There is nothing as fulfilling as earning a living out of what you love. Nowadays, many people make a lot of money through sports: from football to basketball and even BMXing. You might have been into BMXing for a long time, but you don’t know how to become a pro rider.
To be honest, there is no special way of becoming a pro rider. It all comes down to practice, sacrifice, and determination. You should be aware that nothing worthwhile comes easy and that every pro BMX rider got to that level because of the sacrifices they made in the past. However, following our guidelines can improve your chances of achieving this goal.
Who Is a Pro BMX Rider?
A pro BMX rider is someone who makes money out of riding BMX bikes. It might be through competition or sponsorship, but they attract the right audience who will then pay them to endorse their products.
How to Become a Pro BMX Rider
So, many bikers have given up on their dreams of becoming pro BMX riders because they have followed tutors who offer quick and easy steps to achieving this goal. There is no fast lane to success; even though there are many ways to become a pro rider, you still have to follow certain steps to get there.
However, the most important factor is commitment and how often you practice. Regular practice will ensure that you develop the skills you learn and lower your risk of suffering injuries. Having said this, let us go into more detail about the steps you need to take to become a pro BMX rider.
Ride Often
As a beginner, you will feel uncomfortable riding a BMX bike because of the structures and features of the bike. However, at this stage, you must have total control over your bike because that will determine whether you can comfortably land some tricks. So, you need to first establish this control by practicing often.
Improve Your Skill
One of the distinguishing qualities of a pro rider is their ability to perform unique tricks. This is because most people get famous by pulling off tricks that regular riders cannot do. However, this means you will have to practice to increase your chances of executing these tricks publicly. You can practice for several hours every day until you master each trick.
Always Warm Up to Engage Your Muscles
There is a reason why every professional BMX rider exercises their body before getting into action. This is because stretching and exercising their muscles helps them avoid injuries and improves their biking productivity. So, this is vital to becoming a pro rider. You can achieve this by doing the following:
- Stretch your neck at least four times by rolling them in various directions.
- You can squat for a while to loosen up your knee muscles and avoid injury.
- Stretch your lower back by bending your body in such a way that you can touch your toes. You can do this for three minutes to prevent lower back pain.
- Sit on the ground with your right leg stretched and your left leg bent towards your knee. Then try to stretch your hands towards the toes of your right leg to relieve your hamstring.
Dress Like a Pro
This is one of the basic requirements for becoming a pro BMX rider. Due to the nature of BMXing, there is always a need to impress the audience by performing crazy stunts. This will not only increase your risks of getting injuries but can also end your career. So, it is better to protect yourself by wearing protective gear like helmets, gloves, elbow, shin, and knee guards.
Engage in Local Competitions
To become popular worldwide, you need to dominate in your local area. By participating in local competitions and winning the tournament or impressing the crowd, you will attract those businesses that would like to use a BMX rider to promote their product.
However, most people find it difficult to perform under pressure, especially in front of thousands of fans, potential business associates, and BMX brand representatives looking for new talents. So, remember that it is not the same as engaging in regular street or freestyle riding.
Build Up Followers
Technological advancements have turned the world into a better place. There is no successful business today that does not operate online. So, you also need to build online followers. This makes it easier for you to reach out to more people and sponsors from various parts of the world. You can start by showcasing your talent on Facebook, Tiktok, Instagram, and Snapchat.
Connect More With Pro BMX Riders
Another way to showcase yourself is to communicate and build a strong relationship with pro riders. This will improve your riding technique and expose you to potential clients. However, this might be a challenging task because you don’t get to see them frequently like regular riders. So, if that is the case, you can also turn to experienced riders and learn from them.
Do not Limit Yourself to One Riding Location
Have you ever noticed that some riders perform better in a particular environment? This is because they were only practicing in that environment, so when they find themselves in other locations, they often lose confidence and perform poorly. To avoid this, you should always practice in different areas. This will build up your confidence and work experience.
Take Advice From More Experienced Riders
Many people do not pay attention to experienced riders because they believe some haven’t accomplished much in the sport. However, this is bad because by listening to their advice, you will learn faster and avoid the errors they made in the past.
Record Your Riding Session
Another great way of improving is to record your riding session. You can accomplish this by using a camera or your cell phone. This will increase your chances of becoming a professional rider since you can identify and learn from your mistakes.
Get the Right Nutrition
This is one of the basic needs of any sportsman. You need to keep an eye on your diet because it affects your speed and ability to perform tricks. You wouldn’t expect an overweight rider to win a racing competition. So, try to eat foods rich in vitamins and other essential foods.
Get Sponsorship
Aside from BMXing, many celebrities make thousands of dollars through sponsorship. They do not only earn through these brands but also get an unlimited supply of their products for the duration of sponsorship. However, this can be difficult because there aren’t many sponsors, and they mostly go for famous riders.
So, we advise you to start by going to the smaller companies and give them a reason to hire you. That way, more people will get to know you, and soon you will get the attention of those top brands.
What Are the Demands of Getting Sponsored in BMX Riding?
Many people engage in BMX activities with the hope of getting sponsored; however, only a few riders get hired in the end. These brands are only interested in working with prospective and talented riders. So, you need to stand out amongst your colleagues.
However, while trying to get these brands’ attention, you should also be prepared to handle the pressures associated with them. This is due to their high expectations in everything you do and also provide them with good investment returns.
After all, their primary aim of working with you is to increase their revenue and customer base. Remember that this shouldn’t be your ultimate goal because many talented riders do not have sponsors but still enjoy BMXing. So, you should only consider joining this sport because it fits into your lifestyle and makes you happy.
However, this shouldn’t discourage you from aiming high because you can be amongst the few riders that get sponsorship deals in the sport. Just be willing to put in more effort, improve your skills, be sociable and then be open to any deal that comes your way.
Who Are the Best Sponsors?
The brands below are some of the ones to look out for.
- Energy drink brands like Redbull
- Shoe brands like Nike and Adidas
- Bike brands like Cult and Oddisey
- Brands that offer protective gear like Fuse
Keep in mind that these are not the only top brands out there. There are much better brands in the market, so you are not limited to these few.
How Much Does a Pro Rider Make?
The earnings of BMX riders vary from person to person. This is because there are numerous ways to make money in BMXing. Some pro riders earn more than others, just like Cristiano Ronaldo, Mbappe, and Lionel Messi earn more than most footballers. However, the minimum earnings of these pro riders are between $50,000 and $60,000. They make money through sponsorship deals and the prize money of racing competitions.
Final Thought
Although BMX riding is a popular and fun sport, it is not easy to reach the top. So, you must sacrifice and practice much to become a pro BMX rider.
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