RIP Tom Sims (OT)

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Slater

Trad climber

Central Coast

Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 13, 2012 - 11:51pm PT

Rad pioneer.

I had the PURE JUICE wheels in the late 70s.

Bitchin' wheels.

I hope he is snowboarding on a cloud.

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/34837/snowboarders+lose+a+godfather+with+the+passing+of+tom+sims/

Jon Beck

Trad climber

Oceanside

Sep 13, 2012 - 11:56pm PT

Without a doubt he was a pioneer of the skate and boarding industry, RIP dude.

Fogarty

climber

BITD

Sep 13, 2012 - 11:58pm PT

I skated for Tom as a kid, what a great guy.
Tom was the mentor of PURE JUICE!
RIP old friend:)

apogee

climber

Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy

Sep 14, 2012 - 12:02am PT

OK, now I'm really starting to feel old...

covelocos

Trad climber

Nor Cal

Sep 14, 2012 - 12:09am PT

Bob?

Fogarty

climber

BITD

Sep 14, 2012 - 12:18am PT

heart attack, I'm thinking he must be 62 or 63? Really set back by this he was such a spirit and a motivator!

Fogarty

climber

BITD

Sep 14, 2012 - 12:26am PT

Those wells made Roadriders look like sh#t my fav were the Snake!

Chinchen

climber

Way out there....

Sep 14, 2012 - 12:55am PT

Well this sucks. Keep on RIPPIN.

ß Î Ø T Ç H

Boulder climber

bouldering

Sep 14, 2012 - 12:58am PT

There was a few years there where Sims was huge in skateboarding. About that same time I saw Brad Bowman killing it at the Oxnard skatepark.

splitter

Trad climber

Hodad, surfing the galactic plane

Sep 14, 2012 - 01:16am PT

Wow, what a shock!

Yes Sims was the man in the mid seventies for sure.

Followed the whole progression from 2x4 and metal wheels in elementary school in SoCal in the early 60's, to mid 60's Hobie skateboards with with the roller rink wheels through the 60's/early 70's (which really helped me with the transition from longboard to shortboard to fish from 68-72)to the Sims era urethane wheels & boards explosion! My last skateboard (around 78/79) had Tracker Trucks, Cadillac wheels with Abec bearings ( if i remember correctly).

But the urethane wheels were such a huge step. No more fear of doing an endo into the pavement every 10-15 minutes, totally revolutionized the sport, cuz it had pretty much gone belly-up until that happened .

Dang, 61 is way to young to pass away! RIP

edit: my first board with urethane wheels i brought it up to Mammoth one winter (76/77) and ended up selling it to Joe Rouseck (prollie still up there somewhere, lol).

RJ - Go for it, bro! lol If i recall correctly it was a 1st generation Sims board, etc! It was pre-kicktail deck (no kick in the front or rear) i had to glue/barge cement a V block on the tail. btw, it wud make one hell of a TR, so take plenty of pics!! And do it in the style & memory of Mr. Sims, brah!!!

rottingjohnny

Sport climber

mammoth lakes ca

Sep 14, 2012 - 08:21am PT

splitter...I'll sneak into Joe's barn when he's not around and see if i can find that board with the risk of getting spit on or mounted by one of his llamas....RJ

bob

climber

Sep 14, 2012 - 08:45am PT

Bummer!

As a snowboarder and skater from mid eighties Sims products were everywhere.

Snowboarding: I started with the Burton line (Backcountry, Elite 140, etc), but always was envious of the Sims boards. They had the Switchblade that was so OBVIOUSLY made for the more modern styles of riding we see today.

Skateboarding: I rode various Kevin Staab models as well as Jeff Phillips series where the same art evolved with each new model. Pretty cool.

Thanks for pushing both industry styles and standards.

RIP Tom Sims

Bob Jensen

thekidcormier

Gym climber

squamish, b.c.

Sep 14, 2012 - 09:35am PT

R.I.P. Sims

Gunkie

Trad climber

East Coast US

Sep 14, 2012 - 11:43am PT

Geez. I used to rep snowboards for Sims in the mid 80s in the mid atlantic region. Sorry to hear the news.

Capt.

climber

some eastside hovel

Sep 14, 2012 - 01:01pm PT

Also must agree that this makes me feel old.Once again,out of the blue. RIP Tom.We'll hook L8r...

