How to prepare for a recession as a pro skater or action sports athlete
It’s hard enough when things are going well, but when a recession is looming and people start trying to cut costs as expenses go up, things can get pretty nerve wracking as a professional athlete. So what can we do to help make things less scary? Let’s have a look.
Step 1. Prepare your mindset - Getting headstrong
“One day in 1993, when things were particularly tight, I remember helping Tony Hawk look for change underneath the floor mats of his Honda. Taco Bell had a cheap menu and we were trying to scrounge up lunch money…Obviously, Tony Hawk found a way to stay in the skate scene and prosper, and it’s partly his loose-change scrounging attitude that allowed him to persevere. He looked for any way to meet his goals, with no ego attached to a past status.”
Name your fears - Take some time to sit and write down what it is you’re worried about. Go through a worst case scenario, how bad would it really be if it all went completely wrong. How long would it take you to get back to where you are? Would you have to just suck it up and go get a job somewhere? Stacking shelves in a supermarket and skating on the weekends? Working online and surfing when the wind and tides align? In order to conquer our fear, we first have to define it. Once you define it, you’ll also find it’s a lot less scary that you’d first imagined. Check out the ‘Fear Setting’ process from Tim Ferriss for a great run through of this. It will help make things feel a lot less longterm.
Be In the Present - Don’t be consumed by the fears of the future. Focus on the present moment. Enjoy this time now, where you are right now is where you are mean’t to be. Work hard in the moment and the future will take care of itself.
Fail, Get up and try again - Apply your dogged determination that makes you good at your sport and apply it to your life - Just ass Tony Hawk did to survive skateboardings death in the early nineties - “I think just my determination through and through—just being a skater and being stubborn and not giving up on stuff. But definitely, those years taught me a lot about believing in something even when it feels dire.”
Step 2: Lock in your finances - Improving Cash Flow
Review your current commitments, contracts, subscriptions and spending and think about where you could cut costs, or ask for a reduction in rates.
Get your savings up - Aim to get 12-24 months living in the bank. (we normally aim for 6 months living costs in savings, so as a recession looms, we want to double that or more. Just do what you can).
Reduce your costs of living - move to a cheaper area, share rooms etc… If you have a mortgage, contact your bank and negotiate the lowest rate available. Banks never want you to leave, so threaten to leave and they will give you discounts. You can also look to rent out any spare rooms you have if needed. Worst case scenario if you own a house, is to rent it out and go live somewhere cheaper.
Grab the cash - get any outstanding invoices owed to you paid asap.
Step 3: Offer something new - Growing Opportunities
When everyone else is getting cut, it’s time to make yourself indespensible - Think about how you could offer your existing sponsors and fans something new. How could you provide extra value?
Go Direct - Could you provide direct value to your fans? Offer private coaching, build a community, or monetise video content? There are a number of easy ways to start monetising your community nowadays. Instagram has just released a subscription model, YouTube is famous for it’s ad revenue and also offers subscription plans, Patreon, Podcasting, and more all offer ways for you to build an audience and monetise it.
Be Helpful - Contact your sponsors and see if there is anything they need help with. It could be working on a new ad or campaign, or it could even be helping out in the warehouse or managing their socials. Let go of the ego of being just a pro athlete, and consider how you can help. Go help people or create stuff for free - making good stuff is a great way to gain top of mind awareness with clients. If you put out a cool video, tutorial, breakdown…then a company might see it and reach out to you to do the same for them.
Collaborate - Who could you collaborate with to offer or create something new? Could you work with a fellow athlete, an artists, musician, or even an athlete from a different sport. Get creative, look outside your normal world, and go have fun.
Additional Resources
Watch
Ex Professional Skateboarder Mikey Taylor on how to prepare for a recession: