Tom Sims, American skateboarder and snowboarder, founded Sims Snowboards (b. 1950)
Tom Sims (December 6, 1950 – September 12, 2012) was an American athlete, inventor, and entrepreneur. Sims was World Snowboarding Champion (1983), World Champion Skateboarder (1975), and founder of SIMS Snowboards and SIMS Skateboards. He lived in Santa Barbara, California from 1971 until his death.
In 1963, in his 7th-grade wood-shop class at Haddonfield Central School in his hometown of Haddonfield, New Jersey, he and John Murray made what they called a "skiboard," combining their two favorite sports, skiing and skateboarding. He attended Haddonfield Memorial High School, which honored him in 1998 for a lifetime achievement award.Sims was the primary snowboarding stunt double for "007" (Roger Moore) in the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill, which helped popularize both the snowboard and its usage. Since 2006, the SIMS Snowboards brand has been managed by Collective Licensing International, LLC, a unit of Collective Brands Inc., though Tom Sims was still very active in the company. Tom continued to be personally involved in the design and testing of the new snowboard and skateboard equipment being developed under the SIMS brand until his death.Sims died on September 12, 2012 at a hospital near his home in Santa Barbara, California at the age of 61, from complications due to cardiac arrest.
2012Sep, 12
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Events on 2012
- 13Jan
Costa Concordia disaster
The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off the coast of Italy due to the captain's negligence and irresponsibility. There are 32 confirmed deaths. - 2Jun
2011 Egyptian revolution
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the killing of demonstrators during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. - 19Jun
Julian Assange
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange requested asylum in London's Ecuadorian Embassy for fear of extradition to the US after publication of previously classified documents including footage of civilian killings by the US army. - 11Sep
2012 Benghazi attack
The U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya is attacked, resulting in four deaths. - 23Oct
Digital switchover
After 38 years, the world's first teletext service (BBC's Ceefax) ceases broadcast due to Northern Ireland completing the digital switchover.