I know there is a sponsorship "guide" here on FBHQ that explains what a sponsorship is, but this is a little different.

If you are on a team, how'd you get there?
Or if you're the owner of a company, what do you look for in a rider?
Or... what's your general opinion on the topic?

Sponsorships are NOT everything in fingerboarding and shouldn't be something that you are constantly trying to seek out (read Thom's thread if you don't understand this). This thread is just to show how things do actually work, and to share some cool stories


So I'll start it off....
When I hosted the Texas Rendezvous 3 (when I still lived in TX), the Northwoods owner sent a package with products for the event, plus a deck for me. I liked the deck, so I purchased two more over the next few months off of their website. I continued to ride the decks I had purchased, and the owner and I talked periodically about fingerboard related things and the decks I was riding.  It was a total shock and surprise when he invited me to make a video for the team, and I've been riding for them for over a year now. Not much changed when I was placed on the team - I was already riding their decks out of personal preference, supporting the brand, and continuing a friendship with the owner. The free deck every now and then doesn't matter that much since I would have bought more decks regardless, and still would. The only thing that changed was that I'm now part of the "family" with the other riders, and I believe that is what most teams should feel like.
That's my story in a nut shell, what's yours?

Well, i was never was one that would ask for sponsorships and free stuff. I would also really never go in giveaways to often ether. but i have always had for the last 3 years, the passion for the sport of fingerboards. so instead of begging for sponserships, i would just buy decks, but not just any decks. i would buy decks from the smallest companys, that were just starting out. idk why i did that, but it just made me feel good about helping the small companys grow bigger in the community.

So heres my sponsership story!

Well, i at the time was putting many videos on my youtube, and people started subscribing, and liking my vids. but i still didnt try out for many teams. i remember i treid out for a company, and they sponsered me! i was so exited! but sadly there was no sponserpacks. but i shook it off. and kept repping the company. eventuelly the owner found that he was never gonna get sales ): so i moved on. a couple months later, i was getting better and better at fingerboarding(i was at 1 1/2 years of fbing) so i never treid out for any teams. but one day! a company called entre nos fingerboards messaged me and asked if iwanted to be sponsered! so i joined the team. after a while most of the people were not repping the companys, so i got my good freind josh on the team. and me and him have been the people that have grew the company! know me and josh have been riding E.N. boards for about 1 1/2!! we both have bought from this great company, and we truelly love these decks! the owner, me and josh have all grown into great freinds. and that definatly shows that, if you just fingerboard and you have a passion for the sport, youll have no problem having a great company come to you! well...my fingers hurt from typping so much so, ya...kepp fbing, and do what you love! KEEP SHREDDING BROS!!!!!!!!


p.s. ^ I LOVED YOUR STORY!

Got on my friend's company then the company died. It was nice being on it while it lasted.

When I was smaller I remember sending a email to some super rad company and asked if they wanted to sponsor me. They didn't answer and I didn't understand why. A long time ago I also made a tryout video for some company and got on the team and they sent me some stuff which was cool. I think the most people who want to get sponsored don't actually know what it means to be sponsored in fingerboarding.

I sponsor people, (with Weca Decks) well I wouldn't call it sponsoring but having people on my team who I know very well and talk to regularly as great friends. If I feel like the person fits my company and I get along well with them then they are perfect for the team. I also think it's nice to sponsor people who you have met in person.
Sponsoring in fingerboarding is more just for fun rather than skateboarding when you can actually make a living out of it haha.

im the only american rider to ever be on oak wheels~

Chad asked me in chat one day out of the blue to be on Frost. It was awesome.

Back when I was on Airflo, when team tryouts were still a thing, I made it on my third try.

I was going to be on Woodnote back in the day, but after tryouts concluded, he decided he didn't want to have a team. Then the owner proceeded to message me telling me I would have made it if he went through with a team. Still kinda salty about that one haha.

I honestly haven't had that many sponsorships. I usually tried out for teams that I only liked the goal of their company and the person that ran it. They're nice to have, but I don't see them as an essential. I just have fun!

woob wrote:

im the only american rider to ever be on oak wheels~

lol what

none

The thing about sponsorships in any sport/hobby, is that it's just a form of marketing. Companies get their name out through enthusiats/participants. Most skaters who make a living off of skateboarding own shares in companies or own their own companies. The rest just get free product and video spots. Representing products and companies you respect or believe in is awesome. Whoring yourself out for free products is lame.

