The American Alpine Institute had an interesting post on their blog several months ago about the topic of sponsorship in the climbing community that they summed up this way:
The outdoor industry is full of sponsored individuals. And it is full of a lot of ego, arrogance and self-promotion. Sponsorship is a double-edged sword. On the one hand it’s great. It provides us with an insight into who is at the top of the game. But on the other hand, if we can’t trust the magazines and the gear manufacturers to screen their athletes, then the value of every sponsored athlete — whether they deserve it or not — is diminished.
The impetus for the AAI blog post was this excellent post by alpinist Scott Semple. In the post, Semple asserts that sponsorship is not a bad thing (he was once a sponsored athlete), but “bullshit” is:
If sponsorship isn’t backed up by a legitimate accomplishment that is significant to the sport, then being rewarded for something insignificant is sad and undeserved. And it’s immoral, because it creates a facade, and facades are lies.
This happens more often than you might think. Many of the athletes you often see in climbing magazines are phenomenal at self-promotion, but range from average to crap at actually climbing. Ice, mixed and alpine climbing have the worst offenders. (Rock climbing is usually too consistent, popular and objective for lies to last long.) Truth is, many climbers are sponsored for what they say, or how well they’re known, rather than for what they’ve done.
The problem stems from the fact that the “athlete” is the performer, but also the judge and the journalist. A lack of objectivity and a lack of integrity combine to create opportunistic self-promotion masquerading as journalism. The result is that average achievements beget above-average attention. (All those “Hot Flashes” you read, written in the third person, are often written by the climbers themselves.) Few other disciplines would tolerate such a lack of objectivity, but no direct access to the “feats” of accomplishment makes us dependant on it.
As a followup to the blog post, Semple gave a slideshow on the topic that is well worth watching (even if it is a bit long and hard to hear at times):
Is Sponsorship a Sin? from Scott Semple on Vimeo
The concept of outdoor companies sponsoring athletes by giving gear and/or money in exchange for some sort of promotion on the part of the athlete is really nothing new. However, as the internet age develops there are more and more opportunities for consumers to be inundated with sponsored material (whether they realize it or not). While I don’t necessarily agree with everything Semple asserts on his blog and his slide show, I think he raises several points that are worth keeping mind.
Well, I just wasted my time by listening to his slide show. It sounds like he got dropped by his sponsor while someone( in his opinion) who has “less accomplishment” but “more self promotion” stayed.
Well here’s a news flash. Sponsorship isn’t a reward for being an accomplished climber. It’s a reward for being a climber that people hear about because of their accomplishments. If a climber is good at “self promotion” and is therefore well known in the climbing community then they will sell more products and deserve to be sponsored.
His biggest gripe is that climbers are skipping on accomplishments and going straight to self promotion, but he provides NO examples of any climber doing this besides an Italian alpinist in 1950. Is he talking about staged photo shoots or something? I honestly don’t know who his gripe is with or how it is taking place. If he wants to make people care about this he has to be willing to expose some people and their sponsors.
loading...
from a consumer perspective, applied to rock climbing i agree and disagree.
agree that the sponsored athlete should not lie on his/hers achievements and/or create a totally fictional, unhonest persona.
disagree when this sounds as if a clearly cutting-edge level is an absolute requirement for sponsorship.
let’s say a climber “only” climbs sport 8c but he’s well known, admired, respected and imitated for other reasons.
let’s say i run a climbing clothing company and sponsor him.
Will people think “hmm that denim looks sweet, let’s get one too” or “oh fuck i don’t want to be dressed like somebody who’s only climbing 8c” ???
loading...
This guy is out to lunch. He makes many wild and unsubstantiated claims, especially concerning the role of magazines. I’d love to see some concrete examples of what he is talking about–like naming some climbers who he thinks don’t deserve the four pairs of shoes they’re allowed to pro deal each year, and explaining why he feels that way, and then, who he’d rather see sponsored. His view of what a sponsored athlete is is narrow, even though I can see his point about how there are a lot of “name” climbers out there who companies sponsor but who aren’t pushing standards like Chris Sharma or Steve House … but even so, who cares? This just seems like a lame conceit of a rant that is masking at least some degree of envy.
loading...
