Originally Posted by Quark
Is it gay porn?
It's gay porn, isn't it?
What difference does the business I'm in make to whether or not I methodically support someone?
What difference does it make if you just tell us?
You're certainly vague enough to work in this industry, I'll give you that.
Yes I am being vague. Let me be clearer. I am not going to tell you about my business at this time. I asked for input about sponsorship and people have graciously taken time to share their opinion on sponsorship. I welcome your opinions on sponsorship as well. If you own and operate a successful or growing company, I welcome your opinion on general principles of business operation. If you have a track record of creating great things from next to nothing I welcome your opinions on how to grow when times are tough. If you aspire to grow rollerblading in its many forms, I welcome your opinions on what you think rollerblading needs or should embrace. Share your opinions as much as you like. That's why I started the thread, and that is what the forum is for. You need nothing from me to know your opinion on sponsorship, or on rollerblading in general.
Last edited by dave p; 05.06.2012 at 20:36.
That's all I needed to know, really.
But wait, why? Are you embarrassed? Ashamed? I'm having a hard time getting a bead on your angle here. I have an opinion, as a rollerblading and businessowner, but how am I going to give you any valuable advice if I don't know what line of business you're in?
I am not asking for your name and address here, I am simply asking what kind of services or goods your company offers.
the more "open book" you run your business the more ethically it will be run, and the longer it will last. I suggest telling us what you do. the more ambiguos you are the more suspicious and weary people will be.
Who really gives a fuck what this guy does for a living? Hell, the guy could make those shitty seatbelt furry cover things for all we know. Christ, it's enough that this dude is even considering sponsoring someone/some people.
Damn, get off his nuts, you nosy ass bastards.
I hear you loud and clear. I do many things, depending on the project. I am an organizer/facilitator and often a salesperson. You want to know what I'm selling, but the truth is that right this moment I'm not looking to sell a product, I'm looking for the needs of a truly diverse community. Until i can identify a need i can fill, there is no product or service to market.'sponsoring' some person(s) is really just a way to support skating in my limited sphere of influence. It's not the only one.
Perhaps I asked the wrong question when I started the thread. I really want to know why 'sponsorship' Is such a sore topic? I missed a lot over the years.
Last edited by dave p; 07.06.2012 at 06:23.
rollerbladers are weary of new companies because there have been dozens of companies come and go in the past ten years that promise success and good business only to buckle and fail within a few years at best. Also, some of the best companies are gone and a lot of people are just bitter and grumpy. Even the best quality companies to come out have failed or been absorbed by larger entities. 4x4, B-unique, Sifika, Deshi, Mindgame, Fiction, Esoteric, Senate (they still sell cheap shit at dicks but i consider them dead), and a ton of no-names are gone. And, the two big companies (sunshine and conference) have had shady dealings and management issues that people have spoken out about. Even the shining gem of NIMH that everyone seemed to praise had a huge PR fallout when shima switched it to SSM and we still don't know what happened. The only Companies people seem to trust are Trust (hehe) CreateOriginals, Eulogy, and Vibralux
I encourage anyone and everyone to invest in the industry, the only way we are going to thrive is with as many people pouring investment ideas and quality into the market. the more companies, the better chance that someone will get it right and we can grow.
So you want to sponsor someone just for the sake of it?
oh man, rollerblading is so politically incorrect when it comes to sponsorship..i just stand back and laugh at some of the things i see from these kids who are "sponsored rollerbladers." it seems as though our industry only looks at who you are associated with, where you are from, how cool you can make yourself sound and how much your arms don't flail when you land a simple grind. personally i love to see kids with great style flowing around a park doing mega simple creative lines but the shit is BORING! as a sponsor you have to be able to see talent inside and out, a kid has to have his mind right of course but he should be able to get creative and pull something huge out every once and a while, no matter what style he has doing it. i love to see character in blading, i dont like things to be plain and just like everybody elses stuff, it's crazy how many kids i see that all look the EXACT same in every aspect of their blading, i can't even tell them apart in an edit. You should be versitile and be able to skate a variety of different obstacles, not limiting yourself to skateparks or small banks to curbs. Everybody should agree that even though handrails do get boring to watch over and over again there is that little WOW effect when somebody does something big on a rail and makes it look good. I enjoy watching edits and seeing tricks that i'm like "HOW THE FUCK DID HE MANAGE TO LAND THAT?" or "DAMN HOW DID HE EVEN THINK OF THAT?" Well my short story is over now, all in all, i believe alot of people get slept on just because of who they are or how much style they dont have, or how much fun they aren't to be around. I have tried for years and never been able to grab a sponsorship, i believe im pretty good at blading and have what it takes, i just think that because of where i am from where there might not be as much exposure as there is elsewhere and i dont have kids filming me with HVX's or VX's all the time im getting slept on. Its ok though i still support blading and love where it is today and will always tell kids how fun and cool it is to be a part of our industry while making sure to help it grow..people just need to open their eyes a lil bit and see that rolling around a park with a vx and some creative lines isnt going to be raising the bar for people from the outside looking in..people want to see big things, stylish things, and creativity all while having fun! PEACE
we need more people to start clothing companies
Sponsorship is a marketing tool, nothing more, nothing less. The biggest problem is most skaters in our sport don't see it this way. The skaters believe that the best and most skilled skaters should be treated like kings. This is one of the reasons that RB has such a bad image these days. We as a community can over look things like hard partying, drug abuse and even bitch-slapping a ho but from a business point of view these things can become a PR nightmare. Our culture has been one of the biggest factors in keeping the big companies away, not money.
At the same time the people running the companies in our sport are totally fucking clueless. There are a few good people but most are iddiots. Just because a guy is a good skater does not mean he should be a company owner. This is one of the things skateboarding got right over the years, they hire outsiders to manage the company. Due to the fact that most people in the sport have been, more like think they have been, screwed, no one is willing to trust outsiders. Yes some people did get fucked (mostly by the ASA who was infamous for never paying people back for plane tickets) but most of the "screwings" were a result of bad behavior on the skater's end. I remember one guy who was pissed because he got fired for smoking a blunt in a skatepark during a big televised event.
So, in short: people in our sport are mostly retarded.
For the OP:
You should ask yourself the following questions:
1. What does my company stand to gain?
2: What type of image am I going push?
3: What benefits can my company offer the industry?
4: Will my friends (assuming you skate) say if I don't sponsor them?
5: Will you loose current customers when they find out that you give free money to someone that smokes weed all day? (remember the olympic swimmer?)
Disaster over the wall to back roy. Shirt + Pants = $11.50 US new.
I commend everyone who has somehow garnered a sponsorship, aside from that dick sucking incident.
seriously. we need some quality and cozy socks
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