.. you want to be sponsored?

I wont comment until this thread gets some posts. Why do you want/desire to be sponsored by a fingerboard company?

Im posting this because ive seen a few "sponsor" parts of profiles say things like "none yet" or "hopefully", or anything in favor of being sponsored. So, whats your reasoning? Like i said, when this thread gets more posts ill chime in with some food for thought.

Deshawn Harris wrote:

.. you want to be sponsored?

I wont comment until this thread gets some posts. Why do you want/desire to be sponsored by a fingerboard company?

Im posting this because ive seen a few "sponsor" parts of profiles say things like "none yet" or "hopefully", or anything in favor of being sponsored. So, whats your reasoning? Like i said, when this thread gets more posts ill chime in with some food for thought.

SEEN IT TOO i guess people think if you are sponcerd you are considered cool idk.

I think people want the reputation of being sponsored. It makes them feel bigger and better.

I don't... Unless Substance/Ytrucks/BRR/etc. would offer.

It seems to me that a lot of fingersponsorships is just the company sending a free deck to the team after the tryouts, then they put the logo in sig and forget all about it..

But yea, i kinda agree with James. There are so many companies and teams in fingerboarding that kids easily feels like outsiters if they are not sponsored.

Perhaps this is egotistical but I've always felt like realistically, I had a talent with fingerboarding and better skills than a lot of sponsored fingerboarders despite having no sponsor until 11 years of fingerboarding. It wasn't about getting free stuff but rather a status that I've wanted to achieve that I would personally treat as an accomplishment and an acknowledgement of my skills by other people.

Maybe it was not a good thing to think but I've not let any feelings of wanting to become sponsored stop me from enjoying fingerboarding and continuing to develop new tricks even when I have been able to do so many variations before, I feel like I can still improve and can still strive to create new things.

However, it wouldn't have only been sponsorship that I would have wanted. I wished for acceptance by my peers and a decent level of acknowledgement of my fingerboarding skills whether that meant sponsorship or not.

Of course, now that I'm sponsored, I still enjoy fingerboarding like before and now I have also tried to share my knowledge of fingerboarding to other people and give access to new products to people via trades/gifts.

Now that people have posted, ill give food for thought.

This goes toward both riders with aspirations of sponsorship... AND... company owners.

When you want the sponsorship or the rider to sponsor, do you think of the responsibilities as a sponsored rider or company owner with riders?

To riders; You do realize that when you seek sponsorship that youre basically saying "i love this product through and through and want to support a great company with a product i love." When you become sponsored, you have to rep hard. I cant begin to count how many "video ads" i see by people not sponsored by a company or sponsored by a company and making a ad for another company. Its sort of bonkers, really. You do have a team youre on.. you should probably film to bring up the name of that company. Its a thought. Why else would you want to be sponsored if you believe theres a better product out there? Its more than just free-stuff. Theres a reason you get that free stuff.

To company owners; Youre a team leader... lead. There are too many sponsored riders around that are complete assholes to people. If youre going to start a team, do so with the intent of one; giving a chance for a unknown rider to get known and two; picking up someone who has the best interest of your company. If that makes sense. It should. You dont want someone on your team in it JUST for the product.

Interesting points, Deshawn. I haven't able to rep Close Up a great deal due to not bringing my camcorder here as the hardware needed to encode the video from it can't be taken to China. Also, as I was still using ancient tapes, it was difficult to get regular videos out although I still thought mine were regular enough. I've not had tons of income working in China so maybe after Chinese New Year in Beijing when relatives give me some money, I will be able to get a new camcorder and rep hard. I've already found a way to access YT around the governmental block so I look forward to filming again.

What I am able to do is to have a nice big logo and link for my sponsor in my FBHQ and FFI post signatures and I always recommend Close Up products where appropriate. My first ever wooden fingerboard was the Close Up G1 and I've had every generation of Close Up before I was sponsored by them. It's also great for the company to listen to my input and suggestions.

Interesting points here, I don't want to be sponsored I don't real deserve any, but I notice alot of kids that are even worse than me begging for sponsors for the want of
Free shit...
I'm kinda coming from the same angle as xi here it should be an acknowledgement of your skills as a fingerboarder not just something to pop into your sig and forget about it once you get a free deck...

There is a big emphasis on sponsors
In the fingerboard community much much more than with skateboarding and there is alot in that scene to.

