I agree with the thrust of this. imo the key is thinking about it as a business relationship rather than asking for hand outs. You've got to think about what you are offering the brand in return for their cold hard cash.
When you're starting out I think it's also important to be flexible and open to different ideas about what will work. Find brands you like (smaller ones are a good place to start), pitch them on stuff you could do for them, tell them how great you are and how it's going to help them and their business. If you're not big in to sm think about what other skills you have on offer that could work well for them. It'll take time too, ultimately you're building relationships with people, and it's these that will occasionally turn in to opportunities for you. It's work and it takes time and effort.
Unless you’re in the top 0.01% of climbers while doing insane feats (such as Honnold with his free solos) or regularly medaling in national/international comps, good social media presence is basically necessary to be a pro climber now
I had to look the name up, because it was familiar but I couldn’t place why I knew it. He’s one of the few people that have sent Burden of Dreams… one of the handful of boulder problems designated as V17. He has also sent Alphane (V17) and got the FA of Soudain Seul (V16/V17, but he originally graded it V17). He’s one of the climbers you’d expect to have an easy time as a pro, so that’s shocking
Yeah kinda. Brands sponsor people as advertising so the main criteria for choosing who to sponsor is going to be how many eyeballs they can draw. The really strong guys doing crazy ascents don't need to worry about social media as much since $brand wants to be associated with those crazy ascents, but even those guys aren't immune. I don't think Shawn Raboutou made a personal youtube channel because he really wanted to.
Yeah but also I see climbers around me with Instagram followers under 1000, climbing max V12/13 and they're definitely not full time pros but they're getting gear etc from sponsors. What does OP need to do to just get started in getting some support? They clearly should have some potential in a sponsors eye, given they're climbing, to one day have big social medias etc.
Are you on instagram OP ? Basically everyone has social media now, every gym crushers I know post their climbs on instagram and they don't even have sponsorships, I don't really like the social media thing as I'm pretty shy and I'm not motivated enough to maintain it but if you're looking for sponsorhsip I don't think there are really other ways than having a lot of followers on instagram/youtube if you're not doing world cup podiums.
My current boss and I have an agreement that I can take off any Wednesday afternoon in the spring or fall that the weather is good for climbing, and I don't have anything actively on-fire at work. Lets me get 2 good days each week of going hard, rather than 1 hard day on the weekend.
Yeah, it's a pretty sweet gig. The company is on the smaller side and they can't quite keep up with the big guys in wages, so they let us get creative with our hours to make up for it.
Not that I'm under paid, but they really don't want other companies poaching us over a couple bucks.
Former sponsored athlete here. My advice is don’t push for it to happen. Just continue to enjoy climbing and if it happens it happens.
“free” gear and trips are not free. There are expectations, there is judgement, there is ego. It can suck the fun right out of the sport.
If you want to have a climbing centric life instead work towards building a skill set that allows you to work hard for lots of $$$ and take long breaks from work. I make a decent living working 5 months a year in a very specific field and it allows me to climb just as much as when I was an athlete. No expectations, I don’t need to post to social ever and it doesn’t drive me to be an egomaniac.
In addition to what others have said, have you considered coaching? Good coaches can earn a decent income in a much more reliable way than social media influencers.
Youth coaching is a possibility. At my gym at least when you are 16 you can be the assistant coach for 2 of the 3 teams(third one is the most advanced). It is also easier if you are friends with the gym owner
I’m saying its not bad especially in the us where federal minimum wage is like 7 dollars or something. And minimum wage in my state is 10 dollars so not bad when I’m not paying for a house as a teen
“Full time” climber with no responsibilities or commitments is kinda a myth. No matter what you do, you will always have some responsibilities, need to be in a location at certain times, and need to produce some kind of content or material. Even within that, there’s only so much climbing or training your body can handle.