@Jcoop- I read on one of his other posts that he voluntarily gave up his sponsorship because he felt others were more deserving (or something like that).
@g In a follow up post [ http://www.scottsemple.com/the-sinful-sponsorship-slideshow/%5D Scott noted that that yes, some legacy type climbers (Lynn Hill for instance) and some well respected guides should qualify even though they’re not “cutting edge”
loading...
Sponsorship is not about rewarding accomplishments, it’s about selling product.
loading...
Exactly Shane. It’s a fundumental flaw in logic to assume that a sponsored climber is the best climber. It often has nothing to do with that whatsoever, and more often is concerned with who will make the brand look good, provide photos and marketing collatoral, possibly offer feedback on product etc.
A super friendly local crag custodian who comes into contact with heaps of climbers regularly is (or should be) a much better sponsorship prospect than a gym-dwelling hermit boulderer who climbs V-whatever.
loading...
An example: Phil Schall climbs Jade and everyone wonders where he came from because he’s not part of the media scene. On the other hand I know people who are sponsered who don’t climb anywhere near a world class level, but do a very good job of being public and promoting the product. That’s exactly what the whole point of a sponsorship is. Its also why world class people like Dean Potter get dropped when they do things that are more likely to turn people off of the brands they represent than attract them.
loading...
I completely agree with Shane. I have two sponsors, neither of which gives me much of anything (gym membership and a pro deal), but I have been able to get the little help I do because I promote their companies. My comps are paid for by my gym, so long as I sport their tees. And trust me, I am not climbing at the cutting edge, and probably never will be.
loading...
While he certainly is a world-class athlete and one of the top climbers, I think that someone like Joe Kinder is a great example of how a sponsored athlete is more valuable for their media presence above and beyond whether or not they do the hardest routes. While he has recently gone on a spree putting up hard 14s in Utah, and has done hard 14s before that as well, he might not be quite the climber that his buddy Dave Graham is. Where he shines is in his brand representation. He goes above and beyond to post blog posts and include information about his new packs he used on his trip, showing off his Petzl draws, and touting the La Sportiva shoes, and on top of it all, he’s sponsored by Sterling rope.
How do I know all this? Sure I talk to the guy, and I read a lot of online climbing posts, but I know who he’s sponsored by because he does a good job of climbing pretty freaking hard AND then tying it in to the brand.
Dave Graham is off climbing in Europe, and pulling down hard, working on hard projects, but I don’t ever associate him with any sponsors (FiveTen, right?).
I don’t think its unfair that Joe Kinder gets money and sponsorships for climbing hard 14s and equipping them even though some less known people might do more groundbreaking things once in a while. While they might not be a ground-breaking climb or grade, or something that gets hyped, he treats climbing like a real job, doing brand representation because thats what he gets paid for. If I can make a living climbing 13s/14s some day, I’d do EVERYTHING for sponsors to get their names out there. Maybe that means doing write ups about your ascents to get your name out there, but I don’t think people are lying about what they’ve done, just doing their job and talking up themselves and their sponsors.
loading...
I agree with the Joe Kinder example. Sponsored climbers are not being paid by companies to advance the sport, they are being paid to sell product. In many cases, climbers making major advancements in the sport do make a big impact of product sales. A great example is when Sharma did Realization. This was cutting edge at the time, and his then-sponsor 5.10 took good advantage of this by advertising-heavily-that Sharma was wearing Ansazi Velcros to do this route. Sure enough, there was a period of a few years afterwards when a lot of people bought Anasazi Velcros. In this case, the advancement of the sport was enough to sell the product.
