Hankg42 Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 ... and just like mike said, I too have turned down at least 3 sponsors who contacted me... i respectfully declined for reasons of my own volition... Very interesting to read about how hard this is, and the patience it takes. I'm curious about one thing... once successful, do you have sponsors seeking you out, wanting to jump "on the band wagon"? I would be fitting, I think, to say no to those who turned you down on the way to success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fast4popper Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 amen brother!! yes all of my amps and speakers were free, but this was not without the 10k$ plus i have in my car, and a first place at the world finals of sound to prove it. ( I am currently a new products tester for MTX, in other words i get things months before anyone knows they are out so that i can beat the snot out of them before they make production ) even tho i still pay for all of my alpine gear cause i trully believe they are the best sounding out there. my brake kits was at a HUGE discount. 66% off, but i still paid. now my motor, trans and suspension, wheels and what not, i paid retail for. yeah, not easy, but as Dave states. its something you have to work at! now damn it Dave get that thing together so we can see it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJT13 Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Great write-up Dave!! I know I've asked for stuff in the past, but I think you know that I'm just busting balls. I know that I don't have the drive to go thru what you have. It's alot of work and more importantly, TIME, to go thru what you need to establish the connections and hopefully the relationships with these companies. On a smaller scale, when I was younger, I raced R/C cars. I ended up getting sponsored by the store I worked at but in the beginning, he wouldn't think of it. Mainly because I was in my early teens. ie: I didn't have a license so I couldn't hit all the tracks around us = not worth his while! He did start to sponsor one guy and we developed a friendship. Soon, I was going to tracks with him and word caught on that I could indeed drive those things with success. At that point, all my money was going in to those cars and I had 2 circle track cars (one for indoors and one for outdoors), an off-road car, a truck for beating on. None of these were stock and none of the cars or parts were cheap. Especially to someone in their early teens. After winning at various tracks, I was approached by the owner about sponsorship. Basically, I got everything at cost. If he didn't carry a certain product, he would order it for us. If he was approached to sell a product, we would sometimes get it to test them. As far as stickers and stuff, even on those little cars, we came up with a paint scheme and lettering and had to run that no matter what. I handled paint so over time we were able to tweak the looks of the cars but we needed approval on colors and name placement first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usabodyguard Posted August 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 At first my thoughts on writing this thread was more to shut up the haters, which always seem to talk smack behind my back and are two-faced big time... (funny how no one seems to talk shit to me directly) anways... as i started to write, i figured i would make this more about trying to help people by sharing my own process and in turn some other members can try it out for themselves... because there is no way the haters (and i really dont mean anyone in particular from this site... just people i meet on other boards or on the streets, maybe a few on here ;)...) but there is no way the typical hater would even go to half of the measures that most of us who are sponsored have gone through... as far as my truck... i FINALLY, and i mean FINALLY get it back tonight, 100% done with paint and body... then TOMORROW at 6am it is off to yet another shop... this time for a complete belltech suspension and drop... along with some caltracs and of course my pretty new wheels and tires... so new paint, drop, wheels/tires, suspension, OEM SS front end with EZ Billet grill inserts top and bottom and bumper cover, new headlights by Sprayed99 (thanks!), a new windshield (old one broke when they took it out for paint lol) all done by sat... i will shine her up and post some pics Sat night... oooOOOoooo... then of course it is back into the shop next week... triple gauge pod and autometer gauges... socal diesel pod with dual aeroforce gauges... and just maybe a new interior... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJT13 Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RacerJJ Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Good write-up Dave. I have poeple talking S*** and making fun of me non-stop at the track because of the sponsors I've been able to get. I chalk it up to jealousy, plain and simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcmahan Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 i admire your commitment dave. every one can get what they want if they just apply thereself like you have.i look at you like a roll model to get things done. good work you deserve it bro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooter3 Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Great write up. Getting sponsors is very difficult. Back in my tuner days I was sponsored only by a couple of companies, but that in itself was hard. The car shows that I had to attend, the letters telling them what my next move was, the vinyl on the car promoting the companies and the money out of pocket was way too much. A lot of work and money for very little return. It takes time, dedication and a whole lot of money to make this work and people still think this stuff is free. Good luck with the project man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
04CHASE Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 kudos to ya dave, and i give you even more props becasue its not an ss. which in turn takes more work and effort to make stand above the rest. Dave was even kind enough to convince me to get some sponsers. I dont have a list like dave but i did have a load of money into my truck before trying this. then getting coverage helped big time in getting more to say yes we can do that. only one of the sponser i9 have gave me a product for free and it took about 6-7 calls and getting to know the owners on the phone where they would know it was me calling and asking how they were . another thing about my truck is i drive it somewhat alot so i didnt want to go all out show truck since it is driven on the road about 10-15k miles a year. i take it to shows here and there. its more of a track truck than a show truck so i took that into consideration . the kind of crappy part is i had already bought all the parts i wanted that the sponser i would have liked to get already got my money and i got there parts. i have to thank a few other for hooking me up on parts through their companies which pretty much gave me cost on some ( brakes ) and ebay . me and dave have something coming up pretty soon with our trucks as a couple. this is why dave calls his the prom queen , becasue mine is the dude in the relationship ok that sounded kind of gay , us so cal guys dont play that game . dave lets get an update on this shiz already . