Video: How To Get Sponsored - How To Bike Season 2 Episode 5

Dec 8, 2022
by Pinkbike Originals  

HOW TO BIKE
SEASON 2 EPISODE 5


Be your own billboard. In this episode, Cathro breaks down sponsorship. What is it, how does it work, what brands might expect from you, and what you could expect from brands.




Huge thanks to the brands who have helped make How To Bike Season 2 happen.

Continental - tires
Shimano - drivetrain, brakes and pedals
Santa Cruz - frames
Reserve Wheels - wheels
Dharco - clothing
Deity - cockpit & saddle
Bluegrass - helmets and protection
Adidas Five Ten - footwear
Swatch - official timing
Cushcore - inserts
Ohlins - suspension
RideWrap - frame protection
Outside - support
Pinkbike Racing




photo
Cam Zink's advanced trail riding progression course.

Outside Learn offers courses and lessons from riders like Cam Zink and Joey Schusler for everything from basic trail skills to advanced jumps and drops. Learn more.


Posted In:
Tutorials and Guides Videos How To Bike How Tos Pinkbike Racing Continental Santa Cruz Bicycles Shimano Ben Cathro


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79 Comments
  • 85 1
 I've been on both sides. Unless you're already clearly headed to the top of the sport, don't bother. Spend your time focusing on making as much cash as possible in the highest paid job you can get and remove the stress of seeking sponsorship from your amateur program. You'll be further ahead and better off with your training time by just buying your own shit. Also, nobody owns you and you can say whatever the heck you want which is a nice perk.
  • 5 0
 Probably the wisest post we'll see here.
  • 64 4
 Because I don't wanna be the 1000th mediocre bike rider who makes a youtube video about their boring and slow riding of flow trails
  • 84 24
 i was slow riding your mom last night
  • 51 2
 @Jakegk2006: now that is some quality vintage Pinkbike commenting.
  • 4 3
 @Jakegk2006: you too! Thought she seemed extra happy
  • 3 3
 @Jakegk2006: gottem
  • 5 2
 @Jakegk2006: she probably thought it was boring
  • 2 0
 Then tell a better story? Be funny? Share your passion with us and make it different. There is plenty of room for more story telling.
  • 1 0
 @Jakegk2006: He shoulda seen that one coming
  • 1 0
 @thatguyzack: lol that could go for both of the first comments on this thread
  • 54 0
 Easy answer, just like any other rider in South of France, think you're fast, go to races, meet Bruni and Vergier at 15 yo, realize you're already 15 seconds behind them, go back home and write Pinkbike comments instead
  • 24 0
 This is brilliant, since if you can't join Vouilloz, Gracia, Bruni, and Pierron, in that great French tradition, you can join Hugo, Sartre, Camus and Voltaire in theirs.
  • 4 0
 @The-Foiling-Optimist: I honestly don’t know Hugo Sartre Camus and Voltaire , are they fast Strava Downcountry racers ?
  • 1 0
 @jpnbrider: On the subject of French polemic, someone should write the equivalent of Emile Zola's J'accuse, only for head tube cable routing.
  • 46 0
 You should see my sticker collection. I am sponsored by a lot of companies.
  • 2 0
 Back in the Interbike days we would spend days collecting up stickers from our dozens of Sponsors. Even that one desk booth in the back dark corner with a sticker with one indecipherable symbol would get prime underside of the repair stand display real estate. Hmm maybe time to rejuvenate the pro career and head to Sea Otter this year.
  • 24 0
 I am sponsored by AutoPlay!
  • 7 0
 Hi, this is AutoPlay. We've been looking through your comment history and it's become clear that our long-term business needs are no longer represented by your social media output. Due to this we are now withdrawing our sponsorship program immediately. We have enjoyed out time with you and wish you good luck in finding a new sponsor. We hear that HeadsetCableRouting Inc. are currently looking for representatives so that might be worth investigating. Regards.
  • 3 0
 @thingswelike: Dear AutoPlay, I hate to tell you but just like your product I can't be disposed of that easily. It is not as simple as checking a box to get rid of me. If you have a contact with HCR inc please DM me, got to run as I am finishing up my video " How to turn your 5k bike into a 10k bike with no measurable improvement in performance ".
  • 1 0
 @pink505: DM Sent. Honestly, you'll make a great team. Regarding your video idea, I'm sure that Jason Lucas and Henry Quinney would love to be pitched that idea. Their previous series was similar and really well received. Oh how we would have loved to have AutoPlay involved with that one!
  • 20 0
 I'm pretty sure I'm not sponsored because I don't race. Or have any marketing value.
  • 19 0
 I am sponsored by Amway. I'd like to talk to you about this great business opportunity . . . . .
  • 21 0
 I’m sponsored by my parents
  • 1 0
 Parentrocinated then.
  • 2 0
 You and most everyone else
  • 14 0
 bloody excellent video guys! I've tried multiple times to make a video like this but could never get an end result I'm happy with...now whenever I get asked how to get sponsored, I'll send them this video. You hit all the nails on the head.
  • 16 1
 after briefly seeking sponsorship a long long time ago...I also look back on that being the least fun I ever had mtn biking.
  • 6 0
 I was a sponsored skater, I liked it. It wasn't financially viable, but I sure had fun with it.
  • 5 2
 @RonSauce: for me, competing just drained me...and then I got so anxious about getting injured that it just got in my head at the start line every time.
  • 13 0
 sponsored by raid shadow legends
  • 2 0
 Sponsored by owning a singular foot of Scotland
  • 1 0
 @vtracer: On Islay? #Laphroaig
  • 8 0
 Brand here. We're hit up a dozen times a day with requests for sponsorship. (Same for our sister company at Siren Bicycles) and it's always so hard to crush someone's goal.

