SESSIONS, Get to know a Pro!

Want to know how to get sponsored? This weeks question is from Chris Vojick,

Hey guys i got a question for everyone on the team. How did everyone get sponsored or noticed? I've read tons of interviews with pros and when asked how they got to be pro they always kinda shy away from it and just say they competed and got noticed. This is probably true and all, but a dream of mine would to be pro someday in the sport i love more than anything, and i was just wondering how exactly these guys got their big break, whether it was one contest or through a friend. I just wanna hear a real non BS story. Thanks

Hey Chris. I must say I worked pretty hard for it, but got lucky as well. I was just riding a lot, and accidentally met an older Finnish pro who talked me to a brand. I got a chance to travel and shoot a lot of photos, film etc. and of course meet new people, and somehow things started rolling. I went to few contests as well, but mostly it was just a slow process of riding a lot, believing in myself and having a bit of luck in the mix.

cheerios

-NAKU

Well growing up in northern Minnesota where there isn’t much snowboarding going on except for at your local hill. Once i graduated from high school I moved to Tahoe to ride some real mountains. So towards the end of the first year i was at Northstar I met this filmer who was shooting a edit for twsnow.com. I ended up filming with the guy and I got a few shots for the edit. About a week after the edit was posted a rep from flow called me up asking if i wanted pick up some gear. At the time I was riding one of my friends boards that i broke while borrowing it from him. The next season there was a couple pros from flow in Tahoe shooting for the week. They invited me up to ride with them. I got a photo that made it into snowboarder-Mag. After shooting with them that week they put me on the team.

Nial Romanek

I just rode for fun everyday at my home mountain Mammoth. I became friends with a local shredder named Matt Downey. He got me hooked up with the Burton rep and it stemmed from there. Just start out small and work your way up. Don't ever forget that your snowboarding for fun and that you want to get better for your own satisfaction and nothing else. If you have to, move somewhere where there’s a higher level of snowboarding going on. It will help you progress and it's easier to meet people with connections and get noticed. Contests are a good way to win money but not very good for getting new sponsors. And the truth about "Sponsor me" videos is that they usually just provide a lot of laughs for whomever you send them to. Hope that helps. Cheers!

Peter Benchetler

Hello there Chris,

So basically my story is pretty simple. I was in high school and was riding for the local board shop in my town in Montana. I was riding super hard everyday I could and the shop owner hyped me up to some reps. At this time I was also filming for a movie based in Montana and the reps really liked that cause it gave them some exposure appose to just riding the resort everyday. Anyway, so I got to meet some reps and I had made a full written resume with photos and video. They got pretty stoked on me and things were going really well then when I had started getting a lot more exposure the reps had pushed me onto the team managers wing and I have been doing that for the last couple years now. It all just started from being a little grommet getting the 20% discount at the local board shop then eventually got put into the right hands. Hope that helps you out Chris. Go Boardin!

Kyle Miller