That is just it. I want to know how I get sponsored. Do I need to do tricks? How fast do I need to go? Do I need to wear a silly hat?

you've got to know the right people and be a good people person, all that on top of being good at flying

Lookin' for that Red Bull kite, aren't you? ; )

what flyj said .... teamriders are people that help grow the sport but also help grow the brand they are flying.

shops need teamriders / distributors need teamriders / manufactures need teamriders.

as a sponsored flyer youll may also be limited to flying only those brands. can you live with just one kite brand?

i suggest that you setup a resume like you would finding a job. list what you do, style of flying, style of riding. things you have done in the sport, ie world record speed, personal record speed and any competitions or events you have and/or will attend. if you attend a lot of events, thats good promo for the brand who will sponsor you.

so ask around and see what you get, it doesnt hurt to ask. like us we have a teamrider page, as do many other brands.

lastly, not all sponsorship is 100% freebies. you maybe required to put a little $$$ up and for your travels too. its not easy work, ask my sponsored riders ... GET BACK TO WORK.!!.

I hear the silly hat helps!! :P

yea,the HAT is def the KEY just look at "tophat" on eric eck vid lol

Wexler Muse is a team rider for HQ Kites and my store, and his dad, BeamerBob is a rider for my store as well. Wexler has not set any records yet or out-flown anyone but his skills at age 13 along with his enthusiasm and personability go a long way to demonstrating the accessibility of the sport to a wide age range. along with his dad, (like you and your son, Dagon) they also demonstrate what a great family sport it is.

So my point is that there is a lot of different things to bring to the table to attract the attention of a store or vendor.

He has the silly hat...the leather aviator cap.

Knowing Dagon for 12 years and counting, I can say that his values would do nothing but help anyone who he'd represent or be around for that matter. Honest, has integrity, friendly to all who meet him, hard worker, helpful...his only fault is taking my beer when I least expect it...sneaky bastard. He's a damn fine flyer too and considering what he invests into people for the sake of the sport I think he'd be looking forward to putting in the blood, sweat and tears.

I never expected anything for free, maybe just a really good deal. I think I would have a hard time flyin just one brand of kite, but it could be done if the deal was sweet enough. Mainly I think it would be fun to be part of a team and REPRESENT.

my ninja beer stealing skills could be a great asset as well.

ACTUALLY ...... I have found that putting on Clown Blades and some kite skills will get you noticed ! :piggy: :piggy:
Seriously though. I think a whole lot of it is WANTING IT.
Not everyone will be so lucky as to have Generous people like Rip' and Solaris in their local park.
The only person I have known as a close friend that found true sponsorship is Ripsession and HE JUST GOT IT with Peter Lynn. !!!!!!!! Richard made kiting His whole focus 10 ++ ?? years ago. He kept his eye on the goal and wanted it enough to make getting there his life. Meeting many people along the way and going huge distances to do so. At 108 kph I think He is 3 behind the Dutch or some statistic but the reason Rip' deserves this is he wanted it enough to go for it. :wow: CONGRAT"S RIP :wow:
So....   That is sponsorship. :wee:

I feel like exactly what I look if you have seen me out there. A Clown but HEY ......... I got the honour of becoming a "team rider" for Ripsessionkites.:wee:
My chance at such things is simply a fluke of location . Skycountry and Ripsession have supplied me with an amazing array of kites to try in the past. Both have been super supportive but I loved a girl called Flysurfer.

I have always had HUGE respect for Peter Lynn. People on here will remember I call him a visionary. I have been impressed with Him and His product since day 1 and can now join as a " Team Rider " with Ripsession because I have no problems saying good , honest things about the product. I am so friggin lucky I got to hold out on saying yes until I could get behind that yes 100% .

I'm so LUCKY !!!!!!!

I guess Luck is the other way , for sure !

With the start up's around here in Vancouver, the most imorprtant thing to them is ATTENDANCE !!!!!! If you can fly well enough to show someone else how to and are out as much as 5 days a week , odds are pretty good that a company will be interested in having you fly their stuff. For the exposure alone. I guess THAT was my start ?

For YOU Dagon, I suggest that your day job and limited abilaty to get out a few times a week to show off the product are holding you back ? ?

So Bladerunner, how come no PL kites showing in your quiver? I'm at 3 and counting and agree with you on the visionary status.

