I am sure it is a combination of things but I would say slaying dama and being super active in the community are a good foundation. Gotta post on instagram and get good standings at competitions. Also having a unique style helps a lot too I imagine.
Try looking into other people's story on how they became pro. Sweets did a great video on Cooper Eddy that showed his accomplishments and his hand in making Kendama big at his local community. You. Can start there. There's loads more. Other than that, there are loads of slayers out there. Some are ridiculously young. But good luck man. Make your people skills top notch, self-leadership has always been one of the key elements to rising up. Slay on friend
Play Good, benefit the Sport itself, bring exposure to the company you want to represent and important: DO NOT ASK FOR IT The MOST important thing is tho: DON'T PLAY JUST TO GET SPONSORED
The main thing to getting sponsored from what I've seen is just getting to know a bunch of players in the community, post tricks daily on Instagram, and being an overall good person that can be trusted and looked up to. Playing for and asking for a sponsorship when you're first starting out is a definite nono.
Takes more than just posting tricks every day or telling people to buy from this brand or that brand, companies look for players who embody kendama the way they think brings a positive appearance to the game. Skill level and consistency, influence and interactions in the community, a positive reputation (in and out of the community), and (depending on the brand) the representation you bring to a brand before you (hopefully) find sponsorship with them. On top of that, you have to keep it up. It seems like a lot of players (especially the younger players) think that when you get sponsored you don't have to do much of anything else but sponsored players are the face of their brand, whether they're pros, flow team, prospects, etc. They push new product on social media (whether it's using them in their clips, advertising their releases, or going as far as Alex Hirota and putting out new YouTube mini edits for each new line/series of product). You have to act and behave in a way that doesn't shed a negative light on both that company and the kendama community as a whole. And you kind of have to keep up with many of the latest trends and tricks to stay relevant (old gen vs new gen tricks) or stay ahead of them by pushing the limits of kendama (Bonz, the Gallaghers, Kevin De Soto, etc). And (to me) most importantly they're at every dama event that they can appear at, big or small. People go to events to see their dama homies and get the chance to see their favorite players in action with their own 2 eyes. Not all players will be able to be at every event, but making an effort to meet the community in person is a very important aspect of being a 'sponsored' player.
How to get sponsored? Don't spam posts on Downspike. Not cool, yo. (no, i'm not referring to OP, but you know who you are..)
lmaooo great post, good sir, great post I've been thinking about this lately and I also think another factor is what you have to offer the company. For example, there are some players who are on a team because they shred and bang out clips all the time. There are also some players who just have a presence on social media and maybe don't film as much. What sets you apart from the rest of the players who want to be on the team that you also want to be on? This factors into all of the other responses but its just another thought that I think isn't thought about very much
Well old school wise,(atleast around 2014-15 ish): Sponsorship Video... other things follow. Today, it's true that presence in social media & level of play is key but sometimes rooting/campaign to a brand is a bit of a nische... Few good examples are Rumina who rocks sweets kendamas before being part of DWI, Misumi from Terra mostly play either krom or kenco way back then(she's not really brand bias-ish)...
How to get sponsored? I guess most simply: be someone worth sponsoring. Yea, thats kinda a weak and nondescript answer, but its true. Don't think of a sponsorship as a 'reward for doing well'. Think of it as 'this company wants me to be their representative to the world'. So consider: what does a good rep for your favourite company look like? Each brand may look for something different. Also, you should be reeeally good at kendama. Thats just standard. But these days, it takes more than just that
I kinda look at sponsorships in the same way i look at jobs. Everyone has a kendama, so how are you different from the 20-odd-thousand kendama players around the world? Companies always look for value in a candidate, and those who are capable of bringing their company’s value up, is obviously someone they’ll consider more than others. Often times, it’s not just about the skills on paper; your personality, your contribution to the game, and how you plan to work with the company to contribute more back to the game, these are some of the things people look at.