![]() ![]() Social media, along with cheaper and more available cameras, means that anyone can create content and share it with the world. In 2021 however, there are so many other ways to get your bikes in front of potential customers. Another way to do it was through photos, films or videos where, again, the fastest riders profited as they usually looked the best. Previously, racing and competing was one of the best ways to do this as it got blanket coverage in all the magazines, produced content for advertising and was a way to show the speed of your bikes against the competition. I don't need to tell you that bike companies don't sponsor anyone just because they're fast, it's because they help to sell bikes. The Reality is More Complex than the Meme Suggests Money might be moving around these days, but it's hardly that brands aren't spending a lot on talented riders. Add on top of that all the freeriders, brand ambassadors and legacy riders who also get a slice of the pie and there are plenty of people out there getting paid to ride without a YouTube channel. The flights, hotels, bikes, mechanics, team trucks and everything else that goes into a sports marketing program is a sizeable investment for a bike brand. Sure, only the cream of the crop riders earn a large wage but bike companies support lots of "B" riders as well as the teams they ride for too. To put it simply, racing and competition ain't cheap. Secondly, there's no small amount of money going to sponsored riders, both men and women, who aren't on Youtube. and also a YouTuberīrands Spend a Lot on Sponsored Riders Beyond Just Their Salaries There's definitely a drop-off when it comes to the riding ability of YouTubers and the majority of mountain bike videos, even from some of the bigger creators, on the site are nowhere near the levels of the riders listed above but to say it's all Joeys on there is definitely hyperbolic. Of course, this meme probably isn't targeting the YouTubers I've mentioned above but the like-and-subscribe-ring-the-bell-all-caps-wheelie-tutorial-glowing-thumbnail-I-just-hit-my-first-double-and-you-won't-believe-what-happened brigade. The boundaries are more blurred than ever between the two categories as even current racers and freeriders such as Bernard Kerr, Rachel Atherton, Danny Hart, and Finn Iles have begun to put more effort into their YouTube channels too. Outside the trials world, former pros have also turned to Youtube to continue their careers such as 2013 FMB overall winner Sam Pilgrim, 2015 Rampage Best Trick Winner Sam Reynolds and slopestyle legend Cam McCaul. Some of the most talented riders on the planet have got their start on YouTube and continue to use it as their main outlet such as Danny MacAskill, Fabio Wibmer and Tomomi Nishikubo. But, is this new generation of content creators hoarding all the sponsorship money at the expense of fast riders? Well, it's time to wade into the mire of shit slinging too.įor a start, this is a bit of a false comparison. Those channels can rack up millions of views a month. It's understandable when some experienced riders roll their eyes at those ‘Epic Backcountry Rides’ or videos about how ‘sick’ the bike park is, or being told how to bunny hop for the 40th time, but clearly there’s an audience that cares. I’ll be the first to admit that a lot of what happens on YouTube is pretty lame. I've seen it shared by both sizeable YouTubers and, more frequently, by talented riders with a chip on their shoulders. The implication is that the bike industry is ignoring the best riders out there and instead spending all its money sponsoring riders who simply have a large following on the video-sharing site and no riding ability. One meme that has been doing the rounds and simply refuses to die is the above image pitting 'YouTubers' and 'Dudes who actually shred' against each other. Throughout Silly Season I've been spending a lot of time on social media trying to spot new sponsors for riders and maybe some new bikes too.
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