Namaskaram everybody! this is Vaibhav from Piso Skateboards. This one is a different kind of article where I will be putting forth few ways on how a skater can find opportunities to earn some extra income and may be someday live completely off through skateboarding. So if you are reading this article, you'll be pretty much in a situation where things are getting a little serious in your life. Responsibilities are slowly kicking in :). I'll try my best to make this article as simple as possible for all of you'll to understand. This article is written more specifically for Indian skaters, other country skaters might also find this relevant and helpful :).
As we all know it's every skaters dream to keep skateboarding constant in their life no matter what. And we all know it's not easy to do this, but there are a few ways which i feel may help you or give you an upper edge to make a living out of it. In this article I have written down all my insights, all my calls which worked for me and which did not work, skill sets which paid off, lessons, downfalls etc. This is totally my(Founder) personal perspective, just an attempt from my end to put some light on this topic for my homies out there :)
This article is going to be a long one folks, grab a pen and a paper to make notes if you find something important & relevant. It is going to be divided into 4 parts which are as follows: So let's begin!
Part 1 - Things to do and not to do
Part 2 - Occupations/opportunities
Part 3 - Skill sets to work upon.
Part 4 - Piso Life Revamp Program by Piso World
Before we proceed we all know that the future is going to be digital. So general rule of thumb is whichever skills are needed to express yourself digitally is going to be relevant for upcoming years. Get updated with new tech and media. Be ready to pounce on new opportunities which are being created on a daily basis. Keep your eyes wide open and look around.
Part 1 - Things to do/not to do.
Do not Rely on Sponsorship/contests:
No matter which brand you skate for, If you are a sponsored skater, do NOT rely solely on sponsorship and contests. Brands are still struggling to survive and economy of skateboarding is not that high in India as of yet. Don't think it can make you a living for a long time, there is still a long way to go for India to reach there.
If you are a sponsored skater in India, that's really great!. Use this opportunity to grow in other sections of your professional life (apart from skateboarding) as you are young. Invest your time in being independent in whatever ways possible. Whatever other skill sets you have, work on polishing it. Learn new skills, explore new areas and don't be hesitant to experiment. In part 3 I have listed a few skillsets which I have found helpful in my journey to make a living through skateboarding in India. Not a sure shot method, but it'll help you definitely one day in some way to tackle things out.
Savings, INVEST IN A GOOD LAPTOP!:
As we know the fact that the future is going to be all digital, its going to be very crucial to own a good laptop. Start saving up for this when you are young and get one when you are able to. This is a must for today's world. If you are on a tight budget you can find 2nd hand deals may be on olx or you can assemble a PC at your home which will cost you less and give room to customize or upgrade in future. Put money in those items which can help you get better in terms of skills and experience. Try not to buy gears which are unable to give you any returns. Be wise and buy smartly.
Part 2 : Ways you can earn money through skateboarding.
Classes:
One of the best and fun ways to earn money through skateboarding is by taking classes in your locality. It's one of the easiest and best ways to earn extra income I would say. I (founder) started by taking classes back in 2013. It was the best time and the most loved way I could earn something through skateboarding.
Talking with kids, playing with them. Getting to know the perspective from the new generation is mind refreshing. You tend to learn more things from them than you teaching them skateboarding.
Tips for starting skateboarding classes :
- Keep the environment safe and healthy for kids to learn and grow.
- Be regular and on time for your classes.
- Make an Instagram page to create awareness about the classes in your locality.
- Make use of community, media, posters, WhatsApp etc. to do marketing of your classes.
- Always take an undertaking from the parents if your student is under 18/minor. Email us if you want to know the format for the undertaking, we have one ready with us - pisoskateboards@gmail.com.
There is a very insightful article by Sktr Sameer Ansari from Formiga Roller Sports academy explaining how to start coaching classes professionally yet retaining the fun element of it, do read it here - How to Start Skateboarding Classes in India?
Filming :
If you are into filming skaters and are really interested in it, then you can consider this as a wonderful option. So many events, marriages, parties etc keep happening around, shoot a few gigs here and there. Initially it may not pay you much but make your name in your network. Soon it will start paying you. I do agree shooting an event is a bone breaking task, but at times you need to do whatever it takes. We all have done it in our past :). You can also sell your old photos/videos on stock images website like Adobe Stock, Getty images, Square space, Canva etc.
