Mainstream, corporate and multinational are no longer the dirty words they once were in surf, skate and snow. Anyone who has been in the industry for over a decade has watched the changes occurring and most would agree that the sports are benefiting from it – whether it’s Rob Dyrdek getting money from Carls Jr. to build skate spots, or Corona sponsoring a local video premiere – more and more outside labels are interested in connecting with our lifestyle and that can bring big dollars for events, facilities and athletes. As an athlete in our sports (more so than in Tennis, Football, etc.), you have precious few years to make a name and make some money before your body burns out and you can’t keep pace with the next generation. An essential part of that support for riders is fast becoming a competent management company that can extract real value from your skills. I decided to have a chat with Trevor Ward from Evolution Management about the role being played by management companies, when and how to get a manager involved in your career and what they can do for you. Click below the cut to read more.
Thanks for your time Trevor. First up, can you give me a run down of your job?
My title with Evolution is Athlete and Marketing Manager. I effectively source sponsors, network athletes to potential sponsors, network companies to companies and deal with every day issues for athletes; from making sure they get to a doctor, to catching planes and making sure that sponsors are getting what they pay for. It is one thing to make sure a company is not ripping off an athlete but it is another to make sure that the athlete is being accountable.
I am usually up at about 6:30am and on the computer straight away dealing with the USA. Then it is onto the Australian market, seeing what our athletes need, speaking with companies who are interested in entering into the action sports market and how they can do it legitimately without hurting their brand and our sports.
Where has Evolution come from?
I have been a pro skateboarder for ten years and in this time I have been managed by large corporate firms. They are great if you are one of those fortunate freaks like Bucky Lasek, Tony Hawk, Kelly Slater or Taj Burrows. But I felt they didn’t connect and understand the sports for what they really are. Bringing sponsors on board that make you money is always great but the reality is, as an athlete, you should have some control over your own image. This is one thing I feel that these companies don’t understand.
Three years ago I bumped into Stuart Darcy at a demo I was doing on the Gold Coast and he and I started talking and we found that we were both passionate people that had a lot of the same philosophies. Our relationship quickly developed into a business that was supported by Darcy’s accountant, Geoff Missen from MBA partnership. He has something like 60 staff that work in every aspect of what an aspiring management and marketing company would need. We are a one stop shop that has access to the best solicitors, accountants, Financial Advisers and insurers. It is a pretty amazing mix of people that complement each other and hence was the birth of the “Evolution” brand in action sports.
What services can Evolution provide? Are they expensive?
We have broken the company up into four sections. Athlete Management, Marketing, Events and Financial help.
– Athlete Management: Here we take care of athletes contracts, source new sponsors and make sure they are fulfilling the duties expected of them. We also take care of daily preparations such as paying bills and working on building assets.
– Marketing: This is where we deal with companies who want to get into action sports but don’t know how to go about it. Or companies that are in the industry but just want a bit of direction or an evaluation on team or strategies.
– Events: This is more working in with companies who have events. We also have assets like skateboard ramps, etc. to rent out as well. We can put together choreographed shows for demonstrations or rent a ramp for a competition. We also help companies identify what events to put their money into.
– Financial: We have a team of Accountants, Financial planners and Insurers that will make sure that you pay your tax and set yourself up as a company so that you can gain as many assets as possible as fast as possible. I find this is a huge issue in the industry. A lot of people say they have an accountant and they have their ABN but it goes deeper than this. They are paying too much tax and not having their money work for them. We can set up a whole strategy and even work with trust accounts so that you can save as much money as possible and build wealth.
We take a 10-15% cut from athletes only on anything we bring to the table. Marketing is more of a set strategy. Depending on what you want we will charge accordingly. Effectively we use our association with athletes to bring in more business for marketing which gives us credibility and keeps us in touch with trends and fashion.
What’s a top athlete in surf, skate or snow worth per year in total pay cheques from sponsors, advertising/endorsements, product sales, etc. in Australia? Where is this heading?
Putting a dollar figure on an athlete is hard. There are probably realistically 10-20 pro’s globally in each sport that sell product that is directly endorsed and related to their image. Possibly these athletes can be worth millions a year if all goes their way and corporate companies see sell through from being directly related to the athlete. Obviously you have people who are above this such as Slater and Hawk who are worth a lot more!
Personally I think there will be a lot more measure coming from companies involved in action sports. These companies will be making sure they get bang for their buck. You have seen companies over the past eight months shed a lot of riders, when in the past they felt it was better to sponsor as many athletes as possible and flood the market, but this was due to incredible growth in the industry since action sports popularity sky rocketed. There will be more strategy behind sponsorships now with a lot more measure going on, with it will come a lot more of an elitist feel and also focussing on regions that have minimal distribution and sell through for the sponsoring company.
