When Breckenridge team rider and Summit County local JJ Thomas took 3rd and stepped to the podium after the Dew Tour Superpipe Finals at his home mountain on Saturday, he did right by both the Summit Unchained "Buy Local" campaign and his new sponsors at Unity Snowboards.
Unity hooked the 2006 Olympic Bronze medalist up with a sponsorship deal just one week before the Dew Tour contest. Good timing! There he was, hucking that Unity logo high in the sky as he spun above the pipe for the NBC cameras, then waving it proudly as he claimed his trophy: Every sponsor's dream.
Another Breck team rider representing for Unity is Zack Black, who made the podium the week before for the first stop of the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix at Copper and is currently in 3rd place in the race to fill four slots on the Olympic team. Both riders are sporting the 159 Origin by Unity Snowboards ($450).
Via UnitySnowboards.com:
The Origin is our true twin park board. They are completely symmetrical
in both shape and flex and feature a centered stance. The Origin is
perfect for hitting huge jumps, boosting in the pipe, or nailing that
tech rail trick you've been dreaming about.
This year the Origin features our Wood Composite Impact Pads. These are
thin pieces of wood veneer that strengthen the board under the binding
area. The added strength reduces the possibility of the binding
breaking the board from extreme impacts that often occur when riding
the park.
Company founders Pete Wurster and Pavel Krikava have been at it since 1995, building their boards in Silverthorne, CO. If you're up in Breckenridge, you can try Unity demo boards at Alpine Sports Rental, and you can also buy them at The Big Hit, 100 N. Main Street. To pick one up here in Denver, try Division West, 2632 E. Third Ave.
For more boards made in Colorado, check out our previous Local Boards for Locavores posts on Silverton's Venture Snowboards and Denver's Never Summer.