19 June 2008

Sponsorship

Recently, multiple people have been expressing their frustration on the forums and to me in person about their stuggles to get a good sponsor. It's frustrating, discouraging and, at times, disheartening. Quite frankly, getting a sponsorship is easier said than done.

I completely understand the frustration and difficulty of getting a sponsorship. I have been fingerboarding since 1999, and I did not get my first real sponsor until Vegas sponsored in 2003. Once Vegas died, I remained sponsorless until last year, when Arctic and Flatface decided to sponsor me. I was very fortunate because both Arctic and Flatface posted on FFI that they needed a new rider for their teams and, when I realized that this was a very rare opportunity to be connected with two of the most professional individuals in fingerboarding (Martin and Mike), I took it. Recently, I was contacted by Shane Young from Make Believe Marble about riding for them, and of course I said yes. I am very thankful to all those sponsors who believed in me and supported me, and I will strive to do my best and support them.

Sponsorship is mutual. One side has faith that the other will do their best to succeed. One problem I see with many companies that have died off is that the riders and/or the owner of the company did not conduct themselves in a professional manner, and did not understand the concept of mutual success. I am happy to say that there are many professionally behaved owners that are running the companies, and it's the backbone of our scene at the moment.

The turnover of people in fingerboarding is both its lowest point and its highest point. People leave fingerboarding because they grow out of it, lose interest, don't have the time, etc. and this opens up opportunities for the new person to come and take their place. When these opportunities come, do your best! Even if you don't get on the team of your dreams, if you stick with it eventually you will get a solid sponsor.

I'm sure everyone here dreams of being sponsored by great companies such as Arctic, Berlinwood, BRR, Flatface, Homewood, MBM, Primo, etc. Keep reaching for those dreams by doing your best. Invest in some of the obstacles and gear the owners create. Buy a decent camera. But most importantly, make sure that you still love fingerboarding. Don't let yourself get so consumed out of getting free stuff. It's always more rewarding to do something you love rather than getting a little piece of wood.

Chris Daniels

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15 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think nowadays there are so many good riders and if i would have the chance to sponsor someone, i would have a problem to choose one...but i think 50% of theese guys lost the love to fingerboarding and just want to get more stuff. I hate it when i see videos on youtube when people show their sponsored stuff only to show us, how much they have...many kids just get envious so the result isnt that great...

so fuck off sponsoring, you just need ONE board, not one board from every company...

June 19, 2008 at 1:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sponsorship is completely over-rated. Most sponsors that I've dealt with hardly send you anything, and demand you to do a lot of filming and editing for videos when you just want to hang out. I think all companies should drop all their riders and sell their products for cheaper. That way more people buy things and the companies don't have to give away lots of product.

June 19, 2008 at 7:49 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

this is a pretty odd article for me since i was just talking to my ONLY sponsor(Homewood) the other day about something like this. i consider myself to be a pretty good FB'er, yet i still only have one sponsor. i dont care all that much, i just find it funny that all these half decent/worse FB'ers then me, get better sponsors. of course getting free stuff is nice, but ive gotten only 3 free boards from JR since i been on, 2 of which i didnt even ask for, they were offered to me for just being on the team.

June 19, 2008 at 9:08 PM  
Blogger xdare12 said...

my friend and i are good we need to be sponsored plz plz plz plz!!!!!!!!!!!!!

July 28, 2008 at 10:44 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

me and a few friends a really good
can u sponser us?

plz plz plz plz

March 22, 2009 at 6:19 AM  
Anonymous devon said...

yea that would be nice to get sponsored like everyone else cuase im sponsored by a no name team and im trying to get alot bettero get sponsored :)

April 9, 2009 at 12:40 PM  
Anonymous Chris said...

Hi guys It's me Chris a.k.a Skaterade101.I've learned in these past few months of minis,day-long filming sessions and hectic weekends that not everyone needs a great connection to be sponsored,they just need to get the word out.Most guys/girls get so eaten up with "knowing the right person" that they forget all about their true love for fbing thus doing it for all the wrong resons.I know the reason I fingerboard is to hang with friends,meet new people,and honestly how many agree that after a long day a little session feels great.I want to fingerboard because I want to,not to make everyone else happy.I'm not saying that sponsors are bad,they're a great way to meet people,go new places and show off your hard work,the free stuff comes along to encourage you to keep doing your best,therefore if you've done nothing to deserve a sponsor pack then you're more than likely not going to get one.

May 7, 2009 at 8:35 PM  
Anonymous arnarcool said...

check out my fingerboard videos at youtube.com/user/arnarcool and see if you are intrusted please say if you like my videos :D

May 8, 2009 at 5:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

plz plz sponser me i have been fingerboarding for many years............

July 4, 2009 at 3:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

plz plz sponser me i have been fingerboarding for many years............

July 4, 2009 at 3:47 PM  
Blogger sind55 said...

Look at my fingerboard videos and enjoy them :) i hope u like them so i can be sponsored :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0SKJ6toiAU&feature=channel


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiE1qs-VPmw


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6-iorPP1ME&feature=channel



This is my first video and it's not so good =/ (VERY OLD):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6-iorPP1ME&feature=channel

October 12, 2009 at 12:13 PM  
Anonymous Sandquist the Fingaaaaarboarder !!!! said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_IzbzdCrMU



i have been fingerboarding for a month and im 13 years old. And im Sure that i would keep on fingerboarding. check my vid and if u need any fingerboarding u can sponor me i will keep upload footage on youtube


http://www.youtube.com/user/Sandquisst



and if u see that im being bether then u can sponsor me. thanks man
that would be very nice if u only check my youtube vids and more if u want to know more contact me.
Thank u very very much.

January 19, 2010 at 5:10 AM  
Anonymous Jonatan said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_IzbzdCrMU



i have been fingerboarding for a month and im 13 years old. And im Sure that i would keep on fingerboarding. check my vid and if u need any fingerboarding u can sponor me i will keep upload footage on youtube


http://www.youtube.com/user/Sandquisst



and if u see that im being bether then u can sponsor me. thanks man
that would be very nice if u only check my youtube vids and more if u want to know more contact me.
Thank u very very much.

January 19, 2010 at 5:10 AM  
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March 7, 2010 at 12:23 PM  
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March 16, 2010 at 10:27 AM  

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