Tips :
- Invest in right gears, buy only what you need, and other items go for rentals. Do not try to own everything. Owning everything will lead you towards something like a production house. We can cover this topic sometime later as it takes a lot of budget.
- Do less gigs but make sure every gig output you provide is of top quality. Do not take too many events which you cannot match upto.
Digital media influencer:
Well everyone knows about this, I need not talk much about this. There are various kinds of influencers out there. You can decide your platform/style/content that suits you based on your expertise and interest.
YouTube channel:
If you are really getting serious about your content then Youtube is by far the best channel out there. Growth is not as rapid as instagram, but if you make it to the top on youtube, it will serve you for a very long time in comparison with any other social media channel. Youtube is hardcore work and consistency in your content is the key to make it to the top.
Stock markets:
Disclaimer - Enter this section only if your survival is taken care of or if you have no serious responsibilities on you.
You can experiment with stock markets, understand how the whole system works. There are various youtube channels out there which share info and tutorials on stock markets. If your expertise is in Analytics, Maths, Econonomy etc then this can really get you fortune. Ofcourse it comes at a risk, so take it wisely. I will not recommend this at an early stage, only if you are earning and have some extra cash in your hand you can think of entering this source where you do not mind loosing a little cash here and there. To start with you can start with Mutual funds SIP's.
Book, Pen and Internet access:
Thanks to Jio & other network providers! I believe if you are reading this article and stay in a remote area then you already do have an active internet connection. Now all you need is one book & one pen. When I started Piso, I started with just this and I am not kidding! This is all I had, and this is all you need. Full world and information is there on your phone, make use of it!
I am pretty sure there will be many more ways and opportunities out there. Only because no one has done it does not mean it cannot be done. All you need is a little bit of creativity and consistency. Go out and explore as you are young. Don't rely solely on skateboarding. Use skateboarding as a tool to craft your life. Learn different digital and offline skills at an early stage.
Part 3 : Skill sets to invest/work upon.
Let me list a few skill sets which you can work upon. I have provided links of few Youtube courses too along for few of the skills, they are as follows:
Part 4 - Piso Life Revamp Program by Piso World
Since a decade I have seen lot of skaters invest their full energy into skateboarding and couldn't survive either due to lack of skill, exploitation through various means or living in a false hope shown to them through various means.
I can't see more skaters going down this line, it's just heart breaking for me to see this. All the skaters out there, we are all hardcore people. Skateboarding is all about commitment, and so is life all about. Always giving 100% is what counts. We already have one of the gifted qualities of giving 100% no matter what. Now all our skaters need is a little bit of guidance & support so that they can craft their life out through skateboarding.
As you all know under Piso World, we are working on various projects where the main vision is to get fun and joy of learning back into kids, teenagers and adults. One of the programs is the Piso Life Revamp Program. It's a program specifically designed for skaters/artists/freelancers out there. The core of the program is to develop and make an individual capable enough in terms of skill sets which are relevant in today's world. We are working on this project at a very high pace to make it available to all both offline and online. We have already started the pilot testing on a few skaters in India to see how it's working and taking feedback from them.
When will we be able to provide this program?
Exact timeline is tough to tell but its progressing at a good pace. It's taking time as the intention is to make the program pocket friendly, efficient and impactful. We are already on it with full throttle :). For more updates on our programs do follow Piso World. Once this program is out, you can participate in this program and give yourself a turbo booster :)
Now, The Most Important Part of this Article:
Above all it's very important to not let this get into your head too much. It's more important to have fun out there no matter what. Always remember survival is one part of your life, not the only thing in your life. Have fun with your homies out there and always keep pushing. Make this life journey beautiful and healthy for everyone around us. Let's make this world a better place not just for skaters but for everyone around. We want to see more and more skaters making a life through skateboarding :). Let's make this happen homies.
Keep Pushing, Keep Skating.
Vaibhav Rasam
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Namaskaram everybody! This is Vaibhav from Piso Skateboards. So the topic for today's episode is- 'Skateboarding, a journey to the beyond'. Most of the people get in this sports thinking it's cool, or because of the hype built around it. Some get fam, some don't, some get sponsored, some do not, some make their life out of it, others dream about it and the list goes on. Why is it that, when this sport gets into mind you are willing to do whatever it takes to stay with it. Have personally heard loads of stories from people across the globe on how they just cant live without skateboarding being part of their life :)