I've come to realize in the end most aren't actually even aware of what the economics and quid pro quo of sponsorship has to be to even begin to scratch the surface of fairness for both parties.

You're essentially asking for a job and that usually kills the vibe in its tracks.
  • 10 2
 Lets talk more about all the small discount sponsorships companies are offering riders (20-75% off deals). These are ruining the sport. These riders are literally paying the brand to promote the brand, all while cutting out the LBS in the process.
  • 1 1
 aka DTC - "Direct to consumer"
  • 2 0
 Its totally free advertising to the company.
  • 2 0
 @konadan: Actually its better than free for the company, they are profiting off the sales to "% sponsored" riders.
  • 1 0
 Yeah I’ve been getting those 30-50% hookit deals for years now
  • 2 1
 Yes but its gold for privateers
  • 1 0
 Shit, let's talk about bike shop margins (yikes). Don't know how they stay open! Unless you YouTube like Lost Bikes.
  • 5 0
 This is why applicants to PBA are going to apply to PBA and put up with PBA. It's a way to up the square footage of one's billboard. Not as fun as racing, but this is what the last episode or two of PBA should have been like. More insight featuring Ben and some more actual talk from all the presenters and judges because I'm sure they have stories and advice. I wonder what Ben would think if he also got recruited as an occasional guest on PBA, in a less-scripted feature. (Apologies to Ben if that actually happens...I can't be the only one thinking it so it's not my fault).

Also wish I could grow a shaggy 'do like that. While I'm at it, wish I could ride a fraction as good as Ben so the skills stuff would actually have meaning. But I'll watch anyway.
  • 8 0
 At 42 years old… my wallet is my f*cking sponsor!
  • 6 0
 At 48...my wallet is my f*cked sponsor.
  • 8 0
 I thought it's because I'm not that good.
  • 1 1
 *Ding ding ding ding*
  • 8 0
 Anyone else blow their own whistle every 10 seconds on a DH run?
  • 4 0
 Don’t copy and paste emails! And at least mention the brand you’re asking in your email. Ideally have some connection with the brand before asking for free stuff, unless you can offer something insanely good they probably already have a bunch of customers they’d rather help out over some random person. If you’re thinking of asking through insta DM’s just don’t.
  • 4 0
 Failing that just be attractive and post pictures in your pants as apparently that’s still a thing for some brands (inserts disappointed face emoji).
  • 3 0
 @CantQuitCartel: Totally! "Can you send me some of your products so I can represent your brand. I have 157 followers.".