Joe Kinder, on the other hand, is climbing at a top level, but not at the very utmost cutting edge. What he does well, however, is serve as a product representative. He is valauble to sponsors not just because of the level of his climbing, but because he is a skilled salesman who does a good job leveraging the attention that his ascents get. And what is wrong with companies hiring salesmen?
loading...
OMG DRAMA!
loading...
This is a classic example of why are sport sucks. You young privileged self absorbed turds think sponsorship is all about ability. It isn’t and it shouldn’t be. As Shane pointed out, it is about selling product, so self promotion is part of their job as sponsored athletes. A sponsored athlete is a walking billboard. Their job is to get exposure. They are just like the guys standing on the corner with signs prompting drivers to “Try Taco Loco’s 99 cent burrito” or the girls in Daisy Dukes trying to get you to pull in for a car wash.
This is why they “work” to get in the mags. JM points this out in his comments above.
I think we place to much stock in climbing ability and not enough stock in how those climbers impact the ones around them. Sponsored athletes that work hard to get noticed and interact well with fellow climbers of equal or lesser ability are the one’s that should be held in the highest regard by their sponsors. Their accomplishments and good personality will go a long way in giving others a good feeling about the products that “pro” endorses.
On the other hand, elitist athletes that walk around with sticks wedged far up their ass, climbing V14 don’t do much to improve a company’s “stock”.
Unfortunately, the above description is fairly common. A company would be better served sponsoring a 5.12 climber who is really supportive and nice, coaches a local climbing team and organizes local events as an alternative.
loading...
“I know more about sticky rubber than you do.”
loading...
i think the true problem lies within the how the industry defines there professional athletes. take a look at skateboarding for example. we have pro riders the best of the best, am’s the so so guys, and kids on flow meaning they get free product and the company sees interest in them to become pro/am boarders. how would that work in climbing idk. fiveten has recently started an elite team? dont no much about it. but its jsut something i wanted to throw out into the discussion.
loading...
Many companies have tiers of sponsorship. Not every “sponsored athlete” receives the same perks, but they are all expected to represent their company(ies) in the most positive possible light.
loading...
not doubting it. but at least in other industries its defined. i mean in climbing where does that stand? espcially when viewed in like the media etc.
loading...
also most companies are sooooo stacked with sponsored climbers, that has the dilute the image a little bit. i mean shit mad rock has like a billion strong team.
loading...
Most of this was just rambling but it touched on some issues that are very important to certain folks. think there is nothing wrong if your goal is to be paid for something you love. I do agree with the point brought up at the end about the human factor causing pressure for athletes getting paid. Even though it is not always a life and death factor in the popular areas of bouldering and sport, it was pushed many many pro athletes to far and they have ended up hurting themeleves. Some where I read that beth, pringle, and someone else all had to get shoulder surgery. Case and point.
Wish everyone to reach their goals….and quickly make new ones!!
loading...
A great thread and topic. 100% agreement with the Joe Kinder comments. I would add Sonnie Trotter to the same list. I’ve never met either of these climbers and don’t know them at all. But I *feel* like I know them, as well as who their sponsors are. Why? Because they blog frequently, project a friendly, outgoing personality, and speak often and positively about the sponsored products they use. They come across as professionals, and this is a good thing for the sponsor, the athlete, and the climbing community.
I agree also about the Dave Graham comment Mark makes. There was a time when Graham had a great presence with various pro blogs, etc., but now has dropped out of view, or maybe into Facebook land where I don’t tread. To that list I would add Daniel Woods. I’ve followed so many dead links and false blog starts associated with him that I’ve given up. His sponsors should actually be glad I don’t know who they are (North Face, La Sportiva) because in the context of the Internet he does such a poor job representing himself I actually have a negative association with his name. Interesting to consider that a recent good video featuring Woods in a sponsorship role was done by Joe Kinder.
Sponsorship is a good thing. But in the Internet age, with so many eyes upon them, sponsored, pro or semipro athletes need to recognize the dirtbag days are over and take the time to represent themselves professionally and consistently.
loading...