135crewchief

How many of you are sponsored? If so how do you go about getting sponsored? Next season i'm going to race for the first time and all the extra info will be nice.

Guest

Check with Balance Bar, Powerbar and Cliff. They all have programs to give money to athletes.

Koffee

madbiker555

Im not sure anyone here is sponsored.

never

You'll need a detailed resume about yourself, your past accomplishments, your goals for the upcoming year (i.e., what and how many races), want you want out of potential sponsors, and what they will get in return. Make sure it is well written, looks professional, and include some photos.

Start small by contacting your local shops. My LBS has a race team which you can join and they provide uniforms, support for races, etc.

LowCel 

I have a few sponsors primarily through the team that I race with. I am still waiting to hear from some companies about personal sponsorship. So far I don't get anything free, just really nice discounts. You really don't get much free until you make it to the expert or pro level. Everything is still being worked out for this coming season. I'm hoping to race expert for the 2007 season.

The best place to start looking for sponsorship is your local bike shop. You would be amazed at how much getting everything at cost helps.

If you are wanting to get some sponsors you really need to have a race resume. Also know that November is when most of the sponsorship agreements are made. Oh, and how well you finish is actually a small part of getting sponsorship. Representation is the most important. Do you lead group rides? Do you do trail maintenance? How do you dress and act in public? All of these are very important.

Last but not least, check out www.sponsorhouse.com . That is probably the easiest way to find sponsors.

Here is an example of a race resume. I only posted two years back on my race results because before that I raced beginner class. I didn't think that information was necessary.

EJ123

Look at monster energy lol.

zx108

i dont have any real adivce, just want to say good luck and hope you get someone to sponser you.

dminor 

My first sponsorships were individual ones with component companies that had some ties to my geographic area and/or our regional race series. FINALLY this year I got supported by a local bike shop that has a real commitment to racing as a marketing/exposure tool. Everyone's advice from previous posts is very good.

I'm going to make a shameless plug here and encourage you to read the article I wrote in the Nov. issue of Mountain Bike Action magazine (how it got published is a whole 'nuther story) entitled "How to Get Sponsored." I tried to lay out in concise form what has worked for me. Good luck!

zx108

i read that article! not bad man.

and i was going to mention it but i didnt.

LowCel 

I read it as well, very nice article. That was the first time I had ever heard of www.sponsorhouse.com .

zeddybear

Getting sonsored is not all fun and games. Pick up a november issue of MBA for an article about a normal guy who decided to get sponsored. Now, I'm sponsored by 661, and a major bike company that I cannot disclose at this time due to ontract deals

135crewchief

Yeah, I red that issue. That guys is from the same town as me, and that article is what sparked the interest of sponsorship to me.

myenzo

Sponsorhouse.com

Gerst240

i am sponsored by kenda and 661 right now i dont plan on doing any racing of any sort next year so i dont think i will be back with them again. Sponsorship is all about how you present yourself and make yourself stand out from the other thousands of riders that want to be sponsored. Put together a race resume send it out to as many companies as you can see what happens.

the wonginator

oh jeez, that's you? how do you like that fork? and where did you get it :|

dminor 

I love the fork. It's an '05 8" travel RST Sigma. I have had two of these. My '04 had an air assist cap in one leg; the '05 got 'em in both legs. A little more bottom-out insurance (though I've never, ever felt them bottom). Very plush. Damping is in an o-ring sealed cartridge in the right leg. The only 'oil' the fork seals have to hold back is the fork grease. Beefy 36 mm stanchions = no flex whatsoever.

RST downhill forks are very hard to come by in the U.S. They're spec'd a bit on bikes in Europe. I've been getting mine straight from RST factory (one time got one unbadged right out of R&D). I got on board with them back when their North American distributorship was in Fife, WA. Only U.S. presence they have anymore is their warranty center in SoCal.

the wonginator

thats cool. i know you're a DH guy but have you tried their new Space line?


