As a former skateboarder and father of an avid skateboarder, I understand the passion associated with the art of skateboarding, as well as the desire of one day becoming recognized as a professional. Having personally experienced the suffering associated with mastering skateboard tricks, I intimately know that gaining any recognition does not come without dedication, determination, sacrifice, physical tolerance and much failure. It takes an attitude of getting past many failures to achieve a sense of accomplishment because many skateboard tricks can be pretty tough to master. It is during this arduous process of overcoming failure that oftentimes the question will arise as to whether becoming a pro is even plausible?
By no means am I quitter, and in this sense my son follows in my shoes. However, it is also important to recognize the fact that not everyone becomes a pro in their chosen sport. It is good to have the goal of becoming a professional in mind, but at the same time it is essential to recognize that in all sports there are winners and losers. I have learned that it is much more satisfying when I play to have fun and not to win. Likewise, this principle of sportsmanship is a very valuable tenant to reaching a level of being a professional skateboarder which gains confidence.
Being the objective-minded individual that I am I like to base my decisions on facts, so I performed an exhaustive search on skateboard sponsorship and what the odds of obtaining sponsorship are. Unfortunately I was unable to find any statistical data as to what percentage of skateboarders actually acquire meaningful sponsorship. This may be attributable to the fact that there are so many levels of sponsorship available? Based upon these facts I believe that getting sponsorship is a relatively easy goal to achieve, and thus I would strongly encourage any skateboarder who has skills and good routine to get skateboard sponsorship of any kind to aid in his or her goal of gaining recognition.
From the facts I reviewed, sponsorship levels hinge on participating in competitions and placing well in those competitions. Many company’s will offer sponsorship at these skateboard competitions simply to promote their products, and the more recognition any given skateboarder attains, the better sponsorship level that individual acquires. If your good, and if you have the determination and attitude it takes to become a professional skateboarder, get on the sponsorship train early. In the end it will pay off.