How to Become a Pro Surfer

Do you have dreams of becoming a pro surfer? You're not alone. If you have the skills and enter the local and national competitions, you may find that your opportunities increase in number and in profitability. If you find a sponsor to support your career and you're willing to dedicate yourself to the sport, then you can become a pro surfer.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Get Familiar with Pro Surfing

1. Know that just being good at surfing won't make you a pro surfer. You'll need to network and market yourself to stay on top.

2. Keep in mind that pro surfing isn't easy. You have to be ready to compete with many other surfers for top sponsorships and surf when you may not feel like it.

3. Understand that pro surfers travel. You may travel to places like South Africa, Morocco, Senegal, Indonesia, Hawaii, and Mexico. You may be away from home on tour for extended periods of time.

Become a Pro Surfer

4. Find out about local competitions. Enter contests that lead up to competitive awards with greater publicity.

5. Continue to enter competitions until you work your way up to the national level.

6. Get the attention of potential sponsors by networking at competitive events.

7. Write to other potential sponsors to inquire about partnership. Include color sport photos of yourself in action, and a detailed list of your credentials, and explain what exposure you can bring to the surf brand.

8. Compare the offers that you receive from potential sponsors. You may receive equipment at first, which will work its way up to a travel budget and more.

Tips & Warnings

• All surf companies put aside money for sponsoring athletes. If you have the skills and the dedication to pursue the best sponsor for you, you'll be a pro surfer in no time.
• Have friends and family scan the news for press and photos about you. If you see a photo of yourself in a newspaper, call and ask how much it would cost to place an advertisement of the same size. Tally up the potential cost of your photos and use this when bargaining for better sponsorship deals.

Resources

• Check out the Association of Surfing Professionals at Aspworldtour.
• Head to Isurfing.com for a directory of pro surfing websites.
• If you're still an amateur surfer, check out Surfesa.org for competitions.

Who Can Help Sponsored

• Earn your degree from industry experts at University of Phoenix. Take the next step in your career.