I can guarantee you that this is how it was 20 years ago. It definitely was even before that.
Guess what? I was one of them. “I can kickflip down 8 stairs! It’s time someone noticed me!”
Today, I realize that the substantial difference, as we all know, lies in how easy it is to get your footage out there.
Back then, as you’ve probably heard a thousand times, you had to get yourself set up with cameras, editing software, then send emails to everyone with your video uploaded somewhere and hope for some replies.
I’m not here to say that things were better or worse before. My sponsor-me video was something beyond cringe. It was more than cringe.
However, what really amazes me when I look at today’s trends and the videos we receive is that, despite the amount of information available; the possibility of following trends, access to footage, skateboarding entering more and more big circuits, etc., what seems to be missing among many young hopefuls is that thing we often call “aesthetic sense.”
Exactly like 20 years ago, and even more so.
Obviously, you might be a young kid with very few opportunities to travel, not skating in some skateboarding mecca, maybe somewhere in the middle of nowhere, where the most experienced skater has appointed himself “Legend” without ever having taken a plane.
Still, the same thing happens as when we didn’t have the possibility of getting as many inputs as we do today.
So the point is: before feeling good about yourself because you landed an 8-stair kflip, or came first in some shitty contest where you were forced to wear a helmet… you should first ask yourself:
What can I offer to a potential sponsor? Why me?
I’m telling you this because it can genuinely help you along your path.
As stupid and obvious as this may sound, we receive footage from skaters who might actually have good technique, who are fast, brave… but simply unwatchable.
We tell them no, and they take it as an insult.
Have you ever thought that if skateboarding had always been based exclusively on the heaviness and difficulty of tricks, there would basically be no brand identities, DIYs, independent videos, different kinds of mags, etc. left today?
Cringe story 1: We were at the spot, and this kid had just arrived. He dropped his bag, came charging toward us while we were sitting down, and threw a 3flip, with the exact same face Paul Walker makes when he floors it without event looking at the road. Btw Eva Mendez wasn’t there.
Before trying to be the man at your local spot, wouldn’t it be better to ask yourself: what’s better out there?
Why is Gustav Tønnesen so fucking cool? And how can all of this influence my skateboarding in the best possible way?
Maybe before clicking “send,” do a little test. Take 20 seconds and ask yourself:
“Why do I skate? Why did I start?”
20 seconds cost you nothing, but they might save you from getting replies that would embarrass you, and from potential emotional breakdowns.
Especially if you’re part of that generation where Mom and Dad drive you to the skatepark saying, “You’re going to become a champion.”
Cringe story 2: The dad says to his son: “There he is! Go show them what you can do! Move, run! That way they’ll sponsor you!!” I think he had forgotten the whip in the car…
Genuineness and the desire to grow, on top of already having a good level of technique and tricks, are often appreciated by healthy sponsors more than you might think.
After all, you probably spent quite a while between your first kickturn and your first kickflip. What’s another little while… 😉
Aesthetics, my friend. Research.
Here some sponsor me tape of people you’ve might heard…
Have fun and good luck.
Maybe never heard it before, but in the Euro scene back in the days, Flex became a sort of shadow legend, and this sponsor me is still one of my fav.
– S
