i was wondering for everyone out there who has a sponsor to tell there story on how they got there first sponsor ???
I personally donât have a sponsor, but iâm friends with some people who are sponsored and here is what they say:
-
Make good, quality videos with difficult and creative tricks. This is probably the biggest step. If you do standard tricks where you just land a mount and unmount all the time and never create anything new or unique, my bet is you will not get sponsored.
-
Be kind and helpful to people trying to learn new tricks. Donât just tell them that only the person who does that trick can do it. Give them tips on how to do the trick if you can. Be honest if you canât do the trick.
-
Be better than about 95% of anybody else who yoyos and puts videos on youtube or vimeo or any other video hosting site. Make yourself famous on the internet for being a great yoyoer, and companies will recognize you.
-
Do reasonably well at contests. Even the best mess up, but be recognizable at a contest as someone who has good tricks and can represent at a contest.
Hope this helps you, and good luck in your quest for sponsorship.
Never post online. In the event you are required to, be as condescending as you can manage and make sure itâs clear that you deserve more recognition than you see yourself getting. After all, youâre better than those unsponsored guys. Youâve probably been in the game long enough to know all there is to know, so thereâs no need for you to take criticism from anyone.
When you compete, only show up to larger contests. Small contests are beneath you at this point, and the larger contests are where the glory is won. If you can help it, be at the contest only long enough to do your freestyle(s). The judges wonât possibly be able to score you properly because they arenât accustomed to seeing how difficult and revolutionary your tricks are, so donât worry about reading the score sheet or staying for awards. You probably have few friends who appreciate your genius, so when youâre not onstage, find an inaccessible corner just big enough for you and them to talk about how awesome you all are. If you must stay after the contest, donât be afraid to get belligerently drunk and trash the venue. After all, youâve earned that privilege by being good at yoyoing.
1 Like
Elephark, you are awesome. Seriously. I think I might start a yoyo company just to offer you the first sponsorship.
You really hit the nail on the head. Iâve been into yoyoâs for almost 20 years, but Iâve only been to one contest before this years Worlds. In 2000 I went to a small one in Cocoa Beach and met a bunch of YoYoJam guys, including David Capurro and Bill DeBoisblanc, and they, and everyone else on the team, were super nice, approachable, helpful, and all out amazing. Cut to this year at Worlds, and most of the bigger name sponsored guys/girls were pretty much unapproachable and standoffish. The Werrd guys/girls were great, the HSpin people were nice, and the few YYJ people I spoke to were cool, but almost all of the really big names were either in hiding until they competed or shut off in the corner with their buddies, just like you said. Donât get me wrong, I had an AMAZING time, but it seemed a bit high school clique-ish to me. A few of the famous people mingled, but most seemed too âcoolâ to do so. It was disheartening, really.
LOL
Iv been trying to get sponsored by Yoyofactory for a pretty long time.
But, I do know how it works.
First Off, Go to all the Contests you can. The more you attend, the more chance there is of you getting sponsored.
Help Out the New Yoyoers. Let them try your yoyos, Teach them a trick or 2, and just give them tips.
Make lots of Yoyo Videos. Make them High Quality Videos and make sure you put your Best Tricks in them.
Try to stick with 1 Yoyo Company taht you like best, and only use their yoyos for videos and contests. Just for messing around with other Companyâs Yoyos is okay.
Be Sure to Yoyo often. Make as much Creative Tricks as possible. After All, You gotta be good to be sponsored.
Hope this all Helps! 
-Cody Wright
A while ago, I remembered wanting to be sponsored be YYF or CLYW REALLY badly. I then realized that getting sponsored isnât what yoyoing is about. Iâl be honest, I wouldnât say no if I got offered, but if I donât (which I wont), it wonât be the end of the world either.
I think videos arenât the best way to get sponsored, though. There is a better chance at contests. The chances of your video being spotted by an company owner and a company owner spotting you at a contest are very different.
thatâs an interesting caricature, jacob, but iâm not sure iâve ever met anyone who really acts like that. were you referring to anyone specific? it came off as pretty embittered, which is at odds with what i know of you (admittedly little).
a lot of the âwell-knownâ players have just been around a long time and so have developed friendships, not out of elitism, but shared experiences. i know when i go to a contest i want to spend considerable time catching up with my good friends. sure i want to meet as many new friends as i can, but thereâs only so much time. also, iâve seen a lot of âbigâ players show up to a state contest, win it, and then take crap for not âgiving the newer players a chanceâ.
as far as the question goes, i think youâve just got to prove that youâre an undeniable asset to a given company. through victories or videos or incredible tricks, you have to cultivate some exposure, which can feel pretty artificial and very undeserved sometimes. from what iâve seen, and this might sound⌠bad⌠one of the best ways to get sponsored really is to get to know established players/company owners and introduce them to your throwing. nobody gets a package just because theyâre so-and-soâs friend, but yo-yoing is really small and virtually all of the âmarqueeâ players and owners communicate (read: âtalk about how awesome [they] all areâ).
a lot of players (especially younger ones - no offense) make the idea of sponsorship this be-all/end-all thing; this tremendous goal⌠but itâs really just an added responsibility. if you want all the perks but arenât up to âproducingâ what your sponsor needs you to, it can add up to some awful pressure and make throwing a drag. being sponsored is great as long as youâre doing it for the right reasons and with the right attitude, but itâs nothing next to the simple joy of just playing yo-yo for your own fulfillment.
Although much of it was drawn off the behavior of various actual people (including myself), I tried to exaggerate it to the point of ridiculousness and make all the reasoning as obviously wrong as I could. It was inspired by a guide to DJing I read years ago which was essentially the same ideaâcram as much bad advice as possible into one convenient package so people will have an easy way to remember exactly how to botch things up.
Okay first off Iâd be willing to bet money that a sponsor is going to really care too much about which yoyo you use. You wont be forbidden from joining their company because you didnt use their yoyos for everything you ever did. Given it does help to like their products. This is NOT what a sponsor will look at they want to know what you can contribute to the company not how devoted of a fanboy you are.
word up. i was just taken aback. most of the sponsored yo-yo players i know are infinitely more down to earth than say, their counterparts in skating or surfing whom iâve met. it definitely serves as a âdonât do thisâ guide. 
Quite so, on both counts.
Have fun. Do your best. go to contests.