Sponsor Me! How Sponsorship Works in Skate

If he’s amped on what he sees, he’ll bring in others – including some of his team riders – to review the footy. If it’s agreed upon that the dude is undeniably sick, then Wall contacts the kid and commences the hook up. “I look for a lot of things during the watching process. Style is first and foremost. Speed, gnarliness, trick selection, spot selection, order of tricks, comfort, et cetera,” continues Wall. “I look at what the kid wears and what boards he’s riding. It helps in decision making if he’s already rocking our stuff.”
Plan B

Plan B TM, Sean Hayes, looks for somebody who stands out from the rest of their peers, has a unique approach to skateboarding, good style and a natural ability. Hayes believes, too, that footage should wholeheartedly encompass an individual’s personality, as well as their skating. “If you like to focus your board, show that,” he says. “If you skate for 10 hours a day, show that somehow. Let the viewer understand what you’re all about.”
As much as somebody wants to prove themselves in a video, they need to be aware that they’re submitting footy to one of the best skateboard teams in the business. Hayes has received his fair share of documented wackness. “I’ve seen paintball sponsor videos and hack-sack videos, all of which are lame—but awesome at the same time.”

High Grade Distribution: Satori Creation and Yellow Brand
High Grade Distribution’s Team Manager Nick Matlin has undoubtedly seen sponsor-me tapes of every caliber. He’s only interested in the heady ones though.
High Grade TM, Nick Matlin gets three to eight videos a week. He prefers to receive links to footage so he can watch quickly and get right back to the kid who submitted it. With tapes and DVDs, Matlin brings them home to watch with his riders and see what they think. “It’s more fun that way,” he says.
Though Matlin has seen his share of impressive footage over the years, one tape from Ben Stewart was one of the best tapes he’d ever received. He hooked Stewart up on Creation under the premise that “the kid can do everything.”
Rather than hook a kid up right away, Matlin prefers to meet them and make sure they’re not lazy. “I always flow a kid for a bit to see how hard they work. I don’t want to put someone on my team that isn’t going to try,” he says.

Birdhouse
When Birdhouse TM, Steve Haring isn’t watching his own riders’ backs, he’s peeping tapes from aspiring kids. While he receives at least two to three videos a week, it isn’t uncommon for Steve to come up on five a day. The majority of the footage he receives shows up in DVD format. “I usually put them aside for a little bit, then when there’s a stack, I grab them all and watch them in one sitting,” says Haring.
“The first thing I look for is style. The guy could be doing the craziest tricks, but if his style is horrible, then there is no hope for him,” explains Haring. Sick tricks are essential for standing out, but no free product is handed out if they don’t look good.

Crimson

What matters most of all at the end of the day is straight up skill. “I have seen a few tapes in my time that were undeniable—once you saw the footage, you knew that someone was going to hook them up if you didn’t,” says Thomas. “One recent tape that sticks out in my mind is Vince Del Valle’s. When I saw it, I just knew.”