So, as an up and coming surfer, skater or snowboarder, at what point is it right to get a management company involved in your career? How do you go about doing that?
It is great to speak to older athletes and get their perception on everything and mould yourself and career around what some of the great and professional athletes are doing, just with your take on it. Obviously with younger kids, parents are great for only so long until their emotional involvement clouds their vision. I have heard stories where kids parents have told companies that their kids are better than a certain big name pro and ask for ridiculous amounts of money. Although in saying this, Mick Fanning uses his mum and Tony Hawk uses his sister; they do a great job. They obviously listen to the athlete and don’t dictate what they think.
So if you start getting offers from sponsors and don’t understand contracts or you feel your career should be heading in a different direction, or don’t know how to take the next step, or you want to take the next step but don’t have the network to get you to where you want, this is probably time to get some assistance. But be aware that having a manager is not just about getting you sponsors, it is about bouncing ideas off them about your career and what direction you should take with your image and where you fit in the market and how you can leverage yourself better. Your image in action sports is the most important thing you will have. As soon as you taint this to the public perception then it is a hard road back. You have to be ever evolving and be kept grounded. Blowing wind up athletes arses is not a managers job that is the public’s!
As a whole, is this a fast growing sector in the industry? I look at all the mainstream companies like Motorola, Corona, etc. wanting that ‘in’ with the surfing/skating/snowboarding crowd and I am assuming that this would fuel a boom in management companies for those athletes involved, has this happened?
I would not say athlete management so much is a great thing to get into or is a fast growing sector at the moment with the financial crisis. Also there is the fact that only a handful of people really sell product. These corporate companies usually have the money to endorse the best pro, so unless you have one of these athletes they desire you will not make the money you are expecting to. It is hard work, you’re dealing with kids who usually have attention issues and don’t understand what the real world is all about. It is hard work. There are 35 year old men I know that have less responsibility than my children, on the other hand you do get the odd rider that gets it and wants to make it work, like yourself.
Our company works on the fact that all these companies like Motorola, Corona and what not want a piece of the pie, so if they do then we make money directly by helping with marketing and pushing them to the right events to sponsor, this will then help the athletes. There is no use taking a cut from an athletes wage if you can get a larger amount directly sourced from a company and then give a larger direct cut to the athlete. It kind of cuts out the crap and the unnecessary spend that a lot of companies waste money on, you know that the company will be respected more if their imagery is correct and their message is spot on and relevant.
From a managers point of view, who would be the most desirable Australian surf, skate and snow athletes to be representing right now? What’s the ideal roster?
As I have said in each sport globally there are maybe 10-20 athletes that sell product and the rest just make up the sports competition, so in Australia there maybe five in each sport maximum. If you get one of these athletes then you are setting yourself and your company up. I’d say with surf you would be looking to Taj, Mick and Parko. These guys are money makers as they are slowly becoming household names and this is where money is at. People want to be like these guys. Then you have Owen Wright and Julian Wilson coming through too. In snow realistically there is Torah Bright. She is good looking, is a household name and she sells product. There are other snowboarders like Nate Johnstone and Robbie Walker but it is Australian snowboarding which is obviously limited by a short snow season and our industry. With skate we are lucky, like surfing, as there is a lot of great talent coming through. Ideal people to have would be Dustin Dollin (highest selling shoe on Vans), Jake Duncombe, Chima Ferguson, possibly Jake Brown as well along with a couple of others that are slowly breaking through. Although skaters are very core individuals and wont take money from just any company. They need to be with industry leaders and stay true to their roots. Skating I find is very fickle compared to the other two sports. I’d suggest that if you had this dream team above your company would be quite sustainable and very profitable.
It’s been a long evolution for the sports to reach mainstream commercial appeal and grow ‘into their own’. It’s no longer acceptable or credible to produce a variant skateboard (like a wing or snake board from back in the day) just as it wouldn’t be right to produce a spherical AFL ball. An increasingly common change in the Australia scene is athlete management – this will inevitably lead to greater competition, scouting, and eventually the same conditions that exist for other uniquely skilled professions such as actors or basketballers. The best thing you can do to prepare for this change is get real good, and fast! Thanks to Trevor Ward for his time and insight.
Resources:
Evolution Management
www.evolutionmanagement.com.au
A. Level 3, Pivotal Point, 50 Marine Parade, Southport, Queensland, 4215.
E. contactus@evolutionmanagement.com.au