The cool thing about fingerboard sponsorship is that it's allowed company owners to put together their dream team of awesome riders, creating a sort of family rather than a team.

So I once emailed myself to get sponsored, and didn't think I would get sponsored. Believe it or not I responded and sponsored myself, I feel like I do gr8 getting sponsored.

Jk

The truth is I like finger boarding, and will eventually make videos, something I've been dieing to do for a billion years sauce... Sauce if someday I get sponsored, then that will be awesome, but I remeber when I first started, it was like my life goal, I think most of us can agree with that if we started like 8-10 years old haha

As a fingerboarder, I have never been sponsored, and probably never will (unless you count making decks for myself). I don't practice nearly enough or put out videos. I fingerboard for fun, but that's just my own opinion. I can see the attraction to being a part of a team, representing a company, and in turn getting free products.

As a company owner I am constantly being asked about sponsoring, to checkout clips, Youtube pages, Instagram feeds, etc. It comes with the territory and I try to be as polite as possible. I do not sponsor any riders at this time but I will be soon. These are the factors I will be looking for in possible riders:
-Active in the community
-Content quality and quantity
-Company support
-Personality and Conduct
I believe that sponsorships should be mutually beneficial for both the rider and the company. I would want someone that puts as much time and effort into their riding as I do into my products.

Robert wrote:

The thing about sponsorships in any sport/hobby, is that it's just a form of marketing. Companies get their name out through enthusiats/participants. Most skaters who make a living off of skateboarding own shares in companies or own their own companies. The rest just get free product and video spots. Representing products and companies you respect or believe in is awesome. Whoring yourself out for free products is lame.

The cool thing about fingerboard sponsorship is that it's allowed company owners to put together their dream team of awesome riders, creating a sort of family rather than a team.

real.

sponsorship story.. hummm...?

ok here we go.

I though about trying to get sponsored one day.....end.

I started on Tech Deck Forums, yeah, I'm old, haha. I'm really glad I held out on sponsorship offers because of Doug Delanoy, an OG, started a griptape company, which was a big thing back then. Everyone had a griptape company. Basically just rebranded Flik or Jessup Griptapes. I took his offer even though I had plenty griptape of my own from skateboarding and scooters. But he had always had intentions of moving into a more serious company. He was always professional so I could actually believe him. He didn't type a sponsor message "lYk dIs, i SpONCur u, get free grip!!!1"... But anyways, his griptape company turned into a deck brand, Tragic Decks. Which were ridiculously good. At the time was one of the few companies offering regular and featherweight decks. Tragic was my first legit sponsor. I soon had a sponsor by Eurollt Wheels, this was pre-bearing era fingerboarding, so they were solid metalcore wheels with a rubber tread bonded to the cores. These were amazing compared to the horrid feel of Tech Deck Wheels. Doug then disappeared for awhile, so I had to move along to a new deck brand, I got offers from a couple brands who seemed legit, but never ended up sending me any decks. Then the BIG offer came, Martin Illsley offered me a spot on Athena Decks. This was his brand following Empire Decks which were legendary. Athena was somewhat of a short-lived brand, only around for a couple years then Martin disappeared with family troubles and work (from what I had heard). Funny thing back in the day, in hind sight I was an immature dick for doing it, I hit up Mike Schneider for a spot on Flatface when he was only doing decks at the time. He was so stoked that I was interested in his brand, he said absolutely. But it was only to get laughs since I knew at the time he admired my fingerboarding videos. Feel horrible for it now, since I am looking back at it as a grown man rather than a teenager. So if you're reading this, sorry Mike! And I appreciate that you considered me, even back then. Eurollt died, so I had gotten a pair of Substance Wheels, once again, pre-bearing. But these plastic wheels rolled as if they had bearings, they were amazing. Never got a spot on the team but Jerome was kind enough to send me a set for feedback. So awhile went by, I then got a hook up with No Comply for wheels, And Peter started up Reks Distribution, he sent me a Riddler Deck. HANDS DOWN MY FAVORITE DECK UNTIL THAT POINT! Still is in some ways. I hit up Riddler and had an enjoyable stay for a couple years til Raphael became a ghost. You see a pattern here?!?! Seems every brand I am excited to represent hangs around for a few years and vanishes, hahaha. So Reks hooked me up with tape and tuning, aside from my first Riddler Deck. Peter had college to attend to, so he had to leave for awhile. It became all about No Comply while deck sponsorless, I used the hell out of my Riddler Decks til they were soggy, practically no pop, because even with no pop they were great and I wouldn't use any other deck. Peter came back after awhile at school and started Reks Decks, great decks so I rode for him. And of course, a handful of months later Peter was impossible to get ahold of after I accidentally rolled over my deck with my computer chair. I saw some pics of Jay Decks and they looked a lot like my type of preferred shape. So I hit Jared up and he added me right away. Now jay Decks is known as Sayonara Decks, who I ride for now. Todd from No Comply left the scene to attend to a new business venture, fingerboard sales were beating him up a bit since he did it for a living. So I came across FingerSk8.com and saw all the great products they offer. I hit up Alex Garcia about who to contact to see about riding for them. He put me in touch with the right people and now I'm happier than ever. I have left a handful of other sponsors out of this reply also, other deck companies, etc because of the brands either being very short lived or because the owners got sketchy after I got on the team. I have now been fingerboarding for 13 years, still have the passion for it, even with my career as a pro scooter rider, being married, having kids old enough to do fingerboard themselves and a full time job at a scooter shop. Feels like only five years ago I picked up a Tech Deck and was making homemade cardboard ramps. Practically drooling over a Vegas, Empire or Oracle Deck. Most of you probably haven't even heard of those brands before, hahaha.
This was a long one, haha.

