If you do not support Pro athletes then I am not buying your product

Triathlon Forum
1

Maybe this was already repeated over and over so sorry for hitting the same note again.

With the new sponsorship buzz typical from this pre-season, it became clear that some bike brands, which had a very remarkable presence in the Pro field in the past, are fading out their support if not totally leaving their sponsorships.

I happen to be the typical mid-packer AG who also follows the Pro scene with passion and closely enough to recognize that there might be 20/30 athletes in the world at most that can make a decent living from the sport.

This sport is unique in many ways. One of that is that we race in the same events and share the same venues with our super-human idols. There is some sort of general sense of everyone being part of the same family regardless if you are aiming for a win or just trying to make the night cut. There is no “social distance” between amateurs and pros like it happens in 99% of the other sports. One image I have from last year was crossing with Chrissie Wellington in Roth run course and seeing her smiling widely, returning each and every incentive word she was getting.

More than admiration and respect, the Pros deserve our support. It is our duty to do our best to keep them around with the best training and living conditions possible.

So the message is simple and applies to the bike brands in particular but to all the other industry members including event organizers.

If you are just trying to milk the mammoth AG market without being committed to supporting the Pro field, sorry but I am not buying your product.

Let us all assume this attitude. We are only making our sport bigger.

2

Sucks for Premier bike, who are as a small company are wholly focused on amateurs and not handing out free equipment to pros.

(and probably another few dozen small brands I could name).

This seems like a backwards way to support pro triathlon. I think it’d be better to help pro triathletes prove their value to companies so they’re supported by a clear-headed business decision, not fear of being boycotted for not providing something like charity to pros.

3

So no one should buy Flo wheels?

Honestly though, who cares? If a brand can make it without pro visibility, then good for them. No one forces pros to be pros, it’s their choice. If their choice of occupation isn’t financially viable, then that’s their thing. It’s like an accountant telling people they’re jerks because they do their taxes themselves.

4

Maybe this was already repeated over and over so sorry for hitting the same note again.

nah. no one’s ever said that here :wink:

5

Will you boycott ‘Ironman’ events too? I’m pretty sure they don’t fall over themselves to support the careers of pro athletes.

Personally, my number one priority when spending a considerable amount of (my own) money on a bike is whether it’s the best one for me. Also, the vast majority of participants in triathlon don’t go on Forums like Slowtitch and don’t have any interest in what pros are up to - they just want the medal, tattoo and bragging rights for social media.

That said, I thinks your is an admirable stance.

6

I am trying to navigate this as a first year pro myself but I think there is a misconception with what the term “support” means. (this isn’t directed totally to you at all, just in general)

There are a lot of companies who have dropped pros since it seems they cannot afford it. I don’t think that always means they are not “supporting” pros. Did they give the pros an option for stuff at cost? Or did they say “hey we are done with you”? I think that is a big difference. Companies cannot just give out free stuff unless they feel they are getting a return on their investment. If they aren’t then that company will end up losing money and in turn going under. Now that is good for no one, not pros, not amateurs, not the company.

Smaller companies are the ones I have targeted to work with because I am a start up as well. So my goal was to show them that I want to help them grow while they can attempt to help me grow. Some of my partners/sponsors are giving me free stuff but some are discounts that I am gladly to pay since I would be using their stuff either way. And my objective is to prove my worth to those companies so that in the future the discount either gets bigger or they see the return on the partnership and they give me product.

I don’t want to get into too much detail about my search for sponsors but I feel awful for some pros who rely on money from triathlon because it has been eye opening to see the struggle of finding sponsors in triathlon. I am lucky enough to have a good friend who works as a sports agent who has been helping me out and even with his help it has been extremely difficult to find companies to work with,

7

Your approach is admirable, as I enjoy watching the pros compete as well, and you are of course welcome to vote with your dollars however you so please - but your stance ignores basic business sense.

In order for companies to “support the Pro field” they (1) must have excess cash to invest in marketing (i.e. “sponsorships”) and (2) must determine that those sponsorships have a positive ROI.

For smaller companies that have limited volumes and specialty products (1) is a huge issue. For bigger companies (2) is a very simple business decision. If they spend $50k sponsoring a pro they have to make it up with $50k more MARGIN to break even, NOT sales, which means that if they had a choice of losing a few hundred or thousand dollars from you and a few other like-minded individuals, or saving that sponsorship money, they go with the latter.

If you care deeply enough about this I would try to convince those larger companies that you have a large group that feels this way and enough dollars are shifting to their competitors for them to care.

