Skaters Steve Caballero and Lance Mountain have been riding since the early 80s at least, Tony Hawk, Kevin Staab, and Joe Johnson have been riding for years. Surf standouts like Gary Elkerton, Mike Parsons, and Noah Budroe bite the snowboarding bait, and most other pro surfers ride regularly, have tried it, or at least have developed an opinion or two about it. With over one-million dollars spent on the contest it was the richest contest so far. Vision begins production under its own name and Tom resumes making a new Sims line. Gary Elkerton scores the win, proving it's a lot harder to learn how to surf than snowboard.
Negotiations fail between the two groups.
Most in the industry shrug it off as another of Ken Achenbach's wild ideas. During a photo shoot at Squaw Valley, California, snowboarder Steve Graham accidentally collides with photographer Bud Fawcett resulting in nerve damage to Fawcett's left arm. This results in a court battle which no one will talk about. The International Snowboard Federation holds its first official Snowboard World Championships in Ischgl, Austria. American's Kevin Delaney and Michele Taggart win the combined titles.