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The information below is basically for the everyday rider wanting to be sponsored in one way or the other. Here are the basic breakdowns: Shop Sponsorship, Street Team Sponsorship, Flow Sponsorship and of course, Pro Sponsorship.

SHOP-
This type of sponsorship will vary from shop to shop but what it means is you’d receive some occasional free gear but more than likely, they’ll give you a hefty discount on the products they sell. Remember though, you still have to promote the shop. They want you to drive customers in, customers that will buy their products. Usually, Shop sponsorship can be offered to a skater for various reasons:

• The skate shop doesn’t fully sponsor a team
• The like who you are but you are not yet ready for their full team
• The want to get the word out on the street about their store and think you would be a choice to help make this happen… etc.

Shop sponsorship for the athlete is a great way to practice your professionalism, get good gear at great prices, get a good feeling for what it means to be sponsored and to have a group of skaters, all riding with the same goal, to help you develop your skills and grow as a professional athlete.

STREET-
Street Team Sponsorships seems to be a new craze with more indie and underground deck companies and clothing companies. It’s basically a spot one up in status above Shop sponsorship, but not quite Flow yet. You get better discounts on the sponsoring company’s products and in some cases, are eligible through incentive programs to earn free gear. Also, this team can sometimes be the place the sponsor looks to pull their next Flow team riders from. So be dead serious if this is offered to you and know that if you play the professional card right, you could end up Flow in a decent amount of time.

For some companies, Street Team sponsorship is more of a club situation.  It’s a tool used to get the name out and increase brand awareness.  The idea is to get their product out on the street using interesting or influential people to do so.  Street Teams can consist of athletes from different action sports, friends, family members and people who are just hyped on the brand.  Basically, it’s a team designed to “spread the word” about the brand.  So before you say ‘yes’ to a Street Team sponsorship offer, make sure you know what type of team it is and what the brand will expect of you.

FLOW-
Flow sponsorship is the next step up and the type of sponsorship most riders hope for (other than going Pro of course). When a deck company or shoe company or whoever sponsors you, they are usually giving you free gear/product every month or so. This of course depends on the sponsor.  You could receive product once every month, every other month or more. And if you receive this level of sponsorship, you are seriously expected to push the product. Let’s say it’s a deck sponsorship. You are really expected to ride the deck whenever you go to a skatepark, around town, to school or where ever other skaters may be. They want skaters to ask you “what deck is that?” and want you to say “its a so-and-so deck. (insert sponsors name here) It’s the best deck I’ve ever ridden (or whatever), you have to try it.” Promote the brand, create awareness.  Creating positive awareness helps generate sales and every brand wants those sales!

The other thing to be aware of is you don’t have to be almost PRO to get Flow sponsorship. Some companies will Flow someone who may not have a monster bag of skills simply because there is something about them personally, something about their style or something about their drive or motivation. It depends on the company.

If you get sponsored, you have to remember that you now represent the companies that sponsor you and you are RESPONSIBLE for doing your part otherwise you are just a user trying to get free stuff which sucks for your sponsors and for other skaters who actually deserve a spot. I know, I get submissions regularly and many of them are either sent by people who are just lying about their abilities, reason for wanting to ride for us or clearly aren’t interested in our company or products specifically, they just want free stuff and have egos that need to be able to say “look at me I’m sponsored!”

[True To Life Example] I once received a ‘sponsor me’ submission from a skater saying he wanted to be sponsored by my company because his friend was sponsored by us and that he rode his deck and loved it. The sad part was that yes, we had just offered his friend sponsorship, but the kid didn’t even have his deck yet by the time his friend asked us for sponsorship.  The deck we sent was still on a FedEx truck when the email came in so there was no way at that time he could have ridden his friend’s deck. He busted himself, made his friend look bad and wasted everyone’s time.

Lastly, if you are going to seek sponsorship, make sure you –

• Pick the companies that you are really into. If you don’t then you really come across as someone just looking for free stuff.
• Be honest with the brand and even more so, with yourself. I know it sounds simple, but for some, its not.
• Make sure you actually know how to skate. Sounds lame to even have to say here, right? No, it’s necessary.  You’d be surprised.  Asking for sponsorship when you only know a few basic tricks isn’t wise to do and won’t help you in any way.
• Don’t be a jerk, don’t bash other skaters. (That really makes me mad.) Doing so speaks volumes about your character.  I don’t know about all the other brands, but I don’t want jerks on my team.
• Don’t be so anxious. Just skate.

Skate your favorite spots and when you are there skating, skate your hardest because you never know who’s watching.  Those guys sitting at the tables or on the benches of your local skatepark may not just be hanging out waiting for their kids to finish their session, they may be scouting. Or maybe they know someone that they can forward your footage to who can offer you a sponsorship. I’ve gone to skate parks before with a deck or two in the trunk of my car… I know the guys that run the parks and I’ll ask them who rocks (personality wise) that is in the greatest need of a new board… And on some of those occasions, someone left the park with a new free board all because they were good people.

[True To Life Example] A friend got Flow sponsorship from a “well-known” shoe company just because one of the reps was at the park and liked her style, skill and attitude.  She wasn’t looking for sponsorship, it was looking for her.

Hope this helped some…

Got a question? Ask.  Peace,

Urban