Modify your life!

(modified and prototype snurfers with the PHNX Boards patented Rip-Cord Binding-Brake System)

PHNX Boards snurfers have been shipped all over the US and a few shipped overseas (Russia, Japan, Luxembourg).  We shipped one the other day to Utah and were surprised at the response:

Hey received my board yesterday cant wait to shred it around town when we get more snow here in Utah! Question i didnt realize the bottom wasnt ptex. How would i go about waxing it to keep it sliding good?? Also thinking about routering the bottom and installing some edges!

Wow, this was both concerning and exciting.  Concerning because we thought we've made it very clear that a PHNX Board was a wooden snurfer without a ptex bottom or metal edges.  At least that's what we say on our website...but there's not much on our PHacebook...er Facebook page.  At the same time, it was exciting because this rider got something he wasn't quite expecting but nevertheless was jazzed up about riding it...and already thinking about modifying it!

I explained what a PHNX Board is and isn't and steered him over to PHNXBoards.com.  His response:

I just didnt pay attention enough i guess! Yeah Im planning on taking it up to Snowbasin so edges would be nice when i'm crossing over hardpack runs. Ive modified a few burton throwbacks and takem them up to the resort on pow days allot of fun! Ill take pictures and tag them on your FB when we actually get another storm

While going back and forth with this new rider, it occurred to me that this is the kind of person who meets life with a sense of adventure and excitement.  Complainer?  No way!  Didn't get exactly what you thought you would get?  Well, maybe I'll just modify it!  Already skied or snowboarded Snowbasin, one of the premier resorts in the US?  Heck, I'll go up there with a modified Burton Throwback...and maybe modify this PHNX too!

This rider's "modify it" attitude really resonated with me because that's how PHNX Boards came to be.  The original snurfer was a modify of the sled concept, getting off your butt and onto your feet.  The original Burton Board snowboard was a modify of the snurfer, adding those edges and bindings.  And now the PHNX Board is a retro modify of the snurfer, taking a look back and starting over.   It's a cycle of modification and innovation, sometimes small modifies, sometimes big ones.

More importantly, though, its the "modify it" attitude that leads to all innovation and progress, no matter what product, or lifestyle.  These days, its called hacking, or lifehacking; fixing something that annoys you, taking a fresh look at what you are doing and finding a better way to do it.

Do you live by the "modify it" attitude?  When facing challenges, do you modify your life?

Here are some photos showing the development of the PHNX Board Trailblazer.  Modify, modify, modify until you get the best possible combination of features, using whatever you have to do it.  Oh, and don't mind the mess, you can clean that up later!