Basicall what i have stated above. I mainly paddle rivers and creek boat but i would like to know how to get sponsored is it just a case that i need to put a paddleing portfolio together and that i can offer the sponsor something in return.

Please feel free to ask me where i paddle (mainly in wales uk) and abroard and my lelev of paddling.

many thanks

Ade P

There is good advice about this in a video called \"Cockpit\" given by two well known paddlers who are fairly well associated with kayaking companies and sponsorship.

\"Don't call us...We'll call you.\"

Ever heard that before?

Also see Corran's 'advice':

www.2imagine.net/blogger2006/pictures/video/puppets.mov

Best way to get sponsored is to be an amazing paddler. If you are good enough the sponsors will come to you.

Most kayaking companies get rather fed up with people asking for sponsorship as they receive hundreds upon hundreds of e-mails and letters from people trying to get sponsored.

Denzil

P.S. Don't let yourself get sponsored by a crap company either or you will be stuck using there crappy kit.

Look at Pikeys article on Jackson kayak , it seems a good attitude can get you a long way, and most paddlers have that

well, after this question.. just be better then the rest and make sure that it's interesting for a company to sponsor you. Why sponsor you and not (for UK example) Jon Best or Ed Smith? If you're that good or that important to the sport, people will come to you. Trust me, sending begging emails and posts like this will only get you further from some kind of deal! Just like aevanlloyd says, \"wait till we call you\".

Thank you Jasperp for replying but i have not begged for sponsorship i have simply asked how i go about gaining sponsorship.

Where are the best places to get noticed. I will be putting a website together of me and my mini adventures in a kayak/ canoe (specialist not traditional).

one route:

become involved with your local shop and help them sell boats

start talking to all the reps,pros,designers you meet and eventually you'll become friends with some of them (obviously the ones you'd get along with anyway)

keep track of your paddling exloits for a \"river resume\"

keep trying without being annoying

A Word of Caution:

There are fewer sponsored paddlers today than just two years ago. Companies feel burned by those sponsored paddlers who just hung out at their local spots and enjoyed the free gear, gaining no additional exposure. AND, the paddling community wised up to the agenda of \"pros\" who seemed to follow the money.
It's pretty negative, I know, but just giving you a heads up that it's difficult.

A WONDERFUL way to really have a chance is if you have a planned out project in mind that would get someone exposure and create good will.

Lots of people plan on going on \"rodeo tour\" but you need to win to get noticed.

Many people go on adventures, but you could most likely get a small discount if you have a big adventure planned, with the promise of photos and video. If you come through in a big way,then you can market yourself a bit better for the next adventure.

Ultimately, each person's path to sponsorship is unique. My own story is not your average one because I was never a natural athlete.

If you calculated what each, individual, sponsored paddler's gear was worth, and weighed it against how much time they put in to help a manufacturer,then most sponsored paddlers would be worth about $2/hour

M0nkeymann wrote:

Look at Pikeys article on Jackson kayak , it seems a good attitude can get you a long way, and most paddlers have that

Pikey came into our shop while he was here because he was staying with a staff member. He sold a boat for us while he was here. His amazingly fun and outgoing personality put him a long way. We let him take some boats while he was here for no charge we loved him that much. All of the staff, including the owner's, would let him stay if he was in the area. Being a great and friendly guy is why he is the way he is.

Why do you want to be sponsored? Is it to get your face in a magazine? If it for the free gear? Is it to have some big trips paid for? Or is it just so you can tell chicks, \"I'm a professional kayaker.\" Whatever it is, if you're good enough, it'll come to you. Jordan didn't have to ask anyone to put him on their team. Tiger doesn't ask sponsors for money, they come to him. However, this is kayaking. it's still pure and fun, and everybody is cool. You can walk up to the best boaters in the world, shake their hand, and share a beer with them. It's great.

If your using sponsors money to progress the sport i.e. run the unrunnable, do the undoable, right on. If you just want a sweatshirt that says \"Team Whatever\" on the lapel, you're a dork.

Good luck. I hope you get what you want!

I think to be really sponsored to a degree that you can afford a living and trips to abroad you need to be one of the best. Some my friends are team paddlers and sponsored that way, but they just get a free boat to paddle... And sometimes you end up paddling a boat you don't even want to. But hey, it's free!

If your the next Tao Berman or Patrick Camblin, good for you. Othervise I probably wouldn't get too exited about getting sponsored.

Sponcorship is a real problem for kayak companies, basically evreyone is probably good enough to be sponsored but very very few are special, you would need to attend every competition you can get to, come up with new routines each time everytime and maybe put some new moves together, it is all about getting noticed, really you need great parents that sell their sole to drive you around or you need to get a job where you work your arse off and earn the money to spend getting to comps. Sometimes it is not about how good you are it is about how passionate you are but paddlers being paddlers we are all commited and pasionate so you have to be bloody good aswell.

Bob Campbell from pyranha wrote a great piece on sponcorship that was on their website maybe worth checking it out but they literally get hundreds of emails from wanna be sponsored paddlers.

Not related to kayaking but a friend of mines daughter is an olympic sailer she spends her whole life going to competitions has won world events and is probably one of the best dinghy sailors in the world now at 19 she has a full time job and at the weekend sleeps in her car at sailing events or teaching only this summer did she finally get a sponsor after years of top performance and dedication, she still works full time and sleeps in her car. Ask yourself if you have that amount of dedication and passion and self motivation, if so a sponsor will find you but be aware one sponsor does not make a life you make the life they assist you on your way.

Keep at it, get out there dont be the best be the aspiration and as everyone has said they will find you.

Keep paddling keep the dream going and it will happen.

Sponsership is not all it's cracked up to be. Yes there is the free boats and kit but the price is prostituting youself to the sponsers.
Attending events you don't want to go to. Pretending to like people you don't.
The inability to paddle any stretch of water without the record button being pushed first the list is endless.
Oh and of course being endlessly poor.
If you still feel this is the life for you than you could start with the shameless self promotion and a bank loan to get you to all the high profile events.
Go work for the local paddling shop and get paddling with all the clubs within your country. Oh and sell lots of boats.

You could however get a job ,go to any events you want, buy the equipment you want, paddle with the people you like and afford to take the girlfriend out to dinner once in a while. Move out of Mom's house !

If you want to make a life for yourself in kayaking you could also try producing you own equipment or run your own shop.

You could work for a paddling school or Guiding or vidio boating with the rafts.

But what ever ya do make sure its sustainable as like all thing sport the career is short and life long ( Maybe not in Tao's case )

The way it worked for me is that I paddeled with the Rep. for a while and got to know some of the pro paddlers. Then I made up a resume with a bunch of sick pictures. The main thing is to just get your name into peoples heads.

I know several people who take on an extra job during the winter to earn extra money. Then they quit everything in April or May and just spent a few monthst travelling and boating. The exposure it got some of them helped them secure a boat sponsorship. But, most of them made tons of friends from places they had not visited before, and they had spent a few months living as if they were sponsored.