I just found out, Balance, the energy bar comapny is awarding at least 4 people full funding up to $10,000 for a 4 month pursuit of your sport. The sweet deal is that their requirements state that your sport has to be a fusion of physical ability and mental state. I'm gonna go for it. I treat my riding like a martial art, and consider the mental state and philosiphy of biking the core element of making a physically able body perform. Damn that would be sweet if they picked me up! I'm going to put in for a biking tour of BC and try to get myself up there, sponsored, and riding everyday. The money they award is basically like a personal scholarship, they pay up to $10,000 for equipment, living expenses, fitness trianing, physical therapy, the whole damn thing, and in return you just gotta do your thing and progress. If ya get accepted, in return they get to use you in ads and commercails and stuff without paying ya for that, but they still pay for your 4 month sports pursuit. Not a bad deal. I gotta write a 500 word essay about biking and how i blend the physical and mental to progress in my sport, and how biking is a way of life. Damn that would be so rad to get a paid trip to the land of rad to ride for 4 months! Wish me luck! Peace
i don't think it should be too tough to get a sponsor... my friend Brent in Auburn (the most un-coordinated guy on the planet) had a couple sponsors... Burn energy drink and something else... he sucked and he got sponsored... that should give you a little confidence
Yeah i see people get sponsored that can't really ride worth a turd, and who seem to care more about sponsorship as a status symbol rather than riding. I love to ride, i hate capitalism, but if they'll pay me to ride i'll take the money and use it to live to ride, it'll balance out. Peace
much much luck.......hope to see you on tv someday doing your thang. your hardwork and the love and dedication for your sport will pay in one way or another, good luck again and peace
Zia, even if it don't work it's all good, cause right now i got a job doin something else i love, and the pay me for it haha! Yeah it's getting to the point where i need sponsprship just to be able to keep riding. I break so many parts that i spend half the money i make on bike stuff. The other day i snapped my handlebars, the biggest baddest set made, and they broke like a dry stem. Right now i'm trying to find a company to custom make me some "psycho gorilla" sized bars, since they only mass produce bars for normal humans. My problem is that i'm not exactly the smallest guy and i beat the living poo outta stuff. I weigh 250lbs and i ride like a pissed off gorilla, so parts just get destroyed within a few rides or so, even the beefiest parts made, so i just gotta get some special stuff made to handle what i am. My size gives me a major advantage though, cause i have about 150% more muscle mass than the strongest human mountain biker and i can absolutely dominate when it comes to the application of hardcore power. I think i can outride even the best just on sheer brute force, and i can power like that all day, i got mad endurance. Another downside tho is a lot of bikes and bike parts don't fit me right cause i got long arms. My fingertips almost touch my knees when they hang to my sides, and that's why i need sucha big wide strong set of bars, so i can spread out and have control and not be off balance. Me riding even the biggest strongest stuff mdae is like trying to squeeze 10 lbs of shit into a 5 lb bag. BTW, does anyone out there do any CNC bending? I need some 7/8" chromoly tubing bent, .065 wall thickness, i need 4 bends, 2 approx 10-15 deg and 2 approx 5-10deg but offset axially about 30deg or so. Anybody got access to the equipment?
What many people fail to understand is that sponsorships are Not just based on how well you finish. The reason companies sponsor people is to generate sales, create an imange and exposure. Believe me, in the sport i competed in, I had great sponsorship. Guys that regularly finished ahead of me (we'll call them HotShots for now) were jealous because they were "better" than me, but i had more lucritive and more flexible sponsors. The difference was: WoodBoot had a sales background and could talk to people about products and why I used that brand. HotShots couldnt sell shit, werent outgoing enough to engage people in a conversation. WoodBoot would stay after events were over and sign autographs for kids and talk to people about my sponsors. HotShots were packed up and gone home. WoodBoot was professional AT ALL TIMES in public. HotShots used foul language, goofed off, etc. I could go on and on. You need to be able to show sponsors that you can promote their products and create measurable results (sales) A portfolio with your accomplishments, aspirations and some good action photos is a great tool. Dont forget to explain why you'd be great at promoting their product !!! WoodBoot
Well WoodBoot, i got the people skillz, the biz skills, i just never sought sponsorship till now. Problem is there's no competition for the kind of biking i do, basically urban freeriding. Bigger problems than having sponsors right now, i gotta figure out how to build a bike i can really ride, sa i said before, equipment is just not made for a dude my size and riding style. I have yet to ride to my fullest potential, so far i've ridden up to my equipment's potential, even being smooth and silky in my riding, the equipment is just too fragile.
awww thats tight! i hope everything works out for you, and u get sponsored! good luck! and i will send out karma! i promiss! good luck toosicks!
I'm sure you're nto the only person with the wimpy equipment problem... sounds like a business opportunity to me.. TooSicks Custom Tough-Ass Harcore Bike Accessories. WoodBoot
Actually i don't think there's much of a market for the stuff i need to ride, cause most bikers want lightweight too, i don't care if it's lightweight as long as it's strong, and besides the stuff i need is pretty odd, nobody rides a 36" wide bars, not even in moto-x. I also don't know if i'm gonna make this deadline for sponsorship, i gotta apply by the 15th, and i won't have my bars by then. I need to take some pics and vids to submit and i really don't have any. I can apply again in 4 months tho, but i hear Dirtbag clothing is lookin' for psychos, so i might try and hit them up.