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The CrossFitter’s Guide to Getting Sponsored
by ANTHONY ROBERTS
The realistic options for CrossFit-based sponsorships are going to be companies who produce stuff that is sold primarily within the community.
Sponsoring athletes was a simple thing five years ago. If a professional athlete was good enough, they could be seen promoting everything from cars to clothing. At the height of his career, Mickey Mantle simultaneously endorsed cigarettes (more than one brand over the course of his career) as well as programs to help people quit smoking. Let that sink in for a moment. He also endorsed an athlete’s foot spray, milk (a particular brand, not all milk), a car alarm, a megaphone, and a house alarm. He actually endorsed so many products he didn’t use that the Federal Trade Commission eventually put a stop to it.
Previously, à la Mickey Mantle, you had to be an accomplished athlete in a high-profile sport to merit a lucrative sponsorship deal; however, social media has changed all of that. People can become “Instagram Famous” for taking a ton of selfies and wind up endorsing the same products as dog-abusing quarterbacks.
Since I’ve never worked for a cigarette company (or a company that helps you stop using them), I can’t provide any insight into what might land you a deal there. But I’ve spent the past decade working in the supplement industry, so I can probably give you a good idea of what those companies (and fitness-based companies in general) are looking for. Supplement companies are far more likely than cigarette companies to sponsor CrossFitters, so this probably increases my odds of helping you land a sponsor. This is important because…
You are not Mickey Mantle.
The realistic options for CrossFit-based sponsorships are going to be companies who produce stuff that is sold primarily within the community. Realistically this means limiting our field of potential advertisers to companies who sell equipment, clothing, supplements, or other miscellaneous workout items. I guess an argument can be made that Oakley is sold to pretty much everyone, but to my knowledge they have sponsored exactly one CrossFitter and he’s the current and 3-time champion of the CrossFit Games. For everyone else, we’ll need to focus on getting you sponsorship from a company within the industry.
This distinction is important, as there’s a huge difference between endorsing equipment or a dietary supplement versus sunglasses or cola. See, when you appear in an advertisement telling people that you love Protein X, your athletic prowess (or maybe just your latest victory) is assumed to be (at least partly) attributable to the benefits of that protein powder. Perhaps it’s your expertise as an athlete or coach giving you the credibility to say Protein X is better than the rest. Whatever the case may be, endorsing equipment or supplements is far different than endorsing a soft drink (or underwear or whatever), as nobody makes the assumption that it’s making you a better athlete.
If you’re in the hunt for a sponsor, training and competing are already like a second job, so put all of that information together in the same format you’d use if you were applying for traditional employment.
Ok, so you’re not a 3-time CrossFit Games champion, and you’re not Mickey Mantle. So who are you — or more to the point, at whom is this article directed? Here I’m talking mostly to the second-tier CrossFit athletes: people who do very well at their local throwdowns and/or make it to Regionals consistently, etc. In other words, you’re someone who is a very good local level competitor. If you’re not a very good local competitor, then your first step is to become one. For everyone else, the first step is…
Put together a resumé. If you’re in the hunt for a sponsor, training and competing are already like a second job, so put all of that information together in the same format you’d use if you were applying for traditional employment. Talk about your education, training history, certifications (if any), where you work (especially if your job is relevant), and how you’ve done in competitions. From reading the resumé, a prospective sponsor should be able to deduce why they’d want to sponsor you.
Get online.
That resumé you just put together should also be found on your personal website – because if you do get a sponsor interested, the first thing they’ll do is hit Google with your name. Did I mention that you should have a website? Well, you should. It doesn’t have to be flashy, but it does have to look professional and clean.
There should also be high resolution pictures of you on the site. In those pictures, you should not be holding your cell phone, nor should a mirror be involved.
There should also be high resolution pictures of you on the site. In those pictures, you should not be holding your cell phone, nor should a mirror be involved.