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brobradh77 Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 cool dave about getting your truck back..you've told me so much about it i cant wait to see the pics... My only complaint abput sponserships is I have had friends who get sponsered around here and and all of a sudden they expect you and everyone else to give them free stuff and work on their stuff for free and thats kind of annoying..but i guess it doesnt hurt to ask....another pet peeve is people getting free stuff and turning around and selling it...i'm not sure how they get away with it but i hate seeing that crap going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usabodyguard Posted August 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 kudos to ya dave, and i give you even more props becasue its not an ss. which in turn takes more work and effort to make stand above the rest. Dave was even kind enough to convince me to get some sponsers. I dont have a list like dave but i did have a load of money into my truck before trying this. then getting coverage helped big time in getting more to say yes we can do that. only one of the sponser i9 have gave me a product for free and it took about 6-7 calls and getting to know the owners on the phone where they would know it was me calling and asking how they were . another thing about my truck is i drive it somewhat alot so i didnt want to go all out show truck since it is driven on the road about 10-15k miles a year. i take it to shows here and there. its more of a track truck than a show truck so i took that into consideration . the kind of crappy part is i had already bought all the parts i wanted that the sponser i would have liked to get already got my money and i got there parts. i have to thank a few other for hooking me up on parts through their companies which pretty much gave me cost on some ( brakes ) and ebay . me and dave have something coming up pretty soon with our trucks as a couple. this is why dave calls his the prom queen , becasue mine is the dude in the relationship ok that sounded kind of gay , us so cal guys dont play that game . dave lets get an update on this shiz already . chase i was glad to help you out with that along with the magazine hook up... your truck deserves it... yea my truck is a prom queen... but like most prom queens, this bitch aint puttin' out... LOL... yea me and Chase are working on something pretty big.. the details are still in the works - but us socal guys need to stick togther... ( watch out for those Texas guys...) small update - I went and cracked open my LSX block and i realized it didnt come with anything! I was like WTF... i took it back to the stealership and raised some hell... a complete new block is on its way. apparently the block they sent me was a display model!!! bastards... anyways, a GM rep got involved and all hell broke loose... this all happened today. also - i pick up the truck from paint tonight and the complete susupension and drop and wheels goes in tomorrow - i am doing a suspension tech article with truckin and they will be out there all day to shoot the story - i will post pics over the weekend. brad - youre still a hater - lolz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kissfans03ss Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 Dave, thanks for the tips and good write up even though it wasnt meant that way hopefullt it will help others with their projects.Cant wait to see updated photos of your truck and i have to def. give props to some of you guys for dumping the amount of money into your trucks that you do if nobody did this would be a pretty boring site with a bunch of plain jane trucks:cheers: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2006_superado Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 Finally, to put it another way...I've spent more money on my truck than Dave has... at least up till now. However I have maybe half the stuff he has and if I could do it again after seeing the work he's put into sponsorship to get those parts...I still wouldn't do it his way, I don't have the ability or the drive necessary to do it, and I already have a job, spank you very much! to an extent, i know right now i dont have the time or stability to do what he did, but future permitting, i could definetley see myself doing all that stuff... on another note julian, where have been?. i dont see you around here much?.. and dave do you realy have to ask why people wont say shit to your face?... lol. i'm nowhere near as big as you and when poeple say shit behind my back and they back down or bitch out when confronted about it? i like to call it "THE CHIHUAHUA COMPLEX" you've had to notice how small dogs always bark and panic whenever anyone unfamiliar is around.. where as the majority of big dogs realy don't care.. it's because the small dogs have an inferiority complex and always feel threatened, the big dogs know they can defend themselfs so don't have the need to panic and act agressive to compansate. same thing goes for people imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slammedbowtie Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 nice write up. i can see how many seem to be haters. just from knowing you on here i can see some being a little jealous. you have a great job, the money to be able to spend on your ride, (from pics) a beautiful wife. i think we all have a little bit of jealously for people more fortunate than ourselves. now that does not make some a haters. just a little envious, that does not mean they hate you. i say "must be nice" alot. in a joking manor meaning i wish i was as fortunate. not meaning you had everything handed to you. we all know it takes a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and money to accomplish what many have to show for it. ok. now. . . cant wait to see pics like everyone else. and chase isnt southern california a hot spot for gays and lesbians? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usabodyguard Posted August 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 nice write up. i can see how many seem to be haters. just from knowing you on here i can see some being a little jealous. you have a great job, the money to be able to spend on your ride, (from pics) a beautiful wife. i think we all have a little bit of jealously for people more fortunate than ourselves. now that does not make some a haters. just a little envious, that does not mean they hate you. i say "must be nice" alot. in a joking manor meaning i wish i was as fortunate. not meaning you had everything handed to you. we all know it takes a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and money to accomplish what many have to show for it. ok. now. . . cant wait to see pics like everyone else. and chase isnt southern california a hot spot for gays and lesbians? well if the above doesnt make people hate me the following will for sure... my company is getting a TV documentary show (warner bros production), kinda like american choppers or dog the bounty hunter... filming starts in October, a full season - 12 one hour episodes initially, and yea, I will be the guy in charge and on camera... LOL... and yea, that is all I will mention for now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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