How to Get Sponsored in Skateboarding

Once you've mastered skateboarding, you may want to try to get sponsored by a local shop or national skate brand. Before you even contact a company, practice your skating until you stand out from the crowd. Then follow these steps to get someone to sponsor your skating.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Skateboard
• Video camera

1. Practice skateboarding until you are confidant and can land tricks with ease. Make sure you have one or two surprises (ridiculously difficult moves) up your sleeve to impress potential sponsors. Now take it one step further and actually live to skate. When skateboarding consumes your life, you are probably at the point to be taken seriously by sponsors.

2. Enter skate competitions. No contest is too small, so take part in local competitions sponsored by community groups and local shops. As you get better, enter harder competitions and rankings. If you place repeatedly, you will probably get sponsored by an amateur team. It won't happen overnight, so keep trying.

3. Film a skate video, featuring your best tricks. Keep it short, about two minutes, and highlight your personality and talent. Take copies to every skate competition, post it online and send it to team managers at the skate companies that you want to sponsor you.

4. Make friends with skaters and people who work for skate companies. Any contact may help you find a sponsorship, so be friendly to everyone (even the little people). Talk to new people at every competition and attend parties and events hosted by skate companies (if you are old enough). Just get your face seen by as many people as possible.

5. Fit in with the company you want to be sponsored by. If everyone on the team looks like a thug, but you wear baggy beach shorts every day, you may want to update your look. In the end, a team wants members that relate well to each other and will get along.

6. Keep trying. Send new (and better) videos in on a regular basis. Perhaps once every month or two. Stay in contact with friends at skate companies and never stop skating.

Tips & Warnings

• Start with a local skate shop that will probably "pay" you in free wheels and decks. If you're on a shop's team, they often pay entry fees for competitions or help promote you with larger companies.
• Going pro and being sponsored are not the same thing. Depending on the competition, you can enter as a pro after winning a certain number of amateur contests.
• Don't pester team managers or other skaters, babbling constantly about being sponsored. Instead, you should relax and be yourself. Let your talent speak for itself and act cool around industry people.

Who Can Help Sponsored

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[sponsordoc]

on 9/3/2009 Meh, this isn't exactly "expert" advice. If you really want to know how sponsorships work to have to talk to the real people that know.
Im not so good at skating myself, but my buddy Ty is sick! He found this guide online that walks you through getting a sponsor, and he got one in like 1 month!
Oh, if you want to check it out it's at www.SponsorshipNow.com

[onematty]

on 10/19/2008 For the best help on getting sponsored, check out this book I found.
Sponsored Life - "The Ultimate Guide to getting a skateboarding sponsor"

Found it at amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Sponsored-Life-Ultimate-Skateboarding-Sponsorship/dp/0979350913/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224481457&sr=8-1

[captain-d]

on 10/19/2008 There are also many good video hosting sites like sponsoredtube.com that help connect riders with company reps and shop owners. This has really opened up a whole new avenue for people to get seen.