Last month I wrote an article in which I discussed different levels of athlete sponsorship and the tendency of some sports supplement and fitness related companies to use athletes as unpaid salespeople under the guise of being sponsored. This month I am flipping to the other side and discussing athlete value, i.e., what the athlete SHOULD be bringing to the table in terms of marketability, knowledge, and salesmanship when approached for a sponsorship.
Most sports supplement companies and other fitness related companies aggressively promote their products through athletes who can sing the praises of their benefits. Who could be better at describing the efficacy of a product and how it enhances training or recovery than an athlete who not only already uses those types of products, but someone who has a following and who can convince new customers to purchase from the company which they represent?
As an IFBB Pro and coach, I ask future competitors, "Why do you want to compete?" I get numerous different answers but the most common answer is, "I want to be a Pro and get all those sponsors!" This response makes me laugh a bit. Although they are great goals and keep athletes driving to accomplish them, it's always disheartening to let the cat out of the bag and inform them it's not that cut and dry or realistic to believe if you compete you’ll automatically turn Pro and get sponsored.
If 
you are serious about competing and want to build a career in the fitness industry then you have probably been exploring the various social media platforms and trying to build your name and brand. Of course, you want to push for the most followers you can get, as well as build a fan base which boosts your credibility in the eyes of supplement companies. As your numbers grow, your name will become more well-known and you can claim – without bluffing – that you have inspired thousands of people.
However, with more followers come more problems, most commonly the jerks and the haters...
You
must be living under a rock somewhere if you have yet to jump on the social media bandwagon. Thankfully, the majority of you are already relatively active within the world of social media. Perhaps you have slacked off on certain platforms due to a lack of time or boredom, but bear in mind that electronic media avenues provide an easy means by which you can reach a huge target audience, especially if a post goes viral...
I 
love to train. Intense, hardcore, high rep, heavy weight sets, conducted over short training sessions. This is what gets me fired up. It is my passion and my desire to better myself each day.
The reason I am telling you this, is that every day when I walk into the gym, I have one goal in mind. To work harder, to grow and to achieve more than I did the previous session. Knowing I have given it my all, pushed through my mental limits and have added more value to my business today, I continue on to improve my physique and have bettered the overall top line for my business.
Fitness 
was always something I loved and really excelled at. I grew up a three sport athlete, so being physical was what I lived to do. Being a professional baseball player was my only option as a young man. After having a couple major arm surgeries my dream was gone, needless to say I was crushed! Fast forward years later and the love to compete physically was still imbedded in me, so I searched….then I found the fitness industry.
There
are many great agents and managers in the entertainment and modeling business. I have the great pleasure of working with great agencies and an awesome manager. Unfortunately, there are many FAKERS that aren't even in the industry that are looking to take advantage of people new to the business. Recently, I was approached by a FAKER. I have been in the business long enough to sniff out BS. As soon as I got my first sniff of dung from this guy I knew what I had to do. As the Editor-in-Chief of MensPhysique.com I owe it to our readers, my fellow competitors and hopeful fitness models to expose guys like this. With this tought in mind, I decided to egg him on and see what all he had to say. Consequenly, I was able to get him to expose his ignorance while at the same time collecting information to share with you. This will teach you the right questions to ask to find out if someone is legit. Following is the actual conversation
Jonathan GQ
hey studd
Sign with anyone modeling agency wise or interested? Add me on Facebook and follow me On Instagram for details about Fitness modeling here in NYC
Ian Lauer Ifbb Pro Already represented. Thanks though!
Subscribe to RxMuscle on Youtube
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|||