8

I am trying to navigate this as a first year pro myself but I think there is a misconception with what the term “support” means. (this isn’t directed totally to you at all, just in general)

i don’t want to sound like an old fuddy duddy, but i remember when the sport was brand new. i was racing it back then, beginning in the late 70s. there were no pros, making money as pros. i don’t think ironman even had a prize purse until 1987 or thereabouts. 86. something like that.

fast forward to now. the harshest criticisms i hear of pro athletes are voiced by… pro athletes. chris mcdonald wondered openly at our recent TBI conference why more of his fellows didn’t come to this conference (he was the only one) if they consider themselves in the industry.

so, what some of us did, emilio de soto, monty, mark allen, bill leach, others, is we took our engineering degrees, and our families’ money, and we started businesses.

oops! nope! we didn’t have engineering degrees. our families didn’t have any money. i got a night job waiting tables to support my day job making wetsuits.

this is very simple. whomever you are, pro athlete, manufacturer, RD, if you want people to pay you money, give them a compelling reason. if you don’t think you’re in industry, then you aren’t. i don’t want to speak for chris mcdonald, but i think this was his message.

9

Nail. Head. I can only imagine how much time (and goodwill) any Pro who’d been present would have gotten from conversations with people in the Industry. Even more so if they’d stood on the ‘stage’ and spoken about their experiences, which have to be relevant.

10

I support pro athletes simply by participating in the sport. The bottomline is that without age groupers, there would be no pro triathletes. As to equipment manufacturers, I don’t give a rat’s ass whether they support pros or not. Nor do I give a rat’s ass about pro triathlete equipment endorsements.

11

I support pro athletes simply by participating in the sport. The bottomline is that without age groupers, there would be no pro triathletes. As to equipment manufacturers, I don’t give a rat’s ass whether they support pros or not. Nor do I give a rat’s ass about pro triathlete equipment endorsements.

Agreed! Frankly I put much more stock in what the really good amateurs use. If I had a company I would sponsor amateurs, and even masters athletes, as they have MUCH more interaction with the general populous, and they aren’t always fishing for who will give them the most. Having been in the sport for many years, the constant jump from the “best brand I’ve ever used” by pro after pro, their songs ring hollow to me. I’d much rather see brands sponsoring and/or working for those of us who actually appreciate and want to use their goods instead of the highest payday.

12

I am trying to navigate this as a first year pro myself but I think there is a misconception with what the term “support” means. (this isn’t directed totally to you at all, just in general)

i don’t want to sound like an old fuddy duddy, but i remember when the sport was brand new. i was racing it back then, beginning in the late 70s. there were no pros, making money as pros. i don’t think ironman even had a prize purse until 1987 or thereabouts. 86. something like that.

fast forward to now. the harshest criticisms i hear of pro athletes are voiced by… pro athletes. chris mcdonald wondered openly at our recent TBI conference why more of his fellows didn’t come to this conference (he was the only one) if they consider themselves in the industry.

so, what some of us did, emilio de soto, monty, mark allen, bill leach, others, is we took our engineering degrees, and our families’ money, and we started businesses.

oops! nope! we didn’t have engineering degrees. our families didn’t have any money. i got a night job waiting tables to support my day job making wetsuits.

this is very simple. whomever you are, pro athlete, manufacturer, RD, if you want people to pay you money, give them a compelling reason. if you don’t think you’re in industry, then you aren’t. i don’t want to speak for chris mcdonald, but i think this was his message.

Amen Dan! We all took risks, and put our neck on the line. I loved your article with Chris and thought he really nailed it. For a number of years we’ve been talking about the pros and how the vast majority don’t get it and do little to help themselves. Wake up calls are truly needed.

13

the Pros deserve our support.

Nobody is entitled to anything, the wealth you create is directly related to the value you generate. Be it through working, winning races, or some other combination.

14

Oh I totally agree with the “if I want someone to pay me (for anything), I need to give them a reason” part. Which is why my goal is to partner with some companies at my cost then prove to them I am worth it. If they don’t find that I am worth it then it is on me, not them to figure it out. I haven’t talked with any pros but I don’t think that just because I am a “pro” I am entitled to anything for free from anyone. Now if a company want to work with me because they think I am a good fit, regardless of results, then great. But if not then that is their right as a company.

Maybe next year I will be able to attend the conference but travel costs aside, not sure I could go anywhere and leave my wife and month old baby behind! But this year will be a huge learning experience for me and I look forward to all the highs and lows that come with it!

