Landing a sponsorship can seem like an extremely daunting task, especially if you have no idea where to start. This article will describe the main elements of your video and what you need to do to get sponsored the RIGHT way.

Your video

# 1: Include as little “park” content as possible.

Team leaders love to see real street skating and it will take you a long way in your career. Not only does it show that you have much more dedication to your passion, but it also shows that you can skate on more terrain than in your home park and in places that you are not used to. It shows that you can skate just about anything thrown at you. In my experience, this is also a deciding factor. A little park content is fine if you have to place it, but most of your video should be made up of street content because the TM sees that everything is soccer park, there’s a good chance you won’t even see more than 30 seconds of your video.

# 2: mix up your tricks

There is nothing worse than watching a video in which the rider only kicks for more than 3 minutes and, believe me, the team managers of the company feel the same. Even if your video is a little shorter, try to limit the number of tricks you repeat to 3-4 maximum as a general rule of thumb. Doing them through different obstacles is another way to stay cool as well. If you push it up a curb in a line and the next clip pushes it down a ladder, no problem there. What you want to avoid is doing, for example, a pop shove-it on each line. I’m your video. Try to include different combinations of routines, ladder games, manuals, etc. Lines are a good way to show your consistency, so if you can hit a ledge or hand pad and then throw a trick or something else into a set, it should get the TM’s attention.

# 3: keep your video short

Almost all TMs are busy people, so the fact that they are watching your video is a success, so make their work easier and keep them short. A minute and a half to two minutes is all it takes to make a good impression on them and it also allows you to keep it short enough to use only your best clips.

# 4: use a decent quality camera

Cameras are so cheap nowadays that you don’t try to film an entire part with your mother’s digital camera. Even an older Go-Pro camera model will only cost you $ 100 and trust me, it’s worth it. If the team manager can’t see your skateboard properly, they won’t bother to watch your video. It also shows that you are more dedicated to what you are doing if you are also investing in your own team because if you are selected for sponsorship, you will be asked to submit more images on a monthly basis to make sure you are making use of the free stuff that is sent to you.

# 5: skate fast

One thing I can guarantee you is that you will always feel like you are skating faster than you actually are in the video. So with that in mind, if you feel like it’s going slow, it will probably look even slower on video. Faster skateboarding also conveys a sense of confidence and style on camera that TM loves. Within reason, of course, you don’t want to smash yourself uncontrollably on a ledge.

# 6: use online video providers

The internet is a great place nowadays and believe me, TM scours the web for top rated videos and looks at the comments and the number of views and sometimes people can be contacted based on this. It is also much easier to send images this way by placing a link in an email instead of sending a video by post as was done not so long ago.

# 7: Make your name known in contests

The best way to get sponsorship is by winning or participating in contests. A little harder to do, but enter as many as you can to build that confidence in the contest and you may soon be on your way to the podium. Winning contests almost always guarantees you to be sponsored by local stores, whether they are hosting the contests or just watching. Also in larger cities and at contests, some events will have scouts looking for people to accompany them. Keep in mind that winning a contest does not guarantee you sponsorship for sure, but if you consistently rank in the top three, your odds increase incredibly. Winning contests also makes your name known to the locals who will probably be talking about it during the next time at the park, skate shops, etc. any publicity is good publicity.

# 8: Last but not least

Have fun !! At the end of the day, you should have fun with what you are doing. Crew chiefs will pick up on this too, no one wants to ride with the guy who always gets mad and throws his board and gets stressed about it to the point where he’s not even nice anymore. In my experience I have met several people who have been exceptionally good and who have been rejected because they have a bad one.

Following these 8 steps will increase your chances of landing that sponsor, but it is important that you enjoy what you are doing. So get out there and have fun.

Happy skateboarding