Looking for a sponsorship is like a high school student expecting to become a NBA or Rock Star. Everyone wants it, only a very select few will make it.
The best advice I got when I was going to be business major, is also great life advice, and I got it from my dentist of all people.
He said, "Don't go into business to make money. Go into business to make a great product or service. Money will come on it's own."
It's not a sponsorship you want, it's a *partial* sponsorship you want.
What is it and how do you get it? It's easy. Buddy pricing for being a good guy.
I have absolutely nothing to offer to most people in this sport. I have no resources. I was dirt broke college student, with a broken ass ski, up until the last few years. Even now, my skis aren't half what I wish they could be, but they are at least reliable and get the job done now.
But what is important, is the people you meet every day you ride.
People like
@tom21 who taught me the basics of composites, gave me spare parts when I first got into the sport, and gave me buddy pricing on a lot of service.
People like
@Jetrace19 who give repair, upgrade and tuning advice free of charge, who use their resources to get you special pricing on new parts, and great pricing on used parts, you otherwise wouldn't have access too.
People like
@JetManiac, who makes a trade of a few simple parts for some photos at a freeride, or gives you a discount on some pistons after your poop mechanic blows up your brand new motor.
People like
@RKO Motorsports and
@Wet Dreams who takes a little off the price of your purchase or throw some bonus things into the box because they appreciate your efforts to help others on the forums.
People like
@Fast Elements who, even though you didn't take advantage of the offer, offered to send you misc parts to finish a build because they believed in your project.
People like Scott (don't know screen name, from Duck Pond riders), who give you his extra spare long suit to keep indefinitely because you showed up on a 50 degree surf day with a shorty, because that's all you had back then.
People like
@SuperJETT,
@Big Kahuna and
@Matt_E who have made this forum and community possible.
People like Michael Paris of Barney's of St. Pete, who has saved me a small fortune keeping my skis on the water and my quad in the dirt.
People like Pat Bogart of Xmetal, who offered to throw a part I made in with their anodizing batch, for about %80 less than it would have cost otherwise.
People like
@yamaslut and
@shawn_NJ who offer you a place to stay
People like
@suva or
@wavegoddess who split a room with you
People like my best friend Ryan, who despite a disability and adversity of the judgement of others, I speak to every day to figure out the most effective ways to get performance we can afford.
People like my wife, who unlike so many other women, "gets it".
That is your sponsorship.
Hopefully, someday, we can all have a sponsorship like Mark Gomez, or a Buseness like RRP, Xmetal or EME, but for today, it's he average people who lend a hand expecting nothing that are going to get you there.
That is why I post so much, why I talk so much, and why I move a few misplaced posts around. Because other than a smile, a thank you and an extra hand lifting, it's the one big thing I can do to pay it forward for all those people who have walked beside me, or even carried me on their shoulders, over the years.
