Happy 25th Birthday, Rome Snowboards

The snowboard industry was jam-packed with gimmicks and half-baked ideas back in 2001. Paul Maravetz and Josh Reid set out to stop that with Rome.

“The byproduct of this bedlam created an industry oversaturated with under-baked ideas and products. The visuals were insane, the gimmicks hyperbolic and many riders were left puzzled. Gone were the days of the rebellious graphics and hedonistic antics that brought many to the snowboarding in the first place,” Rome says in a press release. “Neon-clad profiteers crowded the slopes and pages in our magazines. Thankfully, the winds of change were blowing as the spring of 2001 settled-in.”

Reid and Maravetz started Rome with the hopes of going against the ordinary. That all started with the riders. The original name of the brand was Rome Snowboard Design Syndicate. That was based on the concept of riders having a say in all aspects of the board, from graphics to flexes to catalog copy.

Without a doubt, Rome has had some legends strap into their boards, whether it's Bjorn Leines or Marie-France Roy.

Now, it boasts one of the hardest-hitting teams in the game. Rene Rinnekangas, Ståle Sandbech, and Madison Blackley have led the way for a while now. In recent years, it’s added Maggie Leon, Cooper Whittier, and Lolo Derminio. Amateurs like Derek Lemke and Drake Warner took the snowboard world by storm when the street project Swarm dropped last fall. Frank Jobin was every snowboarder’s favorite Big Air rider in these past Olympics.

To celebrate, Rome has released an original Artifact board from its archives for sale to the general public. For the price of just $5,601, you can own the board that started it all.