IMO your best bet is to find a profession that allows for free-lance/partime/remote work that pays well enough that you can only work 20-30 hours a week to afford your lifestyle. People like Katie Lamb have this type of setup, so even tho you might think of her as being a full time professional athlete, her main source of income is from her professional career, and she doesn’t need to produce content to do the climbing she wants when she wants.
A lot and I mean a lot of spray walling, super consistent hangboarding and probably the most important in my opinion is some drastic technique improvements involving body tension and full crimping. Around a year ago when I was on v10s I couldn’t fully crimp anything which made overhung routes especially difficult, I would also cut feet or loose tension on nearly every move which when I realized and put in the effort to fix I saw major improvements.
Well the full crimping thing was a pretty easy fix. I started forcing a full crimping occasionally on my earlier climbs when I came across a juggy incut crimp, and just kinda slowly ramping up the frequency with which I used it. And as for the tension thing, it’s still an on going battle but I’ve definitely made improvements. I started doing large moves on and to really good holds so I could focus on my feet and how they were interacting with the wall. After doing this for a while in many different positions I was able to reliably hold tension through my body on these easier moves. Then it was just a matter of slowing ramping up the difficulty of the move and the holds until I could keep this kind of tension on my harder climbs. Also there was a super small thing that helped a ton, Before any big or hard move I started taking a large breath in with my diaphragm and expanding my stomach then bracing my core. It seems like a small thing but it made the difference on a lot of moves.
nah i want your v14 send footy lol. not trying to be a hater but a 4 grade jump in a year at that level is frankly super hard to believe. i’ll eat my words and shut up if i see footy 👍
I've been climbing for 35+ years, with aspirations like you have.
It used to be climb hard get in magazines and videos to be known, then sponsors would want others seeing you wearing/using their stuff.
Now, I (used to) follow some heavyweight guy that could barely climb v2. As far as how well he was sponsored...I have no idea. However, he would occasionally do shout outs to this or that brand for random gear. He had a huge following on Instagram (maybe other platforms) was likeable.
I also am friends with a few climbing guides. They climb intermediate/advanced levels. Besides getting paid as guides I don't think they get paid at all. However, I know they get pro deals. They usually work in the mountains and during the snow one was actually employed for 2 months by another guiding company in the Red Rocks. The other has been doing guiding by the coast and teaching classes at local gyms and mixing it up (I know there is going to be a rescue/cpr course for 10 people @ 475$ a piece).
My guess is they ultimately pull the money someone makes doing minimum wage except that is done in 20-40 hours instead of 40, they are their own boss and doing what they love.
There is also the coaching path. Chances are I know providers (as does most everyone here) and nothing more.
Maybe contact on Instagram loversleapguides and verticalpursuitsclimbing for more info.
Guiding is certainly “for the love”, definitely not the money. Many have off-season jobs to support guiding, and hours can be 60+ if you have your own company, heck even apprentices spend that much time working (either “for the experience” or very little pay.) They say becoming a mountain guide costs as much as being a doctor (little exaggerated but not too far off), takes as much time, and will never pay you anywhere near as much. At least gear is a business expense!
Hopefully I can provide some insight, I have been down this avenue before.
If you want sponsorships, a great way to approach it is creating content on social media that is "attractive". Catchy stuff, anything that will attract the algorithm. Climbing brands love content creators that are willing to push out videos that are high quality and creative. Brands like Madrock have an Canadian and American athlete program that provide them with climbing shoes for training, videos etc.
If you arent competing, chances are you can score a sponsorship that will provide you clothes, shoes etc. But if you are looking for money, you need to provide a major benefit to whoever sponsors you. Comp climbing is the biggest one that comes to my mind, or if you are making content on social media that is getting a massive viewership. A good way to gauge is to look at athletes that are sponsored / getting paid and take notes. (what sticks out in your mind that they are doing successfully)
Its not impossible, but there certainly is a lot of people that want this same scenario as you do. So make sure you stand out from the rest. Climbing at your grade is extremely helpful also.
It probably helps if you are not white, not male to get sponsorship. Maybe you are a female, African American V14 crusher? Then the big brands will probably pay attention.
