An Olympic champ's grandma, a lawn mowing job and Jake Burton are all part of snowboarding's roots

There might not be snowboarding at the Olympics — or snowboards at all — if it weren’t for an entrepreneur named Jake Burton. Decades ago and a world away from the mountain, she hired Burton to mow her lawn. Defending slopestyle champion Zoi Sadowski-Synnott's grandma lived on Long Island in the 1970s and saw a flier offering “outdoor improvement” — everything from a complete overhaul of the backyard to a weekly lawn trimming.

By EDDIE PELLS