Are you guys still sponsoring amoungst yourselves?

[mimolover]

after looking back through the archives of this site, there seems to be an explosion of people asking for sponsorship in the past year. WTFudge is going on over there? Come to think of it, its actually the same people over and over again.

discuss...

[nypup2train]

*shrug* I think it's the economy, plain and simple. With things as depressed as they are, more people are looking to whatever alternative means of bringing in some cash they can find. (And, by the same token, I'm sure it's harder to actually find willing & available sources of income right now, which only increases the likelihood that people will be continually looking. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it follows the long-term unemployment statistics pretty closely.)

[DutchTrainee]

haha, i agree.
I pay for my supplements and roids myself, but h?...it is f*ckng expensive, so people try... on the other hand: yes i have tried to find a sponsor too, also because it is a very horny idea to have someone 'force' and motivate you to grow, it is like growing for the sponsor and i like that idea a lot...

so i pay it myself now, but a roidsdealer is always welcome )

[nzbodybuilder]

I had wondered about why there seems to be more people asking for sponsorship lately, and I guess with the finance problems a lot of countries are facing, it makes a bit more sense.

However, there are also a lot of people out there who are playing on the hopes and desires of guys who are desperate to see big muscle, and will give money in the hope they'll get a boyfriend. Sadly, there are a lot of fakes out there who see this as easy money. And it's not just bodybuilding sponsorship that's being used like this. I have heard in the news of women being conned by men on dating sites into giving money, then the women end up becoming broke.

If you're looking for sponsorship, may I suggest you actually seriously think about what you're asking, and be prepared for the real possibility that you'll have to move in with your sponsor.

And guys looking to sponsor, please be very careful what you do with your hard earned money. I'd hate for people on this site to be used as a cash cow for someone who has no intention of doing bodybuilding (unless of course you're into being used).

Play it safe guys.

[bigglutes]

I am still looking to totally sponsor a guy who wants to totally devote himself to bodybuilding and huge muslce growth. Who has the balls to live the reality and become my muscle bull? Get back to me.

[Ragetiger]

Originally Posted by bigglutes

I am still looking to totally sponsor a guy who wants to totally devote himself to bodybuilding and huge muslce growth. Who has the balls to live the reality and become my muscle bull? Get back to me.

Still looking I see, well I am still interested.

[mimolover]

Originally Posted by nzbodybuilder

However, there are also a lot of people out there who are playing on the hopes and desires of guys who are desperate to see big muscle, and will give money in the hope they'll get a boyfriend. Sadly, there are a lot of fakes out there who see this as easy money. And it's not just bodybuilding sponsorship that's being used like this. I have heard in the news of women being conned by men on dating sites into giving money, then the women end up becoming broke.

Usually its the other way round or both parties get played for fools by the speed date organisers. Typically its the man who somehow gets in contact with a woman, finds some common interests, successfull dates, then she suggest they take the realtionship to the next step. To no ones suprise, she suddenly needs more money to organise a new life, he helps her out, then she never replies to any email, phonecall, letter, or whatever ever again.

[mimolover]

Hey I just noticed that Jocox hasnt dropped in yet, but how come whenever someone like bigglutes claims to offer sponsorship, someone else posts a request, and vice versa in an endles cycle until the thread gets old and burried? Heres a thought; how about someone post what they want in a meet up, someone who cares replies, sets a time and place in PM, then after a while, both parties tell us all what happened on the time so we can all burn with jelously about your success?

Am I the only one here who thinks your records on the "statistics" section of your user profiles makes you look just a little hot and bothered more than usuall?

I simply must ask !! Why have you guys been unable to...you know....make it happen?

[nzbodybuilder]

The problem mimolover, quite often guys looking for sponsorship just think it's going to be a quick buck so they can buy more supplements. A lot of people don't realise that bodybuilding is a lifestyle that can't be achieved in just a few short weeks or months.
Bodybuilding sponsorship is not like sponsoring a sports team that need uniforms or equipments or help with travel expenses. It is a long term commitment, for both the bodybuilder and the sponsor.

One of the problems with people looking for sponsorship is they come across quite self centred, when ads quite often read as "I need you to help me achieve my goal", then wonder why no one is offering them money. The posts that really crack me up are when after a day they have not received a reply, and say "So is anyone interested or not?". Seriously! So you want to get huge and muscled, and you expected someone to do all the hard work for you?

A lot of sponsorships never pan out, as quite often the bodybuilder is comfortable where he/she is, and does not want to move. In some cases, they even have a partner, or a family, and so are maybe trying to live out their muscle fantasy online, getting quick thrills when someone says "I'm interested to make you grow", but having no real desire to meet up. It's easy to just send pics or have chats. You can always log off the net and get back to real life.

The other problem is unreal expectiations, for both the sponsor and bodybuilder. More often than not, the sponsor is actually looking for more than just a worship type relationship. The sponsor is probably in a different city or even country, and would require their investment be closer to them, possibly even move in with them.

Guys looking for sponsors quite often assume that as soon as they have a sponsor, they'll get big. I've read ads where guys say they don't work out, but want to get big, are very keen to grow for someone, and for someone to show them how and to support them. They don't think to put themselves in the sponsors shoes. Would you support a 220lb guy who has trained for years, but needs that extra push to get bigger? Or a 150 lb guy who's only ever done some cardio and is just waiting for someone to make him grow?