It seems everyone who can kickflip to grind is sponsored by somethings it's gone too far..

Damn Deshawn.. Did you copy/paste from my book "Newcomers guide to fingerboarding" ?

I don't even think i have anything to add, haha!

more like you copied from me yo.


People want it to be fun, which means no one wants to work for a sponsor. This means that the rider will NEVER appreciate that sponsor the way he should.

yes, im sure mommy and daddy have since told you "you dont appreciate it until you work for it". Hard work makes the pay off all the more meaningful. Companies shouldnt be afraid to say "no, you havent worked hard enough" for a sponsor. Unless youre giving a up-and-coming rider a chance. At that point, hard work to keep that sponsor. Oh snap

A lot of sponsored fingerboarders don't do shit for their sponsor. Sponsorship, in my opinion, is about bringing mutual benefits to BOTH parties. A rider who acts negatively reflects poorly on their sponsors as well! I can't even count how many times some sponsored dumbshit acts like an asshole towards someone. This reflects poorly on the sponsored company.

Yes, I've also been on and still on teams where there is someone like that.

Of course, to me, the most important element behind sponsorship is friendship. I've been asked by companies to sponsor their products before, and I've turned them down since I don't know what type of person they are! There are a lot of good people in fingerboarding, but also a lot of self-important, egotistical pricks that ruin the fun.

Chris Daniels wrote:

Of course, to me, the most important element behind sponsorship is friendship. I've been asked by companies to sponsor their products before, and I've turned them down since I don't know what type of person they are! There are a lot of good people in fingerboarding, but also a lot of self-important, egotistical pricks that ruin the fun.

YES.

I am not very good at fingerboarding, nor am I a very persuasive salesman, BUT I still want to be sponsored.

WHY?

because When you are sponsored, you feel like you have been ackknowledged that you have talent.

I WOULD NEVER REP A COMPANY I DON'T LIKE. example: I love homewood decks, and they are my preference, so if in some amazing alternate universe, Justin asked me to be on the team, I would say yes.

Free stuff is a bonus. The real prize will be your new friendships with the team owner and the other riders

I don't want a sponsor atm because I know I would never rep them. I'm so busy nowadays I don't even film videos for fun, and I barely get on here! Now if I did wanted to be sponsored right now, I would want to be friends with the owner, and then the rest of the team members after becoming sponsored. Then I would have to love the products they make too. Lastly, I would need to rep this company a good amount. Kinda much it I guess

i would like to be sponsored but i dont desire it if someone thinks im the right person to support there company and i think think that they are here for the right reasons, if i see an owner who is passionate about fingerboarding and they put there heart into it as much as i do and isnt a total douche bag to the rest of the scene,like some are i can rep their company to the absolute fullest. free shit are the perks you dont go out looking for sponsors just to free company swag like mr harris for instance i know that he has a deep passion for fingerboarding and i know that he didnt go out and annoy the piss out of mike to get on he made his videos the way he wanted too and edited them the way he wanted to and someone saw them and thought the same as i do about him and asked hoim if he would like to be apart of the team and i bet that if he didnt like the product or he didnt think that the company owner wasnt legit he would have respectfully denied because of how he felt and i feel the exact same way if deshawn asked me to be apart of kinda my heart would probably stop because he is one of the few people in the scene who i actually look up to because i can see his love and dedication for our sport this is quite possibly the longest post ive ever typed but its dinner time so im gonna go much on some breakfast food for dinner <3 <3 <3

Tim Lowery wrote:

i would like to be sponsored but i dont desire it if someone thinks im the right person to support there company and i think think that they are here for the right reasons, if i see an owner who is passionate about fingerboarding and they put there heart into it as much as i do and isnt a total douche bag to the rest of the scene,like some are i can rep their company to the absolute fullest. free shit are the perks you dont go out looking for sponsors just to free company swag like mr harris for instance i know that he has a deep passion for fingerboarding and i know that he didnt go out and annoy the piss out of mike to get on he made his videos the way he wanted too and edited them the way he wanted to and someone saw them and thought the same as i do about him and asked hoim if he would like to be apart of the team and i bet that if he didnt like the product or he didnt think that the company owner wasnt legit he would have respectfully denied because of how he felt and i feel the exact same way if deshawn asked me to be apart of kinda my heart would probably stop because he is one of the few people in the scene who i actually look up to because i can see his love and dedication for our sport this is quite possibly the longest post ive ever typed but its dinner time so im gonna go much on some breakfast food for dinner <3 <3 <3

Yo, not to be a dick but maybe you should have learned how to type longer posts, haha.

haha yea
i dont usually type that much because im the slowest typer i know
edit: just noticed i used like 12 ands lol

I'd love to be sponsored for many reasons.

