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Sherman Robert Poppen, born in Muskegon, Michigan, on March 25, 1930 and died in Griffin, Georgia, on July 31, 2019, is the inventor of the snowboard, or "snurfer".
On Christmas Day, 1965, Poppen was tinkering in her garage in Muskegon, Michigan. He takes a pair of children's skis and ties them together to form one large board1. The whole village begins to get carried away with his invention. Poppen improves the design and starts selling boards in local stores. In 1966, he patented his invention called "Snow-skiing type surfing ". His wife suggested calling it "snurfer". Working with Brunswick Corporation, Poppen earned over a million dollars.
The origin of the snowboard is not entirely clear. Nevertheless, Poppen's snurfer plays a big role. Jake Burton Carpenter, who was an avid snurfer lover, develops Poppen's invention and creates a snowboard. Sherman Poppen is recognized as the real founding father of this. In addition, Poppen started snowboarding at the age of 67.
