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The dream of many a young rider is to be sponsored – to be that guy in the magazines, looked up to by people around them, sending the biggest jumps with ultimate style and getting loads of free goodies!
For the top sponsored riders, it won’t just be this. You will need to fly around the world to events and races to represent your brands, build awareness of the products that you ride on and create content to not only promote your sponsors but to promote yourself as a rider worth sponsoring.
So how does it all start? How do you get sponsored?
Well in days gone by it was all about being the fastest racer or getting the top results at competitions if freestyle was more your thing. By being consistently at the top then you would soon find that brands would want you on their products or their logo on your race kit. They would help make your competitive life easier with plenty of their products to use or maybe even a little money in exchange for you being a great advert for their kit, showing how fast or stylish it enables you to be, making those around you want to buy it too.
These days it’s not quite that simple as the reach and influence of someone’s social media account is just as valuable to a company trying to promote their products. You don’t need to be the fastest rider anymore but if you create rad content that lots of people like to view on Instagram/TikTok/YouTube etc then by riding a certain bike or component or kit then there’s potential for lots of viewers to like it and want to go straight to buy it! Of course, it’s not quite that simple. You need to be seen as a nice person and suitable character to represent the brand as an ambassador – each company will want to portray a certain image so a clean cut XC racer style may not work for an edgy, punk orientated freestyle brand. Unless of course the brand is wanting to expand and be visible to a wider audience!
So, you still want to be a sponsored rider? What can you do? What can you offer a brand?
There is of course the old adage - “if you don’t ask, you don’t get” - and to a degree this is true, but you would be astonished at the amount of Instagram DMs that we receive saying nothing but “Sponsor me”.
It’s also worth noting that brands will often have decided their sponsorship budgets by November for the following year – companies work many months ahead to ensure they are efficient and get the most from their investments. If you start asking companies for support two weeks before your first race in April, then chances are you are unlikely to get much success.
If you feel like you have what it takes and can offer added value to a brand and the way potential customers see their products, then you need to be able to explain how you can do this. Just sending a two-word direct message from your Instagram account with 150 followers, mostly school friends and family members won’t really cut it. You need your social content to being viewed by multiple thousands of people, then you will look like a more attractive sponsorship proposition. But you also really need to make yourself stand out from the crowd – people need to take notice of you, be interested in what you do and more importantly in how you do it. If you are posting well tagged posts and reels with increasing numbers of viewers and interactions, then you are probably going in the right direction.
The best approach is probably still the dedicated rider method – get out there, enjoy yourself, keep improving and get some good results behind you. If people are noticing you at events and out on the trails, then chances are they would also be interested in following your social media accounts too. If you have a friend that likes using a camera and filming stuff, why not get out in the woods and create content. It’s certainly a good way for people to see your antics on two wheels and it’s a great way to evaluate your riding. You can clearly see what you need to do to get better or look more stee*zy. You may well have good fun at the same time!
In an ideal world you would want to be happily doing your thing and then have a company approach you – that way you know that whatever you have been doing has been right. It’s taken the attention of a brand who feel that putting some time, some money and effort into you would also benefit their company goals.
All you need to do now is keep being that great ambassador, keep doing great things on your bike and keep drumming up interest in those companies helping you out!