While Rip' and I have been talking about me becoming a team rider I was very happy with my Flysurfer kites and EXTREMELY happy being a bit of an unofficial kite tester to Solaris and Rip'. The fact that they and so many others have put different kites in my hands made me have an ever increasing reference bank. My only motive was to learn to fly and teach every type of kite. I end up ignoring offers to fly other kites just to enjoy my Pulse often.  With friends like we have here I could go for a heck of a long time without ever rolling out my own kites but it's ALL ABOUT sharing .

:wow:I flew the CHARGER at NABX:wow:

It just BLEW ME AWAY !!!!!!

Like no other Arc I met before !
Instant archaholism

I WILL have arcs back in my signature again in June if it all plays out :wee: That is when the Charger comes out.

Good point Bob ! With all these changes I will likely have to change my sig' soon to reflect my new ties !

TEAM Riders don't always own the kites so much as get them to use and demo. I'm sure I'll still keep my own personal quiver.
I'll just FLY Peter Lynn kites so I won't axactly feel a sense of ownership with them ? More a sense of honour at being able to introduce people to a great product that I can stand by at no cost to myself.

I'm not thrilled about my opinion being tainted by all this.

Rip' knows I want to be able to fly and discuss kites with ZERO Bias. Chargers and Peter Lynn kites in general are great and so I'm happy to fly them + teach others how to.

I still want to be free to fly everything that comes accross my path and team rider / tester affords me that !

Im down here in sunny florida taking kiteboard lessons from a dude who is sponsered (Dale Martin). The guy has a top notch personality and has a wise business sense. AFAIK he is riding for slingshot and spends 6 mos here on the atlantic coast and 6 mos in porta rico chasing the wind and waves.

During this time he is giving lessons to folks like myself and in turn has me sold on the new slingshot rev. Attributes like this will help the manufacturer sell kites which is whaT having team riders is all about in the end; selling kites and reputable representation.

Quote:

Originally posted by Bladerunner I'm not thrilled about my opinion being tainted by all this.

So what opinion are you worried about tainting? Do you mean you will feel restricted in saying what you really feel about a PL kite or a competitor? Or are you remiss about having something change your relationship with your flysurfers?

Quote:

Originally posted by BeamerBob Quote: Originally posted by BladerunnerI'm not thrilled about my opinion being tainted by all this. So what opinion are you worried about tainting?  Do you mean you will feel restricted in saying what you really feel about a PL kite or a competitor?  Or are you remiss about having something change your relationship with your flysurfers?

My Love affair with My Pulse was all my own. Completely outside of local influence and I liked that !Strictly by virtue of the location I fly at , it is to " someones " advantage that I fly and LOVE their brand. NOT that I have extrordinary skills. I can fly anybodies kite and make it look good ? I bought and paid full ( used ) prices for my Flysurfers and so my opinion was   " untainted  ".If there is one person who's philosophy toward kiting I can get behind it is Peter Lynn. I never followed convention and neither did He. MOSTLY ......  I want to support RIP' in living His dream ! He has proven to ME that he is worth it.

Now I will be getting some good deals on P.L. gear and stuff but want to keep flying every single type of kite I can. Riding every style I can and having fun as usual. When I talk about the kites I'm fortunate enough to try my opinions will be influenced by extra exposure to P.L. kites. I'm all too aware of that. This is different for me ? Of course I will always be honest but I don't think I can allow myself to say anything negetive toward other brands ??  For that matter Ripsessionkites will still sell the interesting Euro brands Rip' has brought in. I'm clear still to fly anything. A restriction of full sponsorship I wouldn't enjoy.

People just need to be aware that I will not be able to be as critical as before. I hope that is all that changes ?



FINALLY, the REAL Rip' has posed for His Avatar !!! :singing:

Quote:

Originally posted by Dagon my ninja beer stealing skills could be a great asset as well.

very valuable skills. its a requirement of a sponsored rider, and dereliction of duty is not an option!

Sponsorships, yes, there are free ones. Pansh have setup about 4 guys on this forum with a free set of kites so a free sponsorship does exist. Some companies will give you a set of kites at discount and then set you sales targets for the year. Watch out for these! These guys range in skill. You do not have to be top of the trick list to get sponsored, just a people person who likes flying and wishes to share the stoke. Attend a few events, help newbies into the sport and enjoy flying.

