If you were offered sponsorship...

[Lazarus]

plus I only work 5 months of the year

Me too I am amazed my bosses have not realised this yet

[Mbnut]

If I didn't take an offer like that I'd want someone to take me outside and beat me to death...

Say half the money.... same as above.

[middleagedmadness]

plus I only work 5 months of the year

Me too I am amazed my bosses have not realised this yet

[jameso]

plus I only work 5 months of the year

Me too I am amazed my bosses have not realised this yet

[Mike]

Im not sure where id stand on this, i agree with what stu says but id also like to be paided to ride my bike... i get alot of time to ride my bike as it is but being paided to do it would be sweeter. Im not sure i could be arsed with all the hairy fairy media sub standard though that would go with it. So maybe ill stick with my job and just carry on riding for me!

[Bearbonesnorm]

You're already sponsored by the Fire Service ... and they don't even insist on the social media stuff

[whitestone]

You're already sponsored by the Fire Service ... and they don't even insist on the social media stuff

Where's the handbag icon when you need it!

[dlovett]

if you don't mind me asking, who do you work for?

I work part time for a sports nutrition company, who specialist in supplying corp events.

[faustus]

No, ta. Ultimately i think my joy of riding would be seriously compromised by being paid to do things someone else wants me to do. Quite happy to ride for myself for free! I know it was hypothetical, but you'd have to do a lot more than hashtag a few posts on instagram. It would all feel very job-like having to work with brand and marketing teams to fit in with their marketing plans and brand guidelines etc. You'd have to produce content when other people want it not when you want to do it, have to frame it and explain it in a way other people want. You'd have to dangle your mug when you didn't want to!

It's worth pointing out that though there are millions of blogger blaggers and the like, actual 'proper' influencers are not doing things just for recognition and a freebie(though doubtless a motivation). They get paid a lot of money to do things companies want them to do and it's very well managed. Companies (via media agencies)are effectively buying coverage and can monitor effectiveness from click-thru, online referrals and site traffic etc. Lots of social media is just thinly veiled advertising or marketing, and it's insipid because it is far less transparent than in other media.

Isn't richpips a sponsored Alpkit rider? Perhaps he can enlighten everyone!?

[Bearbonesnorm]

Isn't richpips a sponsored Alpkit rider? Perhaps he can enlighten everyone!?

Rich is an employee as far as I know.

[Lazarus]

Bit busy at the moment with a Tour divide attempt

Also thought he was an employee but I suspect the lines blur when he does things like this[ not a dig just an observation]

[summittoppler]

I'd do it! Getting paid to do it would be an absolute bonus too.
Some of you may know I was given a bike as a 'thank you' for what I do for the fat bike scene. There was no strings attached, no contract, I was just told to enjoy it and carry on doing what I do ...and I am carrying on with it
I was a brand ambassador a couple of years ago for a brand and I was encouraged to # once a week, again no fuss if I didn't.
I also do some bits for that wide tired website in which I'm happy to # or share crap. Hell, I even get other free stuff
Yes I # the hell out of things on Insta and Twonker, it's not the end of the world and I well and truly enjoy riding and pushing my bike

[Alpinum]

I'd do it! Getting paid to do it would be an absolute bonus too.
Some of you may know I was given a bike as a 'thank you' for what I do for the fat bike scene. There was no strings attached, no contract, I was just told to enjoy it and carry on doing what I do ...and I am carrying on with it
I was a brand ambassador a couple of years ago for a brand and I was encouraged to # once a week, again no fuss if I didn't.
I also do some bits for that wide tired website in which I'm happy to # or share crap. Hell, I even get other free stuff
Yes I # the hell out of things on Insta and Twonker, it's not the end of the world and I well and truly enjoy riding and pushing my bike

Prime example of how a well balance sponsorship can look like. I guess you would've done/still do the things you do for the fatbiking scene no matter if you get such support or not.
Big to you and those helping out with getting you out there to have fun and (as overused it sounds) inspire others.

I have lots on mind on this topic and some experience with it and feel like writing a long post. I might come back after a beer or two...

[Bearbonesnorm]

I might come back after a beer or two...

Not too many, you know what happens

[summittoppler]

.....I guess you would've done/still do the things you do for the fatbiking scene no matter if you get such support or not....

I was doing what I do for the fat bike scene before anything came my way, I do it for me and to try to (sorry) inspire others (or put them off!)

Cheers

[Bearbonesnorm]

I was doing what I do for the fat bike scene before anything came my way, I do it for me and to try to (sorry) inspire others (or put them off!)

I genuinely think that shows. As I said somewhere up there.

