How to Get Free Skateboard Stickers

Everybody loves free stuff. Broke, unemployed skaters love it even more. Relax, just joking. If you're wondering how to get free skateboard stickers, read on. The "steps" listed below are actually recommendations because there are many different ways to get your hands on free swag.

Things You'll Need

• Depends how you intend on getting them

Instructions

How To Get Free Skateboard Stickers

1. Visit a skate shop. There's a good chance the owner/sales person will hook you up even if you don't buy anything. If nothing else, you should be able to get a sticker with the shop name if they have them printed. Handing out stickers that could potentially be plastered all over the city/state/planet is like free advertising for the business owner.

2. Buy something at a skate shop (or online skate shop). It's pretty customary in the boardsport community...stickers come along with the gear. If they don't, simply ask the shop owner/sales person if he wouldn't mind throwing in a sticker or two. Otherwise, just fork over a few bucks and buy the little suckers.

3. Attend a skate competition or skate demo. Company reps (and sometimes the sponsored/pro skaters themselves) often have a bunch of stickers ready to distribute to loyal fans.

4. Know a pro. Sponsored and/or professional skaters get gear thrown at them by the companies they skate for. This includes stickers. If your bro is a pro, look no further.

5. Subscribe to a print skate publication. Chances are, you'll get some free stickers at least once, perhaps regularly with special issues, and maybe even with each issue (probably not though).

6. Get to know someone who works for a skate company, or get a job with a skate company yourself. This potentially gives you access to all the marketing and retail materials. Make sure you ask whoever is in charge if it's cool to grab a few stickers. How great would it be to get fired for swiping a sticker? Not great at all. You probably wouldn't get fired, but you might lose the trust of others.

7. Contact the marketing department of a skate company. Be tactful if you decide to take this route. If you compose a short, friendly email (e.g. expressing your belief in their products, a quick "thank you" for the great gear, etc.), the marketing rep might have the time to drop a few stickers in the mail for you. Don't be surprised if this doesn't work though. It's not that he doesn't care, it's just that he probably doesn't have time to care. Remember, there are far more important things occurring in a company's marketing department that take precedence over your desire for free stickers.

8. Contribute to the cause. An even better idea than simply contacting a company's marketing department is to offer a little incentive for free skateboard stickers (and other swag). If you have the time and skill, submit an article and/or photos to the company/magazine and/or website, and request some stickers in exchange for your efforts. Hopefully, if your work is good enough, you'll have realized free stickers are not the desired payment option for quality submitted materials of this nature. Cold, hard cash is king in this case. Not free stickers, but you've got to start somewhere.

9. Skate, skate and skate some more...until you earn sponsorsed or professional status. This way, you won't have to rely on anything or anyone else to cover your car, house, skate deck and family pet with as many stickers as your artistic-eye sees fit.

10. Steal them. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Think about this for a second. Is it worth stealing something you can get for free by following the easy recommendations listed above? Obviously not. Besides, how will it feel to possibly screw up your entire life because of a criminal record you got because of stealing a sticker. Not smart. Follow one of the steps (or multiple steps) above instead.

Tips & Warnings

• In case you were wondering, stickers don't magically appear in skate shops to be randomly distributed to every person walking in and out of the store. Most skate shops are quite generous when it comes to giving away free stickers (especially if you bought something else), but don't feel as if shop owners/workers are obligated to give them to you. Afterall, your "free" stickers weren't made for free.