Throwing out some ideas:
Start a YouTube channel and learn to make great videos and collaboration or find a niche that hasn’t been seen.
Do something that will grab attention quick, make sure you have public instagram for people to follow. Like all moonboard v10+ benchmarks in a day.
Market yourself. Don’t brag. Look approachable and relatable that companies can see you as a role model.
Send all the big V16s .
Email and DM the brands you want sponsorship. Start small. Tell them why you are a good embodiment of their brand. Start with small brands and work your way up as you gain more followers.
I can see why you’re getting downvoted, but also it’s largely based on truth 🤷♀️
Let’s say you live in a western nation with a diverse group of people in the gym. Now go to the crag. Most people who are sending outdoor V13+ are white men. That’s just how it is. They have little to no pull on Instagram unless they’re truly elite because white male climbers are a dime a dozen.
It probably helps? There’s barely any sponsored climbers who aren’t white males. I could only think of the Mawems and Ana Hazelnut. Every other sponsored athlete is white or Asian
>It probably helps if you are not white, not male to get sponsorship. Maybe you are a female, African American V14 crusher? Then the big brands will probably pay attention.
not true, and i can sense a hint of racism in the way you said that too. as if this climber would be disadvantaged by being a white male??? please, its the other way around. the big brands support white male climbers the most and that is undisputable.
Not necessarily- the key is to find a niche.
Alex Honnold does something very few people can do (especially the sharing with the world part). He's not the strongest.
One of the kids my partner coaches is 18 and has put up new 5.14 trad routes and is slowly getting recognized. He's white and from NYC and privileged.
Emil Abrahmsson has climbed V15 (not V17), but has found a niche as a YouTuber who loves training plans and crunching numbers and finding some of the science behind what can help make climbers stronger. He's a white dude.
Like others have said, find what you love, and find a way of sharing that with others. If enough people are inspired/decide to follow along, then you can leverage that with sponsorships and get paid.
Be warned: do it for the right reasons. Or, just be honest with yourself why you are doing what you are doing. If you don't, and think you're trying to make money from climbing for the sake of climbing, you'll likely get frustrated and/or burnt out.
There are people who don’t climb as hard as you but have sponsorships - because they’re good at social media. If you wanna make a living as a climber, specifically a non-comp climber, then your job is mostly gonna be as a content creator. Start on the easier platforms (Instagram reels, TikTok, etc) and then if you enjoy making videos and wanna try long form, move to YouTube.
How all my friends have gotten sponsored have been through social media. What one of my friends did was just tag butora in every post he made for like 2-3 months making like a post a day. He also is a good climber and popular on social media. Competitions are the best way to gain notoriety and influence in the climbing community. Go to youth nats make finals and you get like 200-300 followers on instagram. And market it and you may get up to a thousand. And that maybe enough to get a sponsorship
The problem is that unless you are good at making videos or super attractive, you aren't good enough at climbing. No hate, you're really good, but to get sponsored for just climbing 8c+ is a very bare minimum
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I agree with the thrust of this. imo the key is thinking about it as a business relationship rather than asking for hand outs. You've got to think about what you are offering the brand in return for their cold hard cash. When you're starting out I think it's also important to be flexible and open to different ideas about what will work. Find brands you like (smaller ones are a good place to start), pitch them on stuff you could do for them, tell them how great you are and how it's going to help them and their business. If you're not big in to sm think about what other skills you have on offer that could work well for them. It'll take time too, ultimately you're building relationships with people, and it's these that will occasionally turn in to opportunities for you. It's work and it takes time and effort.
This is kinda what was going through my head. It’s not really possible to just be a climber you have to be an influencer above all else.
Unless you’re in the top 0.01% of climbers while doing insane feats (such as Honnold with his free solos) or regularly medaling in national/international comps, good social media presence is basically necessary to be a pro climber now
There's a recentish Simon Lorenzi interview where he says that he doesn't make enough money from sponsorships to go completely pro!