Firstly, you need to be a recognisable 'face', known amongst your peers - which in itself could take years.

I think Barry is someone else who springs to mind.

[summittoppler]

I was doing what I do for the fat bike scene before anything came my way, I do it for me and to try to (sorry) inspire others (or put them off!)

I genuinely think that shows. As I said somewhere up there.

I'm glad its noticeable, thanks Stu.

[Alpinum]

I might come back after a beer or two...

Not too many, you know what happens

No I don't. I forget everything I when I'm pissed

[Alpinum]

I often think about sponsorship (for trips) and have received it in different forms, but... BIG but and a very subjective too;

Job

I like my job very much. It gives me diversity, challenges creativity, knowledge and is just bloody interesting, including a really fun team to work with. I get loads of freedom, can take unpaid leave of up to 5 months with nobody asking questions besides "which wilderness area will it be this time?". I've not done back to back trips, so don't know how comfy the company would be with that, but then I wouldn't want to go on multiple big trips back to back anyway.

If you don't like your job – sorry to hear and I'm very thankful I don't really know how it is.

This as an example that the 'rat race' may not apply to every hard working person.

Stress

If you've ever been on an expedition to a place where you were met by locals who have never before seen a westerner, you'll know how much effort the organisation takes. For pioneering trips there aren't any tour operators. I've been put off a few times; first they say everything is possible, then you tell them about your plan and soon you're on your own again.

Big trips may require quite a few things more than to simply cycle across Europe or the US, or from Alaska to Patagonia on known routes (this also goes for the lesser known). There's the planning, organisation, but also body preparation (ever tried to get fit af, not gain muscular weight, but put on some body fat? - not that easy), conditioning, learn a foreign language, find contacts abroad, make contracts and deals, get gear sorted etc. Then you leave for 6 weeks or a few months, fulfill a long lasting dream, return home feeling empty and foreign as you may have traumatised yourself a bit or went through things even very understanding friends/family won't comprehend, you may have picked up a bug and need treatment, returned with a black toe… you may need to readjust and find your place again in "this" world.

Decompress… you'll also need it after a big trip. It may take time. Four big trips a year? I'd be completely stressed out after ¾. Yes, one could go on one big trip and two three small ones, but than can well fit in an accordingly balanced life with a full or part time job. No need to leave a job you like.

Diversity

As with the job and hobby. Yet a biking sponsor will not want to see your new found love of, say, skiing. Pick any activity. Knitting… I don't think your hashtags #instaknit and #knitsagram will find much love in the biking industry.

Only riding bike? Sure? What about those long hiking/packrafting/seakayaking/sitting around at home doing nothing holidays you loved so much?
 
Sustainability

Sure you want to f@ck with Greta? You'll be travelling a lot more, your life will become far less sustainable. Unless you were a manager in France for a market in APAC countries.

Body sustainability

I'm writing this in decent pain from injuring my shin (subperiosteal hematoma) and elbow (same as shin and inflamed bursa) and thumb (muscle hematoma). I crash about 4 – 6 times a year in a way I will be reminded for sometimes up to more than a year. Thankfully rarely break bones, yet it was bad into my early 20's. The recent hit my body took is leaving me feeling stiff all over. I'm only 37 yet some joints look proper cr@p in x-ray, my knees are very sensitive, I'm in pain crawling on all four (not fun when hiking in a bag storm and you can't stand anymore) etc.
Not all bikepackers are keen on speed and gravity fed riding too, but working as a pro rider will definately have quite an effect on your body. A friend and mechanic (for the few things I don't do myself) - Dani Schnider - quit pro road racing because he wanted to be healthier. He still wins races though.

Support, not sponsoring

Best of both worlds?
How about getting supported by people who run a business you like and have been loyal to for many years? You get stuff for their price, so loose less money when you sell your used bike a few years later. No marketing bs and must do pr stuff. Just be there for them when they need help. Jump in for a race they sponsor if they have an empty spot.
Give a talk here and there and without any expectation get surprised by how thankful folks are.
No, my biking is nowhere near carrying itself, but it doesn't hurt financially when something breaks.
More riding means more defects/replacements. In my experience it's direct proportional.
With support from brands and shops nobody really expects anything from you. Some companies that have helped me with dead cheap or free gear haven't asked for anything but what I provided anyway; photos. That's all. I might have been lucky. The company I work for sponsored me to go on an expedition to an unclimbed mountain and paid a significant amount of the permit. Most of the 10 week trip was unpaid leave. I had worked there for 6 months when I left for the trip.

