I am looking for a sponsor, anyone have any opportunities or suggestions? I am planing on competing this upcoming year, working hard this winter for it.
make soe videos put them up on youtube/vimeo of course make those videos have your best stuff. then get photos out there.
think of it this way, if a company is going to sponsor you, they want you to get as much exposure as you can of you using their product. If you start to enter contest and do well in them, you wont have any problem finding a sponsor. Just remember why you started surfing in the first place though
yeah. don't think sponsorship is just free swag from shops and or companies. If someone decides to sponsor you they WILL expect a return on their investment which usually means all kinds of effort on your part.
the "s" word... ...is bad. Here is the deal. When you are "good enough" for someone to give you product, travel or even money; the whole town where you are from will be ringing your door bell. When you are "THAT" good, your local shop will do the work for you because they know you deserve it. Until then, stay in school and prepare a future that you can bet on. I have seen a ton of kids "Go looking for a sponsor," and you know what they end up with? NOTHING. The sponsors that are worth a damn will find you. Go look for an education and you will find something about your self. Finding a sponsor IS "slowly following the way of the buffalo!" Invest your time, money and future on something that will in return pay you back. And if you are that good already and I apologize for giving my load of crap; drive on down to jenks (SAY HELLO TO HAMMER), southside (SAY HELLO TO BUCK), or s-turns (SAY HELLO TO NOAH) and shows them how it's really done and take their sponsor right of their back. Screw competitions unless you have good competition in good waves.
if you got the stuff to impress sponsors, prove it. The best way to do this is through photos, videos, and contest results. In this day in age, the companies are looking for more than just good riders, they are look for riders that promote themselves. Now a days, it is a lot easier to do this through the web. Build a web page for yourself, and get that media out there. A good way to start out tho, is locally, through local surf shops. They know who deserves to represent their shop.
working hard this winter with what? lol cant be surfing not this winter, just isnt allowed apparently
I agree... seems like this day in age just being a good solid surfer isn't good enough. The sport progresses so fast... I think I got left behind before I even started. Not just media exposure but travel and good waves, proving you have the bag of tricks outside your local sandbar and the ability to surf overhead like its 2 foot. It blows me away how high the bar has raised in since I started out in the early 90s. Just look at the difference between the original 5'5 19 1/4 from the mid 90s and Redux they released a year ago... from chop-hops to varials from 360s to 360s under the lip in the barrel. Of course all this is coming from a non sponsor surfer who just loves seeing progressive surfing. The opportunities definitely exist for those who work hard to separate themselves from the pack. Ya just gotta separate yourself from the pack. I know "Get Wet"... he's a good kid and a good surfer.... PS. Speaking of travel ...you know you got a place to stay just hit me up
don't call them, they will call you. You can't show up to the "sponsored" party without an invite. And they wont "let you in". And i hope you are under the age of 22 or so, cause if you arent, dont bother. Every 15 year old in SoCal is sponsored and being ridden until their wheels fall off. If you havent made it out there by 21, 22, you are out for the most part. You can compete in mens comps etc, but "sponsorship" as you know it is like a .005% option at that point. Younger guys are too good nowadays, and you will miss the boat fast. The best way to get sponsored without working your way up the competitive ladder is to ALWAYS be at the right place when its Big, Heavy etc. Guys get noticed going for broke in front of the right crowd. Be at S-Turns during a huge huuricane swell. If you are that good, you will be where everyone else is that is going big, and photogs will notice and so will everyone else. When there is a contest at Trestles, fly out that week and show up EVERY morning and free surf while all the pros are out. If you get ANY good waves, they will be on film with real pros. Be where it counts. (Every Vince B, everyones favorite local boy) spent some time out in Newport and Huntington. YOu have to do what you have to do. He is back in MD last I heard, but you have to put yourself out there, even when you are sponsored like him. You cant just stay in place if no one is giving you exposure. Be mobile. If you dont know where and when to be, you wont every get noticed. Its all about where you are and when, as long as you are as good as you think you are. I dunno, i just feel like if you have to ask, its already too late...
justin beiber Become an internet sensation. Post up videos of you getting deep tubes and huge airs up on here, surfline, surfermag forums, etc. If you are actually any good you will be noticed. Couldn't hurt to enter contests too. You will have to travel to find good ones... But thats why you want to get sponsored anyways right?
I say this in all respect but: why do you want to turn surfing into "work"? I know it's "livin the dream" to be paid for something you love to do, but with the effort it takes to become sponsored wouldn't it be just more fun to be with your best friends, not worrying about going big and then losing your sponsor if you can't produce? just my take on it.
Good point... He should start by posting everything here. Im sure everyone will be very critical as we always are =P So, post your goods up here. If you can impress this tough crowd in the midatlantic forum, you may have something going for you. If you post a bunch of video and get laughed off the forum, then you will know whats up as well.... SHOW US THE GOODS!!!
And "sponsored" is a relative term. When i first met my shaper, we started surfing all the time together. Meeting up at blacks and some really good winter spots on the reefs, and after a month or 2, he began handing down a lot of his new boards to me because he knew that I was out all the time, getting seen surfing well. He would design and ride them a few times, and the ones he really liked, he would give to me and ask me to ride it. Getting him exposure. I started talking to a lot of guys out in the water, got him a lot of business and the system continued. When he first started shaping epoxy, he gave me a couple of them and I did a lot of testing on his new designs, which helped him develop his epoxy better. It was just good for him to have other input and ideas of what works at what spots, under what conditions. I initially hated all the epoxies, but after a year or so, we got it all dialed in. This was more of a friendship and business related thing... But the point is, that I wasnt competing. I wasnt travelling, but I was making sure to show up at the right spots, and when surfshot.com or local photogs would get a picture, I would always list him and his board names... I never made any money off of it, but the fact that you are getting most of your surf equipment free all the sudden is just as good as money to me. Helped me build up a really nice quiver. That ensured that I could stop dumping money into boards every 2 months... for a while anyway. Now Micah went huge, has his own little warehouse in Solana Beach and he has like 10 of his boards hanging on racks in every shop in SD... So, unfortunately, no more free ****, but his business took off. So, you may find people in the industry who want to have good local surfers just simply surfing on their product. Start local maybe. If you are good enough to have people watching you, someone will want you to be seen on their product.
Hey man, I say go for it....one of the worst things in life to say to yourself is what if.....surf hard then surf harder....keep your head on straight and dont do any stupid stuff....things will fall into place for you if you work hard enough.....
