Pro Skateboarding – The First Steps

Pro Skateboarding – The First Steps

 Skateboarding has grown from a sport to a big business where there are huge amounts of money to be made by the best skateboarders.  Prize money in pro skateboarding today is really good, but beyond that is the chance to earn in six figures and more through sponsorships or video game involvement.  This may seem like a distant dream to those just beginning on skateboarding, but there is no reason why that dream can not come true as long as you follow the basics of learning how to go about it.  And even those who do not reach the pinnacle of pro skateboarding will find that top class pro skateboarders make a very good living from the sport.

 It may sound silly, but no matter how good you are, you need to keep skating as much as you can – skate everywhere you can because the more time you spend on the board the better; but only practice your difficult moves and new tricks in safe places like skateboard parks.  Remember that when you are learning, you are going to fall a lot so it’s important that you wear a helmet and the rest of the protective gear – as major injury could end your ambitions in the world of pro skateboarding.  Spend time researching the companies that sponsor pro skateboarders to see what exactly they are looking for so you can target your style to the companies you are contacting.  Spend money hiring a professional cameraman and editor and make a video of your best moves – spend time on this and don’t cut corners; it is what is going to sell you to the sponsors.  Your skills will keep improving so keep investing in new videos of your increasing skill levels – it will be like a models portfolio and keep posting updated videos online.

 These videos are great for learning – watching yourself will enable you to spot flaws in your technique and errors in your style so you can correct them quickly and move up to the next level.  Becoming a name in pro skateboarding is not something that will happen over night – be prepared for rejections in your quest for sponsorship and study the moves of those who got the deals you didn’t – it will help you to better understand what the sponsors are looking for.  Never let the fun go out of skateboarding – if it becomes a grind you will become stale and flat and that will spell the end of the creativity and innovation that you need to be a top level pro skateboarder.  And finally, don’t let success go to your head – pro skateboarders need their popularity and being arrogant is one way to lose it.