boards because they think the images are beautiful.”
And when asked if Burton would create boards like these in the future Jake said, “Yes.”
There might be some moms out there that are part of this, that aren’t going to buy a Burton for their kid. But we’ve never been the brand that builds our graphics about what mom wants. And that was a conscious decision that we made years ago… we make the product and design the product for the person who’s going to use it.”
We guess the bigger question is was all this really worth it? Our answer would be no, but VPR didn’t ask that one.
[Editors’ note: For a longer, nicer interview with Jake and Donna check out Transworld Business.]
[Link: Vermont Public Radio]
I love my burton board coat pants and bindings but i really do not appreciate these boards with explicit pictures maybe if someone just rides their board bed this would be ok but there are children of all ages at resorts that see these steezy snowboarders on these sleezy boards and think it is cool, it really is not and these lead to curiosity in these sorts of pictures can prove harmful. I think it is impertinent to realize all those affected by these “beautiful pictures”
Comments on this entry are closed.