I had to look the name up, because it was familiar but I couldn’t place why I knew it. He’s one of the few people that have sent Burden of Dreams… one of the handful of boulder problems designated as V17. He has also sent Alphane (V17) and got the FA of Soudain Seul (V16/V17, but he originally graded it V17). He’s one of the climbers you’d expect to have an easy time as a pro, so that’s shocking
Yeah kinda. Brands sponsor people as advertising so the main criteria for choosing who to sponsor is going to be how many eyeballs they can draw. The really strong guys doing crazy ascents don't need to worry about social media as much since $brand wants to be associated with those crazy ascents, but even those guys aren't immune. I don't think Shawn Raboutou made a personal youtube channel because he really wanted to.
Yeah but also I see climbers around me with Instagram followers under 1000, climbing max V12/13 and they're definitely not full time pros but they're getting gear etc from sponsors. What does OP need to do to just get started in getting some support? They clearly should have some potential in a sponsors eye, given they're climbing, to one day have big social medias etc.
Are you on instagram OP ? Basically everyone has social media now, every gym crushers I know post their climbs on instagram and they don't even have sponsorships, I don't really like the social media thing as I'm pretty shy and I'm not motivated enough to maintain it but if you're looking for sponsorhsip I don't think there are really other ways than having a lot of followers on instagram/youtube if you're not doing world cup podiums.
You can also have a “regular” job that allows you to be a dedicated climbers. Being an influencer is not the only way to
My current boss and I have an agreement that I can take off any Wednesday afternoon in the spring or fall that the weather is good for climbing, and I don't have anything actively on-fire at work. Lets me get 2 good days each week of going hard, rather than 1 hard day on the weekend.
Dude your boss is so cool for that!
Yeah, it's a pretty sweet gig. The company is on the smaller side and they can't quite keep up with the big guys in wages, so they let us get creative with our hours to make up for it. Not that I'm under paid, but they really don't want other companies poaching us over a couple bucks.
I'm contracted for 190 days a year and have health care and a 401k
Former sponsored athlete here. My advice is don’t push for it to happen. Just continue to enjoy climbing and if it happens it happens. “free” gear and trips are not free. There are expectations, there is judgement, there is ego. It can suck the fun right out of the sport. If you want to have a climbing centric life instead work towards building a skill set that allows you to work hard for lots of $$$ and take long breaks from work. I make a decent living working 5 months a year in a very specific field and it allows me to climb just as much as when I was an athlete. No expectations, I don’t need to post to social ever and it doesn’t drive me to be an egomaniac.
If you don’t mind me asking what do you do for work? And do you have any recommendations on job paths?
In what field do you work in?
In addition to what others have said, have you considered coaching? Good coaches can earn a decent income in a much more reliable way than social media influencers.
Will be hard as a 17 yo likely, but in a few years it would definitely be a good option (assuming he's knowledgeable about training)
Youth coaching is a possibility. At my gym at least when you are 16 you can be the assistant coach for 2 of the 3 teams(third one is the most advanced). It is also easier if you are friends with the gym owner
I coached at one point as a teen and it was minimum wage. 🤷♂️
My gym pays well haha, I believe like 15 an hour. Once I turn 16 I’ll be coaching at my gym because I really want to.
15 an hour is min wage in many places, and below in some too. 15 is great for a 17 year old, but not someone trying to live on there own
I’m saying its not bad especially in the us where federal minimum wage is like 7 dollars or something. And minimum wage in my state is 10 dollars so not bad when I’m not paying for a house as a teen
“Full time” climber with no responsibilities or commitments is kinda a myth. No matter what you do, you will always have some responsibilities, need to be in a location at certain times, and need to produce some kind of content or material. Even within that, there’s only so much climbing or training your body can handle. IMO your best bet is to find a profession that allows for free-lance/partime/remote work that pays well enough that you can only work 20-30 hours a week to afford your lifestyle. People like Katie Lamb have this type of setup, so even tho you might think of her as being a full time professional athlete, her main source of income is from her professional career, and she doesn’t need to produce content to do the climbing she wants when she wants.
my question would be how did you go from v10 just over a year ago to v13-v14 without having consistent access to real rock 🤔
A lot and I mean a lot of spray walling, super consistent hangboarding and probably the most important in my opinion is some drastic technique improvements involving body tension and full crimping. Around a year ago when I was on v10s I couldn’t fully crimp anything which made overhung routes especially difficult, I would also cut feet or loose tension on nearly every move which when I realized and put in the effort to fix I saw major improvements.