I know I'm not the only one on Bearbones who's in such or a similar situation, so it can't be that rare. Yet I do something for it. I ask for what I want/hope for and not just let it happen.
For talks I've been asked, but have also asked if I can help with giving one. Everything goes in both directions.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Everything goes in both directions.

I think that's the thing which often gets most overlooked. You have to be both willing and eager to give back more than you receive. I believe a lot of people view sponsorship as a one way deal.

[Cheddar Man]

Yes... as long as it wasn't an ethically challenged brand with poor employment ethics etc etc

And that is a huge problem. I can't think of a brand that couldn't be challenged in some way or other about their arrangements. Whether employment practices, factory siting or 'product miles' etc.

As to the question, yes of course! A year being paid to dick around on a bike being given free-stuff and posting a bit on-line, why ever not? To be honest, I would probably sign up if the company involved made saddles out of baby seal fur, having tested them on cats, and flew each one individually to the UK from it's manufacturing facility in Tasmania.

[jameso]

Sustainability

Sure you want to f@ck with Greta? You'll be travelling a lot more, your life will become far less sustainable.

Made me think, there's not many good reasons for a bike company to encourage travel apart from by bike, is there? That's a challenge to both brand and sponsored rider: resist the 'bro-ification'* of travel and make rides from home interesting. Similar thread on STW recently.

*https://www.adventure-journal.com/2019/ ... ecreation/ - not saying I agree with it all or am fully against some flying to travel, just a food for thought point read recently. Making the mundane interesting in quick-hit marketing is difficult thf we get big landscapes and exotic destinations, high expenses and travel impact etc.

Part of why I don't ride work bikes and kit on most of my rides is linked to all this. I'd rather ride for my own reasons. I did a trip on work support/bike a while back and really enjoyed the trip but not the fact I was often thinking about how to return the value in images etc. Thankfully we didn't need to promote it widely and used it here and there, sparingly, but I can see a different approach from a company killing off most of my enjoyment in a trip unless I actively learned or adapted to cope. I suppose that's the point others have made about rider-brand compatibility.

[benconnolli]

I used to get paid to ride my bike when I was 14. It was £21 a week plus tips at Christmas. Then again while at uni, this time my hourly rate was much better but I couldn’t rely on getting enough productive hours in. Now I have a desk job solving maths problems, which I mostly enjoy, and earn more than I could from small scale influencing. I have energy and freedom to ride how, where, and what I want.

My main pastime is cycling and even spending 40 hours working, I find my body limits how much i cycle rather than time. Friday and Saturday nights sleeping out is plenty for a holiday for me and I stand by the U.K. being one of the best places for bikepacking. My ideal riding climate, nowhere compares to our cosy pubs in a storm, OS maps, fast changing landscapes, reliable enough resuply not to worry, most dangerous animal is a cow, everything I could dream of. Yes this is more towards Wales than Greater London but even there at the right time of day is fine. Too much planning can turn any adventure into a physical sequence of actions and the U.K. lends itself so well to not planning. I’ve gone on some great foreign trips and am planning one to Croatia for October, but my absolutely top draw memories are here.

[Borderer]

I used to think it would be nice to get freebies from companies and so on, til one time someone accused me of being a sell-out and I found that I greatly enjoyed being able to tell them that I have never received anything from any company ever. We have got in free to a couple of festivals by giving talks, but haven't ever been paid. I wouldn't mind being paid for something like that tbh, if I was ever to make money from cycling it would be preferable to me to earn it speaking about places I had chosen to ride, rather than having to use certain kit or ride where I am told.

Our blog was borne of the desire to keep all our trips in one place where they won't be susceptible to the sort of messing that happened with photobucket. There are a couple of Amazon links on there that have made us about two quid, which doesn't come close to covering hosting.

So I think it's pretty rare to make money of the sort the OP is talking about. AFAIK even Rich and Tom don't get to keep the bikes they use, just borrow them.

[slarge]

I got asked by the owner of the LBS to ride for the shop in a CX series, in return he gave me team kit (I knew I was valued when the short sleeve jersey had a tissue in the pocket from a previous owner), he also gives me at least 10-20% discount in the shop and I could borrow bikes if I wanted to (but I don't as trashing a bike would mean paying for it). I think that means I am sponsored, but I have to top up the deal with a full time job so we can eat and have a roof over our heads.

If offered the full deal with salary and stuff it would take away the enjoyment of riding. Events would be those attacting the best publicity, and you'd have to be committed to proper training and riding whenever the plan says, not when you wanr. I think it would not be for me.

Fair play to those who do all the media stuff though, it gives the rest of us something to watch and read.