He added bindings to keep their boots secure. (Randy Lee October 14, 2014) The Snurfer was believed to be fairly simple and had no bindings, but this is debatable. It is widely accepted that Jake Burton Carpenter (founder of Burton Snowboards) and/or Tom Sims (founder of Sims Snowboards) invented modern snowboarding. In 1981, a couple of Winterstick team riders went to France at the invitation of Alain Gaimard, marketing director at Les Arcs.