Date: 6/25/01
Author: Josh Cantor

Josh Cantor Representing Flexdex Skateboards

There is really nothing better than being given free gear to do the sport you love. Throughout this article I am going to give some helpful tips that I have picked up from personal experience, and from talking to other friends in the industry, on how to get sponsored and how to stoke out your sponsors. I will cover everything from where to find a sponsor to how to approach them and how to keep them happy.

Where To Find A Sponsor

There are a few different ways I have seen people go about getting a "team ride." The first is the trusty letter accompanied by pictures. Maybe, if you want to get real fancy, even throw in a resume. This seems like a great idea, right? Wrong! Unless you are a really hot chick or about four years old and full on ripping, this is probably not the best route.

When I was about 16 I tried this approach. I put together a fantastic spread of pics, a very impressive letter and resume and sent them to anyone who had an address in Wakeboarding Magazine. After about $20 in postage and paper cuts all over my tongue, I was right back where I started. The only good thing that came out of it was a response from a Hyperlite rep and that was only because there was a hot girl in one of my pics and he wanted me to hook him up.

You need to remember that these companies get hit up for free stuff all the time. I'm not saying that the letter sending never works. It's just not the best way to go about it.

The best way I have seen to get the attention that you need is to be where potential sponsors are. A good place to start is your local pro shop. I do not mean Sport Chalet, but some place that has a clue of what's going on in the industry. Just stop in every once in a while to have a chat. Get to know some of the guys and see if they have any events coming up that they might need some help with.

This leads me to the second place every sponsored rider needs to be; tournaments and demos. Over the last couple of years I have put together and run the So Cal Wakeboard Event in San Diego for the local Pro shop, Wakesports Unlimited. One thing that I can never have too much of is volunteers. If you look at most flyers or promotions for local events you will see tons of sponsors. Don't you think that those sponsors are going to have representatives at the event? They've already shown that they are willing to fork a little cash into the wakeboarding community. This just seems like the ideal place to meet the people that could take care of you face to face and maybe pick up that first ride.

Approaching A Potential Sponsor

Now that we know where to find the right people, how do we go about approaching them for a sponsorship? Let me just start with the wrong way. It may seem a little obvious but happens all the time.

"Excuse me Mr. Hyperlite dude. I'm really good. I can do Raleys and huge roast beefs. Do you want to give me some free stuff?"

Although this is a little simplistic, it's the full extent of most of the propositions. Instead of putting this "Big Kook" sign on your forehead, try using a more subtle technique like calling in a favor from one of those guys at the pro shop organizing the event at which you've been so generously volunteering. They usually have a relationship built up with the reps and by now you should have some sort of friendship built up with these guys and they would probably be stoked to help you out by putting in a good word. The more important the person in the shop or at the tournament, the better. The owner of the shop is ideal because he's the one buying all that rep's products and the rep is always looking for ways to get on his good side.

So now that you know how to approach a potential sponsor, what can you do to make them want to hook you up. The first thing is to be a likable and nice person. Companies want people that are out there pumping the sport and their company.

Remember, when you get sponsored, you become a representative for that company. Would you want some punk kid who was out on the lake breaking all the rules and pissing everyone off representing your company? Try to follow most of the rules, or at least the important ones. Take the time to give some kid pointers on how to clear the wake or help some guy out with the proper adjustments on his board.

Secondly, you need to be known and seen in the wakeboarding community. You do this by being at all your local events helping out whenever you can, getting involved in local wakeboard, or even waterski, clubs.

Finally, be able to ride at a decent level. You do not need to be at all the comps winning the highest class, but the better you are, the less convincing you need to do. However, I would say this last point is the least important of the three parts. You are much more appealing to potential sponsors if you are the guy that just had a horrible run but still gets out of the water with a smile on his face, just happy to be doing the sport we love. So if you can put these three things together, you suddenly become a little more desirable to a potential sponsor.

Caring For Your Sponsor

Once you have achieved the status of being a sponsored rider, the question becomes, how do you keep your sponsors happy? This part is simple: Promote! Promote! Promote! You are a walking advertisement for them, so earn that sponsorship.

I ride for a company called Flexdex Skateboards in San Diego and they make those big long cruising skateboards. So recently, when I went to Australia to do a semester of school, I loaded up my board bags with three different Flexdex skateboards. I rode those things everywhere because it sure beats walking and just to give some publicity. I was always being stopped and asked about them, so I would offer to let the person ride it around. If they were really interested, I would give them the Flexdex email address. I even took some orders from some mates that lived near me and had one of my friends bring the boards over when she came to visit. This is all stuff that was no big deal for me, but Flexdex loved it.

Another good little move is to keep some stickers with you. People of all ages love getting stickers. Don't be afraid to slap those things on your friend's car, board and even their girlfriend or boyfriend. I think there are still a couple of kangaroos running around the Australian Outback with Flexdex stickers on their chests.

Too often, riders are looking at sponsorship as, "What's in it for me?" and that's the wrong attitude. Even some of the top riders are dropped for reasons other than not winning. No matter how good you ride, if you are not promoting your company in the way they want to be promoted, they will drop you.

So we have learned where to find your sponsors, how to get a hold of them, what they are looking for in you and what you need to do to keep them happy. Speaking of keeping your sponsors happy, even in this article I have subtly, or maybe not so subtly, dropped the names of my three biggest sponsors; Hyperlite Wakeboards, Flexdex Skateboards and Wakesports Unlimited, the board shop I ride for, who do a great job in promoting the sport.

If you live, or are just passing through San Diego or Orange County look them up. I bet if you go in and mention this article, Tyler (the owner) will take care of you with some free stuff. If you use some of the techniques I've outlined, you might even work your way on to their team and your first sponsorship. If you don't live in the So Cal area, I know there are some other great shops out there. These shops also have teams, you just need to go find them.

I hope this article offered some helpful hints. So now go out and use your newfound knowledge. Good luck on your road to getting those sponsors.

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