Buying your own site and paying to have it hosted is going to be a hundred dollars or so. This also allows you to have an email address that looks something likeyourname@yourwebsite.com . Back in college it was fine* to have SigEpBro420@gmail.comas your email address (*not really), but to get sponsored you’re going to need an online presence that’s considerably more professional. This includes your social media outlets – think of them as another form of resumé. The same goes for your competitor profile on crossfit.com – make sure it’s completely filled out. You should also consider going to Reebok.com and putting a profile on there too, with a custom URL. Mine, for example, iswww.Reebok.com/anthonyroberts, but most people don’t know that you can do this because it’s a new feature.
Figure out what kind of product(s) you use and would want to promote.
Nobody is going to be happy with the sponsorship if you’re promoting something you don’t believe in (and use).
Nobody is going to be happy with the sponsorship if you’re promoting something you don’t believe in (and use). Take a look around, and figure out what you’d like to promote. Don’t promote Paleo jerky, for example, if everyone knows you’re a vegetarian. Naturally there are huge names within the industry who promote one thing (let’s say a supplement line) and take something else… but after 1-2 years of jumping from sponsor to sponsor, nobody takes their product endorsement seriously anymore. [Yeah, I know exactly who I'm talking about.]Get to know some companies.
Network where you train and at local competitions. Network at Regionals. Introduce yourself and get some contacts at different companies. Obviously your first priority is to do well at competitions, but there’s a lot of down time at these things. Not competing? Lend a hand as a judge at an event. Get out in the community. Go to the CrossFit Games and walk away from every booth with someone’s business card. Hit the vendor village and put your face in front of the people on the other side of the table. Get involved in their discussions on social media. Just don’t be a pain in the ass about it.
Make yourself valuable.
Will you proudly wear gear from your sponsor(s) whenever you’re coaching and competing? Are you going to tell your 800,000 Instagram followers to check out [whatever your sponsor sells]? Can you provide photos from your competitions for the sponsor’s website and social media (especially wearing their logo in the winner’s circle)? Can you help them get shelfspace where you train? Are you the guy (or gal) who can get them a foothold in the local community? You might be surprised to know that some of the biggest contracts from the biggest companies are not given to the people who perform the best or have the best ranking(s). Obviously there are things that companies value as much – if not more than – competitive placings.
Figure out what you want.
Are you asking for some product each month, to cut down on your monthly expenses? Do you need cash to stay in a hotel at Regionals? Will you endorse the brand for free product and incentives (i.e. cash for placing in the top three at local throwdowns)? Be specific. Most companies will give free product to anyone who makes it to the CrossFit Games. This is why you see people promoting a hundred different (often competing) sponsors with #lame #hashtags # #everywhere. I’m not sure why this is acceptable in CrossFit, because in any other sport (even/especially bodybuilding), it would be unacceptable (grounds for losing an endorsement deal).
You’re probably not burdened by too many sponsors throwing product at you (because you’re reading an article on how to get sponsored), so product sponsorship is a great place to start. Get yourself some free product, show the company a return on their investment, and turn it up a notch when you’ve proven yourself.
Start approaching companies.
Get yourself some free product, show the company a return on their investment, and turn it up a notch when you’ve proven yourself.
This is the last step for obvious reasons. If you’ve followed all of the prior steps, you’ve done as much as can reasonably be expected to give yourself the best possible chance of landing a sponsor. You’ve assessed who’d be a good fit, you use and like their products, you’ve put yourself in front of them (in person and on social media), you’ve figured out who you are and what you can offer, and you know what you want in return. At this point, you’re not approaching some random company with a cold email; instead you’re taking a pre-existing relationship with one you already support to a more formal level.
If you’re lucky, you’ll get a deal with the first company you approach. Be prepared for exactly the opposite, however – and make sure you have a list of companies to approach, because you might need to shop around before you find the right fit.
“Anthony Roberts (Anthony Robert Connors) is the author of the books Generation S, Anabolic Steroids, Ultimate Research Guide, in addition to being the co-author of Jekyll to Hyde, Physique Transformation from Both Sides of the Force, and the e-book Beyond Steroids. As an expert in anabolic steroids and related compounds, he has been quoted by The NY Times, The NY Daily News, the BBC, and numerous radio shows and websites.
He has worked for every major online steroid website in the English-speaking world, and has coached athletes at all levels of competition.”1
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