So for the upcoming year i had the idea to attempt to get a sponsorship. I've been doing BJJ for 4 years now and I'll never know till I try. I found some interesting articles on getting a sponsorship. Most of which said most companies didn't "require" you to win a lot of tournaments- only that you at least compete, and can argue why you wearing their stuff would be good, or what value you bring to the table of that company. I'm posting out of curiosity if anyone on MAP has ever been a sponsored grappler, and how did you do it. I compete at least 2-3 times a year, but do not have a very good comp record at the moment. Which is part of the reason I'm switching BJJ schools, I don't really have any matches I'd like to show them of me being "badass".However I'm known at every major BJJ school in my area ( they're aren't a large amount) because I dojo hop. I also graduated from college in media arts and have done a number of MMA related pieces that could be used to help get the name out of their products which in turn brings more "value". anymore pointers?
All the sponsored people I know of I have seen go for the promotional route. Basically if you are sponsored your job is to promote the company that you are representing. You do it by wearing their stuff to comps and training, but when you think about it that isn't a great promo as it's likely a bunch of guys will already be wearing their stuff on comp day anyway. So yeah, promote yourself and the product outside of training and comps. The ones I've seen use facebook a huge amount and have used their networks to get lots of followers. E.g. have a personal or even an athlete page and post frequent updates along the lines of "Great training session today, I love training in my XX gi as it's so comfy". You could use the MMA pieces you already have to say how you could do similar things using their products or release the videos you already have with an intro saying something like "this video brought to you buy XXX company".
If your not winning major comps, then your route to sponsorship is through media engagement, essentially providing free advertising for the companies. Sponsorship is generally just a few free gis etc , so a better question is why do you want it? And why do you deserve it more then someone who competes and wins regularly?
I don't know if it really counts but a mate of mine just went on made4fighters, grabbed the names of every manufacturer on there and sent them all an email. Didn't lie, just said he was a kickboxing black belt and competed regularly in bjj, and ended up with a few shinnies and gloves and I think a gi. There's a couple companies that sponsor almost anyone who contacts them assuming they're not a complete beginner but that sponsorship is very limited. If you want sponsorship in the sense of helping pay for comps and things then you need to be good, and you need to be competing regularly at a high level like the Europeans. The only person I know who's managed it in bjj is sponsored by Connection Rio and gets discount trips to Brazil. He's a purple belt who competes all the time he's in the UK and consistently medals however. He went from blue to purple in 2 years at the most for instance. edit: Having a quick look, his part of the deal seems to be competing (and the only exposure Rio has on that is a patch on his gi) and also writes blogs about his stays training in Rio. Not sure of the instructional stuff he writes is part of that deal or not.
It seems pretty easy to get sponsored to free rashguards etc but if you want more than that you need to be either really good or really well known off the mat. The first is down to your training and ability and the second is down to your ability to market yourself.
Disclaimer: I'm approaching this from a karate perspective so parts of my post may not apply to BJJ. I saw the "Get Sponsored" article in this month's edition of 'Jiu-Jitsu Style'. I think it offered good advice, although I do have some thoughts. "You don't need to be the best/compete to get sponsored." Hm. I'm in two minds about this. I do judo with a BJJ guy who is sponsored by Black Eagle. I don't know his competition record but he does run a successful blog called 'The Part-Time Grappler'. While it's true you may not need to compete or be a champion to secure sponsorship, I think the level of support you receive is directly relative to how well you do as a competitor. BJJ is a sport and companies will want to align their product(s) with the most successful athletes that they can get their hands on. BJJ is a niche sport - it isn't in the Olympics and rarely (if ever) gets TV coverage outside the UFC - so this means competition for support from BJJ specific sponsors will be fierce. I think to get even basic support (e.g. free rash guards) you need to think about upping your focus on competition. You can "cheat" a little here - enter as many competitions as possible to increase your odds of winning (thereby increasing your odds of getting sponsored). You only have to tell them about your victories (which isn't lying). You don't have to tell them you got your butt handed to you in 71 interclub tournaments on your way to winning the national title. Besides, all that experience will only serve to improve your game and increase exposure. Plus when you finally do get sponsored you can dial back the number of tournies you enter and focus only on the big events. "Businesses seek athletes to promote their brand or product." I'd say they "want athletes" rather than "seek" them. You will have to do all the leg work unless you're the Floyd Mayweather of BJJ. My