I'll be looking at adding a few more pilots next year :Ange09:

Sponsorship comes in many forms but the bottom line is that it is an investment for the brand. It involves being an embassador for the brand and for the sport primairly but it can also invlove pushing the limits of the product and producing results. Especially at the demise of the competition. Also part of what some sponsored riders do is test the product which is my favorite aspect of the sponsorship. But make no mistake about it, testing can be high risk venture and you have to bring your "A" game and run a tight program or things can go bad. Sometimes prototypes do things that are unexpected. Sometimes the riders do things that are unexpected as well and both situations can get ugly. If the investment is getting a good return then the sponship can be dropped quickly. An rightfully so.

My expirience over the years has always been that if you push your limits and the limits of the product and do it consistently then sponsorship opportunities can an will arise. I didn't know anyone at Peter Lynn when they picked me up. They saw my results and what I was doing, decided it had value to the brand, spent some time tracking me down and asked me to join the team.

Now I fly for them which works out great because I honestly believe in the brand. The down side to sponosrship is people will (rightfully so ) assume you're biased and not believe any of your claims aboiut the brand because you are in the pocket of the manufacturer. That's when results really make the difference. If you have results to back up your claims and yu have the willingness and skill to go head to head with the competition to prove the brand's merits that makes a huge difference. I don't know how many people have said to me "Man! I didn't know Peter Lynns could fly like that!!!" Especially when the only time they've seen an Arc was in the hands of a first time Arc flier.

Like other's have mention in this thread. Often a sponsorship requires that you forsake other kites and fly exclusively on your brand. If the opportunity arises, as tempting as it may be, don't accept a sponsorship for a brand you aren't entirely happy with just for the sake of being sponsored. You aren't going to be happy and you won't be doing the brand any favors and it call all end with bad juju all round.:flaming:

I enjoy being sponsored but it can be a lot of work.

Well said Feyd!

Quote:

Originally posted by Feyd Often a sponsorship requires that you forsake other kites and fly exclusively on your brand. If the opportunity arises, as tempting as it may be, don't accept a sponsorship for a brand you aren't entirely happy with just for the sake of being sponsored. You aren't going to be happy and you won't be doing the brand any favors and it call all end with bad juju all round.:flaming:

I very much agree, thank you for posting this Chris.

I am sponsored by ECKS,and I have not been asked to promote any particular brand of kite.I just promote "kiting" in general. So,I guess I got it by being an ambassador to the sport.And the fact that ,this isn't just what I do for fun, it's what makes me what I am.

Donnie that is exactly why we asked you to join our team! You enjoy the sport, you promote the sport and you have a blast doing it! That's all that matters to us! Not to mention you are one heck of a buggy and land boarder! Proud to have you as one of the family!

Your bigger sponsorship possibilities are soon to come my brother!

for me, my sponsorship choice was a no brainer. i fly ARCS so all i ever wanted to do from when i started flying, was to fly for PETER LYNN. i see it as being part of a very privileged club and i'm so glad they invited me to be a member.

i would love to help new people to the sport. im just a little on edge about letting some who has never flown a 4 stringer before fly my 1.4 trainer may not be expensive but i could never replace it.( stopped making it in 2006 maybe sooner.) if i could find a cheap 4 stringer i would love to teach people the basics. i have even gone as far as to consider giving people rides in my tandem. again on edge though for fear of being sued for injury. any ideas on this.

I was teaching a guy last year with my 2m Beamer and conditions that require a 2m for a grown man are not conducive to learning. He eventually busted a cell loose inside after repeated nose dives. He repeatedly froze up once the kite got headed downwards. Some get it faster than others and you have to be careful with the conditions you let someone try something new in. My younger son is ready to hook into an apex in the buggy but since I became comfortable with his skill level, we haven't had appropriate conditions. It will happen though.

Quote:

Originally posted by pyro22487 i would love to help new people to the sport. im just a little on edge about letting some who has never flown a 4 stringer before fly my 1.4 trainer may not be expensive but i could never replace it.( stopped making it in 2006 maybe sooner.) if i could find a cheap 4 stringer i would love to teach people the basics.

Dude! You gotta get a couple noob kites. They are essential to protecting the good stuff! and the noob

Pyro,
Hit up BigKid and get a 2.2 or 3.3m Buster Soufly, talking like $150ish R2F. Heck if they get hooked you could sel them thier 1st kite and just buy another one ;-)

Great stable inexpensive rigs to get the newbies hooked with... :bigok:

where do you get noob kites lol.

hrrmmm Someone should hurry up and trademark "Noob Kites" :-p

ill check those out thanks guys. and yes trademark npws aka noob kites.