(how DID you get your article in MBA?)

dminor 

Don't know anything about the Space from personal use. But from the specs, the Jump model looks very similar in construction to the Rapide Hill dual crown - - which I do have experience with. There are 3 models of Space - - Jump, Transfer and Free - - stick with the Jump. It's got 36 mm stanchions: that means it should be mega-stout (about the only thing out there with fatter stanchions are the 40mm dual crown Fox DH forks). Damping will be in a right-leg cartridge, air caps both sides. I never experienced flex with my Rapide. Weight of the Space Jump is 4.4 lbs.; travel is 5.1" - not bad in my book. It looks to be an updated/improved version of the old single crown Alfalfa.

How my article got published was unreal. I'd had the ideas floating around in my brain - -stuff I'd gleaned from personal experiences and a couple things I'd learned from others - - but never put down on paper. After a year or more of thinking "I should do this", I finally did. When I got done, I had more info than I expected. So, I thought "why not e-mail this to MBA?" After I finally found an e-mail address to send it to, I figured it was off to the black hole of oblivion. At most, I thought part of it might end up in their on-line letters-to-the-editor. Instead, about one hour after I sent it off, I got a personal e-mail from Jimmy Mac, the Editor, saying he was blown away by it and would I like to do an interview/send some piuctures, etc. to go in the magazine? Would I! The rest was a couple of months of back-and-forth e-mails and a couple phone conversations. Great guy!
I've got to put in a plug here for Jonathan Lomber, the photog. He's a race photographer (and downhiller himself) who was shooting at our local races. He agreed to come up to Spokane from Moscow, Idaho a couple times to get the pictures that went in the article - - free of charge, for the chance to get exposure in the magazine. He really went above and beyond for me.

dirtbikedude

You can always try this place Sponsor House

DBD

dminor 

OK, I'll bite. There've been a few references to Sponsorhouse. A great resource with a good track record. I had one of their free accounts back when they were first moving over into mountain biking (I think they started in motorsports, didn't they?). Of course, the goal is to get you to pay money to do your work for you.

Since I was trying to afford racing, this seemed mildly counterproductive. I'm not knocking them. I'll repeat this so I don't get jumped: I'm not knocking them. These folks I'm sure work for your money. Getting sponsors and working at keeping them and justifying their investment in you is work. It takes a lot of time and care. I work on it year-'round. I think of ways to help and be more valuable to them. But I enjoy doing it. If you don't enjoy doing that sort of thing or if you're not confident in your communication skills, or if you're just too darned busy, having someone else manage it is a good way to go.

I just kind of opened up the can of worms by saying that if you can't lay out $119 a year (I work hard to avoid paying $119 for a $119 part, so why should this be any different?), it IS possible to do it yourself and get results. That's all.

zeddybear

Doug,
Thanks for your article. I read it ant went out and got sponsored by 661 and another large bike company that I will hear from today. I alrady had to turn down one ofer because it wsn't as good as another.
thanks

dminor 

Glad it helped. 661 is awesome; and Laura is the best - - a great person to work with.

By the way, if you don't have a 'thing' against mail-order cos., Price Point does individual sponsorships. I was offered one season before last, but ended up having to pass because I got on with a LBS.

LowCel 

Just picked up a sunglasses sponsor yesterday. Optic Nerve is going to provide me with product for the 2006 season. I have had sponsors that gave me product at pro deals or at other discounts before but this is the first time I am actually receiving free goodies from a company. I'm pretty excited about it.

dminor 

Very cool! Congrats. Similar thing happened to me with Dirty Dog last year. They had a post on this forum looking to sponsor mountain bike racers (their forte had been water and beach sports). Sent in my stuff and they sent a box with 3 pair of glasses and a pair of moto goggles. Awesome folks!

LowCel 

Just checked my e-mail and found a suprise. I had an e-mail from Maxxis. Looks like I will be using their tires next season.