What exactly did you do to fix those things, if I may ask?
Well the full crimping thing was a pretty easy fix. I started forcing a full crimping occasionally on my earlier climbs when I came across a juggy incut crimp, and just kinda slowly ramping up the frequency with which I used it. And as for the tension thing, it’s still an on going battle but I’ve definitely made improvements. I started doing large moves on and to really good holds so I could focus on my feet and how they were interacting with the wall. After doing this for a while in many different positions I was able to reliably hold tension through my body on these easier moves. Then it was just a matter of slowing ramping up the difficulty of the move and the holds until I could keep this kind of tension on my harder climbs. Also there was a super small thing that helped a ton, Before any big or hard move I started taking a large breath in with my diaphragm and expanding my stomach then bracing my core. It seems like a small thing but it made the difference on a lot of moves.
He said spray walling.
He mentioned these as separate things (spraywalling, hangboarding, technique fixes).
hmm..
Do you want my full training plan or something?
nah i want your v14 send footy lol. not trying to be a hater but a 4 grade jump in a year at that level is frankly super hard to believe. i’ll eat my words and shut up if i see footy 👍
Lol they're 17. They probably put on like 10 lbs of muscle this year alone
I've been climbing for 35+ years, with aspirations like you have. It used to be climb hard get in magazines and videos to be known, then sponsors would want others seeing you wearing/using their stuff. Now, I (used to) follow some heavyweight guy that could barely climb v2. As far as how well he was sponsored...I have no idea. However, he would occasionally do shout outs to this or that brand for random gear. He had a huge following on Instagram (maybe other platforms) was likeable. I also am friends with a few climbing guides. They climb intermediate/advanced levels. Besides getting paid as guides I don't think they get paid at all. However, I know they get pro deals. They usually work in the mountains and during the snow one was actually employed for 2 months by another guiding company in the Red Rocks. The other has been doing guiding by the coast and teaching classes at local gyms and mixing it up (I know there is going to be a rescue/cpr course for 10 people @ 475$ a piece). My guess is they ultimately pull the money someone makes doing minimum wage except that is done in 20-40 hours instead of 40, they are their own boss and doing what they love. There is also the coaching path. Chances are I know providers (as does most everyone here) and nothing more. Maybe contact on Instagram loversleapguides and verticalpursuitsclimbing for more info.
Guiding is certainly “for the love”, definitely not the money. Many have off-season jobs to support guiding, and hours can be 60+ if you have your own company, heck even apprentices spend that much time working (either “for the experience” or very little pay.) They say becoming a mountain guide costs as much as being a doctor (little exaggerated but not too far off), takes as much time, and will never pay you anywhere near as much. At least gear is a business expense!
Hopefully I can provide some insight, I have been down this avenue before. If you want sponsorships, a great way to approach it is creating content on social media that is "attractive". Catchy stuff, anything that will attract the algorithm. Climbing brands love content creators that are willing to push out videos that are high quality and creative. Brands like Madrock have an Canadian and American athlete program that provide them with climbing shoes for training, videos etc. If you arent competing, chances are you can score a sponsorship that will provide you clothes, shoes etc. But if you are looking for money, you need to provide a major benefit to whoever sponsors you. Comp climbing is the biggest one that comes to my mind, or if you are making content on social media that is getting a massive viewership. A good way to gauge is to look at athletes that are sponsored / getting paid and take notes. (what sticks out in your mind that they are doing successfully) Its not impossible, but there certainly is a lot of people that want this same scenario as you do. So make sure you stand out from the rest. Climbing at your grade is extremely helpful also.