While I'm not an expert in sponsorships, I have seen quite a lot in the years (started looking in 2003) that I was looking for help. I was the skinny guy, then I got my shit together, got a bit bigger, but was still looking. I was keen to have guys sponsor me, but scared shitless to meet up in real life. I did not want to move from where I was located, but the thought of moving to be taken in and trained into a muscle hulk helped with a lot of late night fantasies.
In the years I was looking, I also had a lot of disappointments. Plenty of guys were "serious" or "keen" to help me grow. They'd ask for pics, then cam time, then more pics. I probably emailed my pics and stats and what I'd call a "muscle growth CV" to dozens of "sponsors", and I chatted to dozens more.

Out of all the searching, I had only two honest and down to Earth guys that I felt comfortable enough to meet up with. And of those two guys, I am happy to say I have been successful in finding my partner who is helping me with my goal to become a muscle freak. The other I keep in regular contact with and see (for coffee!!!) on occasion.
I did have to move from my home town, and country, and I couldn't be any happier. It wasn't over night though - three years before I first met my partner, and another three before I moved to be with him.

So basically, it's not easy! That's probably why they haven't been able to "make it happen". But when it does happen, since they bodybuilder and sponsor have found their match, they are no longer looking, so no longer posting! I have been thinking for a while whether to share out in the open my success story, so hopefully this will show anyone looking or wondering, that it does happen.

[CelticMuscle]

Originally Posted by nypup2train

*shrug* I think it's the economy, plain and simple. With things as depressed as they are, more people are looking to whatever alternative means of bringing in some cash they can find. (And, by the same token, I'm sure it's harder to actually find willing & available sources of income right now, which only increases the likelihood that people will be continually looking. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it follows the long-term unemployment statistics pretty closely.)

You've hit the nail on the head there. It's actually made me wonder where there should be a publication of various sporting inflation rates. If I was guessing I would say that bodybuilding inflation must be running at no less than 15%, with football inflation at 8% - 10%

[nypup2train]

Originally Posted by CelticMuscle

You've hit the nail on the head there. It's actually made me wonder where there should be a publication of various sporting inflation rates. If I was guessing I would say that bodybuilding inflation must be running at no less than 15%, with football inflation at 8% - 10%

Really amazing thing is, it could genuinely provide some weird new insights into things, looking at the data from crazy angles like that.

Ever since Google discovered they could predict & pinpoint cold/flu outbreaks better than the NHS & CDC using their search query trending, the whole concept's been gaining traction. (Spikes in certain indicators ? searches on symptoms, remedies, healthcare providers, etc. ? coming from a given local area precede a localized outbreak, apparently, and nearly as reliably as morning precedes afternoon!) http://www.google.org/flutrends/

But that one's immediately and patently obvious, so it's practically cheating. The fun will be when people start using... I dunno... search query trending to predict the stock market, or attendance stats from rock concerts & pro sporting events to accurately pre-score standardized testing, or something. (I made those both up, but neither is completely outside the realm of believability, as we collect progressively wider & deeper data streams and sift through them faster & more comprehensively.)

Computer Scientist turned hard sci-fi author Vernor Vinge delves into some of this stuff (and much more), in his novel Rainbows Edge. Which fails somewhat as a narrative (IMHO), but almost certainly will prove scarily prescient when it comes to near-future technology developments and their impact/influence on our lifestyles and society.

Just don't be surprised if "completely-insane totally-unrelated information correllation" (...I'm sure they'll come up with a nicer name for it ) becomes a real and respected joint branch of information science and social-policy theory, in 20 years. Assuming we still have any Universities left at which this new discipline could be taught/studied, of course.

[redwolf64]

Back in the Great Depression, they called it "golddigging". Warner Brothers turned the phenomena into a series of musical comedies with young women trying to find a rich man in the big city.

Besides the increase in bodybuilders seeking sponsors, you can see it on other gay-related sites, at least from what I've seen informally. More guys that mention being "open to relocation" or outright mentioning they're looking for a job.

One gay sm-fetish site I frequent has seen a big increase in the past few months of early 20s guys with nice bods that look like they wouldn't know which end of a sling is up looking for a "slave" and they're basically thinly veiled appeals for cash.

This study of odd factors that reflect economic trends has been going on for years. One of the more well-known studies in this field looked at how, in straight porn, men start buying porn that features more realistic (rather than idealistic) female forms, for example.

As for the original question, there's one bodybuilder I've thrown some support towards the past couple of years on occasion because I respect him as a person and admire what he's doing. Beyond that I haven't, mainly because I'm watching my money because of the economic situation and the possibility that someday a more permanent arrangement with a muscle grower might come along.

[nypup2train]

Originally Posted by redwolf64

This study of odd factors that reflect economic trends has been going on for years. One of the more well-known studies in this field looked at how, in straight porn, men start buying porn that features more realistic (rather than idealistic) female forms, for example.

Oh, there's no question that the groundwork for a lot of these odd predictors / indicators was laid decades ago. (Tho I hadn't heard about that particular stat you mentioned; that's interesting! It'd be fascinating to find out what any corresponding gay male trend(s) look like.)

But in the past, these observations were always being made well after the fact. They were largely academic notions, used when studying recent and proper history alike with an eye towards understanding why ? and how ? events unfolded in precisely the way they did.

Now, in this period of human history following the dawn of the Information Age, for the first time we have the resources & ability to apply and act on this knowledge in real time. And increasingly, even without having known in advance what information we'd need, nor having to do any sort of advance planning in order to collect it. It's just steadily flowing in, accumulating, and just waiting to be mined and massaged for any number of different answers. Those who can do that most effectively & creatively will achieve some truly staggering things.

[er.ric]

I think a coach-trainee relation is pretty strong and together both can make impossible things happen. Nobody won an olympic gold medal just by himself, for example. The coach wins it just as much as the actual athlete.