support as a sponsored karate athlete comes from 3 sources: my national governing body (25%), corporate sponsors like Craft and Spalding (25%) and private sponsors (50%). The first two are provided automatically for being on the national team. I have to source the last one myself, which is probably how most people reading this will need to get theirs. You don't have to be sponsored by a BJJ brand to be a sponsored BJJ athlete. But getting sponsored takes some thinking outside the box. Here are some strategies that worked for me or my teammates: Non-martial arts firms. One of my biggest supporters is a local plumbing company. I have their logo printed on my team jacket and have participated in a couple of their advertising campaigns (some newspaper articles and a radio ad, which are actually quite fun to do - even if I sound like a paedophile through my car speakers!). They give me financial aid. It's not a whopping package but it does cover fuel costs for driving to/from the gym each month. Embroidery shops. If you're an independent athlete, striking up a deal with a printing/embroidery firm can save you a fortune on uniform costs. A mate of mine got his personalised badge embroidered on his 15+ gi collection for free in exchange for a small space where the embroidery shop's name goes. Gyms. A lot of gyms will give you reduced rate membership for being an athlete. Some even do it for free. I know DW Sports in particular offered free memberships for athletes - all you needed was a letter from your national governing body or coach to prove you were an athlete. I use past tense here because I don't know if they're still running this offer but it's worth checking with your local facility. Local government grants. The council where I live offer means-tested grants for grass roots athletes, which again isn't much but helps cover my living costs. Best part about this is that I don't have to do anything in return except submit an application every January. A word of warning however - you have to declare all other sponsorship packages you receive, and if you hit a certain threshold then you don't qualify. So be selective about which sponsorship you accept if you are given a local government grant. Local newspapers. You need to sell yourself to sponsors if you want them to support you. You must be able to evidence the publicity you can generate for them and a portfolio of newspaper cutouts highlighting your BJJ adventures is a great way to achieve this. Local rags usually have a Grass Roots segment on a particular day of the week and your news will help fill their pages. Stockists. Tatami Fight Wear all full up on BJJ brown belts? No dramas. Give the sports clothing shop down the road a bell. I won't be sponsored by Maximuscle unless I win an Olympic gold medal. But I am sponsored by an independent health food store that stocks all types of sports supplements (including Maximuscle). I get all my protein powders and vitamins free (up to a certain limit each month). Car dealerships One of my teammates had the rocks to approach an independent used car sales company and blag himself a free car. He features in their advertising campaigns and they gave him a free car covered in their advertising. Your employer. Chances are you need to work at least part-time to fund your pyjama frolicks. Ask your employer if they give any incentives for staff who train and compete seriously. A mate of mine got free trainers ("sneakers" to our Murican brethren) every few months because he worked at a sporting goods outlet. At the very least you should (hopefully) find them open to giving you extra time off to train and compete. Here are some other ideas that may help you live the BJJ lifestyle: Find a team. I'm not sure how things are set-up in BJJ but there seems to be no national team set-up. The key for me being able to live as a full-time karate athlete was finding an organisation which has a national team whose members receive actual monetary support. I don't know if such a thing exists in BJJ. But if you can, locate a gym that has a fight team. You'll benefit from the camaraderie and focused training, AND they may already have deals in place (e.g. group discount on plane tickets). Do judo. No, seriously. Judo is an Olympic sport and receives substantial government funding. If you're young enough, you can train to a standard where you can join a World Class Performance Program and get full financial support. The carryover to BJJ is self-explanatory and I doubt most judo coaches would mind you cross-training in BJJ. Talk to your coach. Obvious, but I don't just mean so you can get advice or ask him to put in a good word for you. Offer to do admin, clean the gym, even teach - in exchange for free (or reduced cost) training. Remember, support in your quest for BJJ world domination isn't always about what you can get. Sometimes it's about what you don't have to pay for. Cycle everywhere. No fuel cost and extra cardio. 'nuff said. Hope this helps. I'll post again if I can remember more.
AFAIK The parttime grappler does compete much outside of interclubs, the same with meerkatsu, they get there 'sponsorship' from being good advertisers and reviewers on their blogs, many BJJ companies are small affairs, and a popular bloggers gets more exposure then 90% of the competitors will.
I tried this and failed. It's just darn HARD to cycle with you gear bag, especially when it has to be big enough to always contain great thick pair of sweaty pajamas in it.
why would anyone who isn't trying to be a professional athlete want to be sponsored ? lot of hassle for a free gi.
