Breaking In To The Biz: Burton’s Chris Doyle

mike lewis

• January 08 2009
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In this self portrait, Chris Doyle - now Burton’s senior product development specialist - was working as a Jr. Accountant at a bank in New York City. It was the summer of 1985. That same year Doyle decided to make a run for it back to the hills of Vermont: “That was the winter I discovered snowboarding,” he says. Of the above photo, Doyle says: “Here’s one I thought you guys might get a laugh out of. Yup… my life could’ve gone horribly the wrong way.”

Doyle decided to share his experience during the first winter in Vermont. Here’s what he had to say:

“I moved in and out [of Vermont] on my motorcycle. As you can imagine, two wheels aren’t very useful in a Vermont winter, especially when it continually dumped like it did that ‘85/86 season. I didn’t have a car so the Burton Woody I ’shared’ with a buddy was transportation first and recreation second.

Sugarbush wasn’t open in the winter of ‘85/86 so it was still two plankin’ on the lifts. But I would sometimes catch rides with the groomers after getting out of the tune shop at night and misty shred the trails.

Mostly though, I’d ride it down the snowbanks of West Hill Road and through the Sugarbush golf course to get home. I never strapped in as all Jake’s boards came set up regular. I’m goofy and the buddy wanted to
keep it regular, even though he never rode it after eating shit on it a couple times. That was cool with me ‘cuz I wanted to be able to jump off it like a skateboard. So I just stuffed my feet in with the milk bottle hibacks coming up my shins and held onto that rope for dear life. I can’t remember how many times I crashed onto the road from the snowbanks when the road was clear. But on nights when it was pounding snow and they hadn’t plowed, West Hill road was just heaven. Those first rope assisted pow runs down the rode drove the needle deep in the vein and I’ve been addicted since.

I gotta admit I never thought I’d make a living from it and it would pay for me to travel the world.”