EDIT: My wife gets mad at me for flipping the remote while watching TV because my fingerboard isn't around...

Don't forget Hazard, Josh. You were on right?

SiCar wrote:

Don't forget Hazard, Josh. You were on right?

Nope. I did their website though. He hooked it up with some decks as payment. Basically the only company worth noting that I left out was Premier.

i used to be sponsored by kikz fingerboards for a couple years i found out about them from an exchange student that lived with us for a year from russia and we used to fingerboard all the time everywhere we would always fingerboard skate and film everyday. We always had a blast i had a bunch of small sponsors but most of them just kind of disappeared after a while. anyway the year after he went back home he got ahold of me and said hey dude there this new company called kikz and he got on the team so i made a video and sent it to the owner with a message and the next day i got a reply saying welcome to the team. then on i would always rep the company putting stickers everywhere, always had there logos on my videos and ramps, i never used any other type of deck which back then i didnt want to i loved there shape and over time they just seemed to get better and better. I would always tell everyone to check them out and try out there decks to help with sells. He would send me sponsors packs every now and then with a deck or 2 and he sent me a couple shirts. I would email him periodically and we would talk about how the company is doing and other fingerboard related things and it started to feel like a real family vibe for a while but after a couple years of riding for them they started cutting people i believe it was because sells started going down because there were rumors going around that they copied yellowoods molds. Then one day he emailed me and said he was sorry but he had to cut me and soon after that they changed there name and then they shut down. It didnt bother me to much that i didnt get to stay on the team the whole time i was just glad i could ride for them and help with there sells. As long as i have a fingerboard and my 2 fingers im happy haha who knows maybe one day ill get on another team.

I've never been sponsored but I'm not really bothered. I understand that fingerboarding is for fun and I'm not trying to sound modest but I think that I would only want to be sponsored to feel like I'M helping someone out and for the thrill to be able to say "I'm on a team"

i got asked to be on the evolve team by jader some years ago and immediately felt honored since i knew that evolve was like one of the first ever wooden deck names out there.
and still, jader is an AWESOME dude and his decks are very unique and underappreciated.

Holy shit, Rens! What's up man

damn, its chris!

Nice story Josh, love hearing the old dudes stories.

I myself technically am and "old dude". I'm 25 and have been fingerboarding for over half my life. I started when I was 10 back in 2000. My first real sponsorship wasn't until I got sponsored by Anchor tape when Jeremy Forget was running it. That didn't last long and it was back to being sponsorless for years. I then was sponsored by Devise decks around 2011 and that was an amazing (still is) company to ride for. Stephen was a cool dude and if I didn't get picked up a couple months after IFC 2012, I would still be riding for him. Also in 2011 I got picked up by No Comply for their Lab Wheels series and was let go shortly before they shut down. It was amazing riding for Todd as well though if given the chance I'd ride for him again. He has the best wheels hands down in my opinion (not humbly, my rude opinion ). I did get sponsored by Solidifeye wheels for a little bit but they kinda fell off the map for me communication wise so I don't know if they still consider me on the team. I don't but I will still rep for them.