AZZPADZ is the self-preservation creation of Jason Schuler and Neil James; azz-impact survivors! We learned to snowboard with a group of 8 friends during a 2 day trip. Five of us were in dire need of protection while the other 3 would come to join our group as the season progressed. We were advised to wear old hockey pants or stuff a pillow down the backs of our pants. Snowboarding can be very unforgiving to beginners, but it doesn't have to be that way. Jay and I thought, "this is ridiculous", so we looked around for suitable protection and found nothing! Further searches via the Internet provided us with several companies in the U.S. marketing "tailbone protection pants", all of which offered "foam only" protection. Neither one of us thought that foam alone would offer complete protection. This reasoning lead us to incorporate a flexible plastic shell into the AZZPAD. The 8 of us are still boarding, still falling and of course, fully protected!