1. It makes me feel cooler than I am.
2. Bragging rights.
3. It can turn me into a complete asshole.

Honestly though, there's this local brand in my country called Daliri (Finger in English) Fingerboards. I love their 1.5 Deck and I've been making support vids constantly. Here in the Philippines, since companies can only afford to do so much, they sponsor people who meet up with them and get close. They sponsor friends because we're all close to each other geographically and it's easier to meet up.

I honestly think my reasons for getting in are legit.

Also, I'm pretty sure there aren't any sponsored 13 year olds yet so that would be a cool side dish.

CrunchyFingers wrote:

I'd love to be sponsored for many reasons.

1. It makes me feel cooler than I am.
2. Bragging rights.
3. It can turn me into a complete asshole.

Honestly though, there's this local brand in my country called Daliri (Finger in English) Fingerboards. I love their 1.5 Deck and I've been making support vids constantly. Here in the Philippines, since companies can only afford to do so much, they sponsor people who meet up with them and get close. They sponsor friends because we're all close to each other geographically and it's easier to meet up.

Teams here are more like families than other countries, and it would feel great to be part of one of them. Especially Daliri.

I honestly think my reasons for getting in are legit.

Also, I'm pretty sure there aren't any sponsored 13 year olds yet so that would be a cool side dish.

I think this is the case for the majority of fingerboard companies.

Xi wrote:

CrunchyFingers wrote:

I'd love to be sponsored for many reasons.

1. It makes me feel cooler than I am.
2. Bragging rights.
3. It can turn me into a complete asshole.

Honestly though, there's this local brand in my country called Daliri (Finger in English) Fingerboards. I love their 1.5 Deck and I've been making support vids constantly. Here in the Philippines, since companies can only afford to do so much, they sponsor people who meet up with them and get close. They sponsor friends because we're all close to each other geographically and it's easier to meet up.

Teams here are more like families than other countries, and it would feel great to be part of one of them. Especially Daliri.

I honestly think my reasons for getting in are legit.

Also, I'm pretty sure there aren't any sponsored 13 year olds yet so that would be a cool side dish.

I think this is the case for the majority of fingerboard companies.

By that you mean?

CrunchyFingers wrote:

I'd love to be sponsored for many reasons.

1. It makes me feel cooler than I am.
2. Bragging rights.
3. It can turn me into a complete asshole.

Honestly though, there's this local brand in my country called Daliri (Finger in English) Fingerboards. I love their 1.5 Deck and I've been making support vids constantly. Here in the Philippines, since companies can only afford to do so much, they sponsor people who meet up with them and get close. They sponsor friends because we're all close to each other geographically and it's easier to meet up.

Teams here are more like families than other countries, and it would feel great to be part of one of them. Especially Daliri.

I honestly think my reasons for getting in are legit.

Also, I'm pretty sure there aren't any sponsored 13 year olds yet so that would be a cool side dish.

Im pretty sure that there is a whole bunch of sponsored 13 year olds. But not many (if any) sponsored by a really legit company like Daliri.

I also think you are wrong in saying that teams there are more like families than any other place.
Look at the BRR team, a major part of it has always been on the team. Thats a family.
My own team consists of my best friends through out more than 10 years. I'd kill my biological family before any of them.
And i am sure these two teams are not the only teams with a strong family like relation.

When I got sponsored by FL just a few months back, I think I really did it for the wrong reasons; reputation and a board to put my name to, not really for the free stuff but just because I wanted to feel like I'm getting a board to ride for with a purpose!

But now I actually see what sponsorship is about, and luckily it's not one of those situations where you're tied up with a shitty sponsor just for the free stuff, but my situation was lucky because I've become such good friends with the owner and some of the team riders and I really do feel like I'm apart of such a cool team! With the amazing products (Decks and tape) on the side that I actually use everyday on my main setup so I don't need to change my act when recommending products to people, I will freely recommend products from FL because it's what I use and the owner deserves it!

1. It gives you a reason to push yourself further and gives you a standard to achieve and maintain.

2. Rewards your efforts with a reputation and exposure.

3. Free shit.