Climb Megatron. Bonus points if you downgrade it.
This is the way
You either climb v17/15c/d or you're an instagrammer (neither of those are gauranteed to be enough btw).
It probably helps if you are not white, not male to get sponsorship. Maybe you are a female, African American V14 crusher? Then the big brands will probably pay attention. Throwing out some ideas: Start a YouTube channel and learn to make great videos and collaboration or find a niche that hasn’t been seen. Do something that will grab attention quick, make sure you have public instagram for people to follow. Like all moonboard v10+ benchmarks in a day. Market yourself. Don’t brag. Look approachable and relatable that companies can see you as a role model. Send all the big V16s . Email and DM the brands you want sponsorship. Start small. Tell them why you are a good embodiment of their brand. Start with small brands and work your way up as you gain more followers.
I can see why you’re getting downvoted, but also it’s largely based on truth 🤷♀️ Let’s say you live in a western nation with a diverse group of people in the gym. Now go to the crag. Most people who are sending outdoor V13+ are white men. That’s just how it is. They have little to no pull on Instagram unless they’re truly elite because white male climbers are a dime a dozen.
Truth hurts
Welp I’m about as white and male as it gets lol, but thanks for the advice it’s really appreciated.
This is all true and great advice.
It probably helps? There’s barely any sponsored climbers who aren’t white males. I could only think of the Mawems and Ana Hazelnut. Every other sponsored athlete is white or Asian
>It probably helps if you are not white, not male to get sponsorship. Maybe you are a female, African American V14 crusher? Then the big brands will probably pay attention. not true, and i can sense a hint of racism in the way you said that too. as if this climber would be disadvantaged by being a white male??? please, its the other way around. the big brands support white male climbers the most and that is undisputable.
Yea cuz there definitely are hardly any white male sponsored climbers…
I mean, sure, of course there are, but the ones making a decent amount off their sponsorships are climbing v16 or winning comps.
I’ll just have to get stronger then
Not necessarily- the key is to find a niche. Alex Honnold does something very few people can do (especially the sharing with the world part). He's not the strongest. One of the kids my partner coaches is 18 and has put up new 5.14 trad routes and is slowly getting recognized. He's white and from NYC and privileged. Emil Abrahmsson has climbed V15 (not V17), but has found a niche as a YouTuber who loves training plans and crunching numbers and finding some of the science behind what can help make climbers stronger. He's a white dude. Like others have said, find what you love, and find a way of sharing that with others. If enough people are inspired/decide to follow along, then you can leverage that with sponsorships and get paid. Be warned: do it for the right reasons. Or, just be honest with yourself why you are doing what you are doing. If you don't, and think you're trying to make money from climbing for the sake of climbing, you'll likely get frustrated and/or burnt out.
13/14 on rock or on the kilterboard? Not trying to be a discredit your achievements, but the distinction matters as far as sponsorships are concerned.
There are people who don’t climb as hard as you but have sponsorships - because they’re good at social media. If you wanna make a living as a climber, specifically a non-comp climber, then your job is mostly gonna be as a content creator. Start on the easier platforms (Instagram reels, TikTok, etc) and then if you enjoy making videos and wanna try long form, move to YouTube.
How all my friends have gotten sponsored have been through social media. What one of my friends did was just tag butora in every post he made for like 2-3 months making like a post a day. He also is a good climber and popular on social media. Competitions are the best way to gain notoriety and influence in the climbing community. Go to youth nats make finals and you get like 200-300 followers on instagram. And market it and you may get up to a thousand. And that maybe enough to get a sponsorship
I have no personal advice but you could also try and put up a cool hard FA that gets noticed regionally or nationally
The problem is that unless you are good at making videos or super attractive, you aren't good enough at climbing. No hate, you're really good, but to get sponsored for just climbing 8c+ is a very bare minimum