Tom Sims James Bond Snowboard on Display at the Colorado Snowsports Museum
The Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame is excited to announce that the Tom Sims snowboard ridden in the James Bond movie “A View to a Kill” is now back on display at the Museum. Generously on loan to us by Hilary Sims, through the Colorado Snowboard Archive, this piece of pop culture was for many - the first snowboard they ever saw.
Photo credit: Colorado Snowboard Archive
VAIL, CO, September 14, 2022 — The snowboard that is now back on display at the Colorado Snowsports Museum is the one James Bond rode in the movie "A View to a Kill.” Tom Sims and Steve Link rode this snowboard in the opening scene of the 007 movie filmed in 1984, as a double for Roger Moore as James Bond. This sequence exposed millions of people around the world to snowboarding for the first time.
“A View to a Kill” is a spy film and the fourteenth in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions and is the seventh and final appearance of Roger Moore as the MI6 agent known as James Bond. In the film Bond is pitted against Max Zorin (played by Christopher Walken), who plans to destroy California's Silicon Valley.
Along with the snowboard, the display also includes a monitor showing a clip from the film, bringing the board to life in the chase scene.
Photo credit: Colorado Snowboard Archive
“Snowboarding wasn’t even allowed on Vail Mountain until 1989, so it really shows you that it was far ahead of its time.”
“I was down at our resource center in Denver talking to Dana Mathios, director of collections and our museum curator, and I see this snowboard…and I said, ‘What’s that thing?’ and she said, ‘Oh, that’s a snowboard from a James Bond movie’ and I was like, ‘What? We’ve got to get this on display at the museum,” Mason explained to Tricia Swenson with the Vail Daily.
In 1963, Tom Sims built his first snowboard in his 7th grade woodshop class and went on to own one of the largest skateboard companies of the 1970s. His energy, marketing abilities, and passion made him a natural leader of the sport. Sims was a relentless innovator in snowboard design and testing and is credited with many important advances in both equipment and competition. Tom passed away at the age of 61, but his contributions to snowboarding remain, as seen with this Tom Sims board on display today.
Photo credit: Colorado Snowboard Archive
Along with Tom Sims, Steve Link was also responsible for doubling for James Bond. Steve Link, out of his Summit Snowboards Factory in Silverthorne, Colorado, also had an impact on the growth of snowboarding beyond this film. In the early 1990s, Steve made The Summit Shawn Farmer Pro Model snowboard, which was one of the most iconic pro models of the era.
“A View to a Kill was the first-time snowboarding was witnessed in mass culture on a global scale, and it was such a validation for all of us who knew the potential of snowboarding to see it on the big screen,” explains Trent Bush, Founder of the Colorado Snowboard Archive and current CSM Board Member. He goes on, “The fact that it was Tom Sims and Steve Link was so fitting because there are very few people who blazed a trail of innovation in snowboarding like they did.”
“I’m so stoked to have the board getting the attention it deserves!””
To see this important piece of snowboarding history and pop culture, stop by the Colorado Snowsports Museum in Vail, Colorado. The Museum is open daily from 10am to 5pm. Admission is free – with a suggested donation at the door.
Photo credit: Colorado Snowboard Archive and the Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame
About the Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame:
Founded in 1975 and located in Vail, Colorado, our mission is to celebrate Colorado snow sports by telling stories that educate and inspire others to seek adventure. The priceless artifacts we collect and display tell the story of the birth, rise and explosion of skiing and snowboarding in Colorado. The Museum features displays including Climb to Glory about the 10th Mountain Division, Vail’s DNA, The Colorado Snowboard Archive, and The Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame, among many others. Learn more and consider supporting the Museum by becoming a member: https://www.snowsportsmuseum.org.
Media Contact:
Jen Mason | Dana Mathios
jen@snowsportsmuseum.org | dana@snowsportsmuseum.org
(970) 476-1876