~kief~

Trad climber

state of Awakening

Sep 14, 2012 - 01:22pm PT

shred on Tom
-

Words: Pat Bridges

On Wednesday, September 12th, 2012 snowboarding pioneer Tom Sims passed away after suffering a heart attack. Tom’s legacy looms large for anyone who has ever aspired to achieve a sideways descent down snow-covered slopes. Born on December 6th, 1950 in Haddon Field, New Jersey, Tom has often relayed the story of how he conceived of and created the first snowboard while only thirteen years old in his Junior High School woodshop class.

After traveling to the West Coast Tom was introduced to surfing and skateboarding and eventually relocated to California and became immersed in what is today known as the action sports lifestyle, going on to create Sims Skateboards and sponsoring Lester Kasai, Jeff Phillips, and Christian Hosoi. During the early 80s as the founder of Sims Snowboards, Tom took the initiative of lobbying an apprehensive ski community to allow snowboarders on their hallowed slopes. Given the litigious paranoia of the era this was no easy task. Due to the diligence of Tom Sims, Jake Burton, and others, one-by-one, ski resorts began to accept the fledgling sport. According to an interview Tom gave in 1995, “The world has woken up and realized that the best way and most enjoyable way down a mountain is on a snowboard. Prior to 1985, I had to beg a ski area owner to let me on their precious chairlifts. The same guy that kicked me off the hill ten years ago now begs me for a board for his grandson.”

In addition to his innovative snowboard equipment designs which include the first kick tails, pro models, women’s specific decks, and folding highbacks, Tom Sims created the world’s first halfpipe of snow at Soda Springs ski area in Lake Tahoe, CA, was featured riding in the opening of the 1985 James Bond film “A View To A Kill,” earned both national and world downhill championship titles, and founded one of the most iconic snowboard brands of all time which sponsored influential riders including Terry Kidwell, Shaun Palmer, Chris Roach, Noah Salasnek, Tara Dakides, Marc Frank Montoya, John Jackson, Craig Kelly, Tina Basich, Shannon Dunn, Kurt Wastell, Todd Richards, and an unending list of other notable pro snowboarders.

Nearly five decades after first testing his invention, Tom Sims continued to be an avid snowboarder and the virtues he brought to our sport still ring true. According to Sims, “Riding, just pure riding, is what snowboarding is all about.”
------

tom sims Tahoe city dump,1983

Big Mike

Trad climber

Sep 14, 2012 - 02:48pm PT

Rip Tom! I had a few sims snowboards bitd. They ruled! I heard the company was just about to launch a bunch of new product! Hopefully it still happens!

James Wilcox

Boulder climber

The Coast

Sep 14, 2012 - 05:21pm PT

The guy could ride the longest board on the steepest terrain, stylin'
the whole time.
Hang Ten, my man.

sethsquatch76

Trad climber

Joshua tree ca

Sep 14, 2012 - 08:57pm PT

My first snowboard was a Simms Blade 171... rigid high back bindings.....I was sooooo stoked!!!!!!!

thank you Tom Simms!

Fogarty

climber

BITD

Sep 14, 2012 - 11:18pm PT

BUMP, Rip Mr. SIMS!

Tom

Big Wall climber

San Luis Obispo CA

Sep 15, 2012 - 02:10am PT

Correct. Lonnie Toft made a four-truck, eight-wheel board with carpet on top, and was shown in a pool in Skateboarder magazine, getting "seven wheels above the coping". Later, Sims offered the design for sale. I think it was more of a novelty, than a practical board.

Tom Sims was one of the first (the first??) to produce boards of laminated maple veener, with a formed kick-tail. The photo above, at the Carlsbad skatepark, shows him riding one of the first. Before then, most wooden boards were solid oak, with a wedge glued to the tail for the kicker. Sims took the idea of the laminated fiberglass boards (Bahne, Gordon and Smith, Infinity, etc.) and extrapolated that to using maple veneer - this is the standard deck construction method to this day.