And yeah I was noticing there's a lot of posing next to bikes going on these days.
  • 4 1
 @CantQuitCartel: or every average female that rides bikes
  • 8 2
 If every single video on Youtube was set to autoplay, every video will get 1 billion views!
  • 8 0
 Content is king, right?
  • 6 0
 I can announce that I have renewed my contract and I'll be part of the Paypal Credit Team for another 5 years.
  • 2 0
 I too am sponsored by credit card debt racing
  • 2 0
 If I get 10 credit cards and pay off the credit card bills with the other credit cards, I should be able to unlock unlimited credit card debt, right?
  • 2 0
 Just a note to say the creativity and effort that's gone into these videos is really impressive. I have no interest in getting sponsorship and am old enough to know how it all works anyway, but it was still really fun and entertaining. Top work Cathro and team
  • 2 0
 I rode xc, trials, BMX, then DH/FR forever. Took tons of trips on my own money (1-3 months) and tried to be my own best. Have been graced with more friends and adventures than I deserve. The real payout is immeasurable in happiness. Because in the end that's all that matters.
  • 1 0
 Then I look at the sponsors for "How to Bike". Swatch for official timing. Is there so much official timing going on with How to Bike? When I think of Swatch, I think of brightly colored analog wristwatches. And maybe that "Smart" car they made with Mercedes. The built in stopwatch of a basic Casio do a better job, wouldn't it?
  • 5 0
 Incredibly boring but factually correct reply: The Swatch Group are the largest watch company in the world, and own and manufacture watches for such trusted brands as Tissot and Omega, and also manufacture mechanical parts for Rolex and Tag Heuer. They're a timing behemoth, and the cheap plastic external structures of most Swatch Watches actually hide some fantastic internal mechanisms.
  • 2 0
 @MumblesBarn: Oh yeah, I don't question the quality of Swatch products. Just that I only knew their analog watches (with or without a scale) where you can only see the current time accurate to the second. Which may be sufficient for XC marathon racing but not for DH. The names Tissot and Tag Heuer I indeed know from the timing of official races but I wasn't aware of the involvement of Swatch therein. I'm not familiar with Omega (only with Sigma watches, the other Greek letter). As for Rolex, I know them mainly from their ads with pilots of vintage aircraft so I don't quite know what to think of that. But yeah, thanks for your "boring" reply. Was much appreciated and I learned something again Smile !
  • 1 0
 Having seen Ben at the races for many years, having his own team, coaching business and helping out young riders in Scotland, its great to see him running a WC team and making some great video content for PB now. We need Cathro to make an appearance in PB academy of the PB field test. OR Cathro riding with Remmy would be sick.
  • 2 0
 Don't be old! the industry doesn't like that! You don't have to be good either! You just need to be big on Instagram and sponsors will flock
  • 5 2
 because you don't have a BMX background!
  • 4 1
 i decline the many sponsorships i'm offered - that's why
  • 2 0
 What are you talking about? I'm totally sponsored, I get pro deals from my local shop so I'm basically a pro.
  • 3 0
 Pretty sure it's because I'm slow and have no style
  • 2 0
 Love your insight, Ben. What you bring to WC races is fresh! Really enjoyed the recap of this year on your previous post.
  • 2 0
 Great video. I am glad I am not reliant on my riding to make a living. That would suck the fun out of it for me.
  • 2 0
 If I get any free merch then I calling it "Sponsorship". This includes stickers.
  • 1 0
 Harsh reality, you will not get sponsors. Best you can hope for is to enjoy the effort.
  • 2 0
 I just want to win one day of the advent calendar.
  • 1 0
 Fake it until you make it!
  • 5 0
 Excellent Ted Talk!
  • 1 0
 i only spawn sword
  • 1 0
 Win.
  • 1 0
 2 meetings a week
  • 1 0
 So well done and said!
  • 1 0
 Solid advice







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