15

the Pros deserve our support.

Nobody is entitled to anything, the wealth you create is directly related to the value you generate. Be it through working, winning races, or some other combination.

This nails it. As an amateur, I am in a position where I both have sponsors but also do some work to run a sponsorship program for a local business… The first red flag for me when pouring through applications is entitlement… if you feel you are owed something, you’re coming at it from the wrong direction. What a good business is looking for is not what you can do with their money, but what you can do for them in exchange for their money… That’s what generates ROI… Sure there may be some value in people merely seeing you using the product and social media posts, but there may be more value in supporting someone who is involved with grassroots groups or with a direct line to the specific customers that the company is targeting. Or maybe the bigger value is someone who can do appearances or sessions or clinics with clients or staff of the business. In order for a sponsorship to work, there needs to be a good alignment of the needs of the athlete and the needs of the business. You can usually tell pretty early on which ones will be one and dones (one season, but nothing beyond it) because one or both sides are not getting any value out of the partnership.

When we select athletes we look at supporting people who will appreciate it and will refer business, rather than those who will win lots of races, and hope that the mere mortals will assume that the wins are because of that great bike or superfast shoe… I mean obviously the gold standard are those that do both, but those are few and far between…

In terms of pro gear choices, that might expose me to a new product, but that isn’t going to make me support a brand. I’m more likely to support a brand that sponsors events than a particular pro athlete…

16

I don’t buy or use products based on what a pro uses, doesn’t use… is getting paid to use, etc. I find it somewhat amusing this time of year as tri friends roll out their new “Ambassador” products… hashtagging their new favorite nutrition brand… Pros as well.

I ride a Trek SC, Giant road bike and Canondale mountain bike, use Cranksports products, Garmin watch/bike computer, run in Saucony/Newton/Altra shoes, ride Flo wheels, wear Kiwami, etc. Those are my choices based on good products that I’ve vetted to work for me.

17

Take it from Chris himself! http://www.slowtwitch.com/Interview/Chris_McDonald_In_His_Own_Words_6732.html

**One topic that always tends to come up around TBI is identifying who all of the stakeholders are. Would you consider professional triathletes to be stakeholders in the triathlon industry? **
Should they be? Absolutely. Are they? I don’t believe so.

18

Take it from Chris himself! http://www.slowtwitch.com/…_Own_Words_6732.html

**One topic that always tends to come up around TBI is identifying who all of the stakeholders are. Would you consider professional triathletes to be stakeholders in the triathlon industry? **
Should they be? Absolutely. Are they? I don’t believe so.

Nice article, by the way…

19

Thanks. I really tried to do my best to stay out of Chris’ way. I really wanted his words to be the focus here - it’s his story to tell.

He’s also got a very unique perspective because he fits in so many different stakeholder buckets - which means he’s uniquely positioned to be of service to help create better value for all of those buckets.

20

Agreed! Frankly I put much more stock in what the really good amateurs use. If I had a company I would sponsor amateurs, and even masters athletes, as they have MUCH more interaction with the general populous, and they aren’t always fishing for who will give them the most. Having been in the sport for many years, the constant jump from the “best brand I’ve ever used” by pro after pro, their songs ring hollow to me. I’d much rather see brands sponsoring and/or working for those of us who actually appreciate and want to use their goods instead of the highest payday.

This parallels my thought on the matter. Bikes are getting absurdly expensive, and handing out a bike to a bunch of pros every year takes a lot of sales to make up.

What if the Triathlon community could take up a model used by a similar niche sports market… Wakeboarding / watersports? The boat manufacturers do not hand out free boats, they partner with the local dealers, provide them a boat that the dealer holds on inventory at a reduced cost (no profit for the manuf, but covers cost) that the pro athlete uses all season. At the end of the season, the boat is sold and a new one provided. The Athlete is also pushed to help get this sold so that they can get a new one.

This could easily expand the sponsorship opportunities of the bike brands by letting their dealers “loan” a top tier bike to preferred athletes and hold it at a reduced cost, with the opportunity to sell it at season’s end. The only loss to the manufacturer is the profit on that one bike, and the dealer gets to still make their piece after holding the inventory. This could effectively increase the # of sponsored athletes to include local top tier talent, not just national / international level.

The only challenge is the trust factor. With boats, there is a title involved so the user never owns the boat and cannot keep / register it without working with the dealer. Bikes not being titled means a local sponsored athlete could just take off and leave with his bike with no recourse.