He drove up from Ventura to check out the surf in Cambria one day, and my brother and I were riding a little drainage ditch on our homemade boards. He called us over, and we talked for a bit. He was impressed at the durability of the urethane varnish we had on our boards, and asked us what we were using. I have no idea if he started using it. My brother later bought one of the first laminated maple Sims boards, but I kept on making my own. We were pretty amped that someone famous would want to talk to us, a couple of little kids in a rinky-dink skating ditch.

Tom

Big Wall climber

San Luis Obispo CA

Sep 15, 2012 - 10:48pm PT

I remember seeing boards made from Maharajah water skis.

As I recall, the Hobie Gregg Weaver board was laminated side-to-side from full thickness pieces of wood, to produce a multiple stringer effect.

The Sims Taperkick name may have applied to an earlier technology, with a wedge of wood glued to the top of the tail, and the bottom of the tail sanded off at a matching angle, to mimic a steamed-and-bent sort of look. Logan Earth Ski was made this way, and I think some Sims boards, too. Laminating maple veneer in a forming press was definitely later. Sims also sanded out recesses for the wheels, so the board could turn tighter.

Klimmer

Mountain climber

San Diego

Sep 16, 2012 - 12:18am PT

Sorry to hear that Tom Sims passed away. Tom RIP.

I did meet Tom once at a big Skateboarder Magazine sponsored competition here in San Diego at the SD Charger Stadium in Mission Valley. It must have been about 1976 or so.

Anyway, he was in an area warming up for a freestyle routine and on my board I think I accidentally drifted into his area. I was completely unaware that I got in his way. Small punk kid vs a "pro" skater. How, could I be so rude? What was I thinking? Anyway he had to stop so he didn't hit me and then gave me the stink eye, and then through mental telepathy he said "how could I have been so rude to get in his way?" Or so I thought he said. Anyway, hind sight is 20/20 as they say.

Anyway, I had started my own skateboard company called Pipeline Skateboards. I had product testing to do. I apologized and was on my way.

He probably was a really cool guy. But by my first impression I wouldn't know.

Moral of the story: First impressions mean a lot. Don't blow it. Be kind to everyone.

splitter

Trad climber

Hodad, surfing the galactic plane

Sep 17, 2012 - 10:30am PT

Before then wooden boards were solid oak.

That's what I was talking about (board i brought to Mammoth in '76 and sold to joe r). It was a flat oak deck with Sims urethane wheels. But I recall barge cementing the wedge/v block on the tail for a kicker, cuz we were just getting into basic vert('74-'75) and it was essential, so it didn't come with one already on it! I thought it had California trucks but maybe Tracker's, it's been a long time.

I also recall gluing/screwing a 1/2" strip of wood on the bottom of the deck as a rail that i could grab. The OB/Pt Loma crew that i surfed & skated with were pretty innovative early on. The Zephre/Z-Boys (Venice) got all the credit though. Don't know who first came up with that idea, perhaps us, but rails were later added to most boards and eventually bcame part of the press/mold for the laminated decks. Those were exciting times for skate/surf punks, eh?

edit: Klimmer - EVERYBODY, gave skinny lil' gremmie surf/skate punks the "stinkeye" and a virtual hard time, bitd! It was & is an essential part of surfing culture...he was initiating you, into the tribe, bro!! ;)

BLUEBLOCR

Social climber

joshua tree

Sep 18, 2012 - 02:04pm PT

RIP Tom Sims
I to new and skated for Tom. Back in 77&78 I was lucky enough to move to Santa Barbara.
Where they had just built Sparks skatepark RIP. went there every day. Got picked up by team Sunspots. Inventers of the conical wheel. Soon after Tom stole me from the team and later the conical wheel idea. I was stoked! Traveling around the west coast doing demos in malls and schools riding a plexiglass ramp. Staying in motels acting like a rock star. And Tom was David Lee Roth! He was always pushing the limit. Devo wanted to do a music video playing next to a pool full of skaters. Tom talked Devo into playing in the bottom of the pool and we skated around them. They were scared shitless. I was always pissed at him for not using me in an ad.
He said that I was funny lookin and I always had my tongue sticking out. One moment that's always stuck with me, we were skatin Sparks and a jet flew overhead. Tom pointed at it and said,"mike one of these days I'm going to own that. " I said yea right,now ur reach'in.
Well THANKS Tom for always reach'in for the stars. And being a Great friend, motivater,coach
to this 15 yro boy....

God Bless
BB