How to Get Sponsored by Maxxis

Maxxis makes tires for nearly everything a racer owns: dirt bikes, bicycles, UTVs, rock crawlers, pickups and trailers. That reach makes it one of the most sought-after sponsors in off-road and motorcycle racing. Chris Meyer, senior marketing specialist at Maxxis, has joined my Sponsorship Summits several times, and his advice has stayed consistent: be honest, be early, and treat the application like a job interview.

Maxxis backs grassroots racing on purpose

Asked why a tire company that could buy TV commercials and billboards spends money on racers, Meyer said, "It's the lifeblood of the sport. You have to start somewhere." The business logic is simple: "Promoters need racers, and as a company in this space we need racers to buy our products, so supporting grassroots racing and that entry tier is kind of a feeder into everything else in our eyes." ▶ Watch Chris Meyer explain why Maxxis sponsors

The door stays open. "We're always looking for new teams, we're always looking for new opportunities," he said. "I think you are not doing your due diligence if, as a company, you aren't aware of everything going on and who's kind of up and coming." ▶ Watch the clip

What a Maxxis sponsorship includes

Start by respecting what tires cost. "The one thing I think is typically underrated is how expensive tires are," Meyer said. "When you're given product at no charge, that is a lot of investment from us... We are committing to you. If you are getting product no charge, we believe in you 100%." ▶ Watch Meyer on tire costs

The entry level is a grassroots sponsorship. "When you get greenlit for grassroots sponsorship, you are part of our family at that point," he said. That means access to bicycle tires for training and help buying tires for your other vehicles: "From the front bumper to the back of the trailer and everything in between, we've got you covered." Maxxis also puts its athletes in ads and on social, and Meyer admitted, "I always feel like we could use them more than we do." ▶ Watch Meyer describe the support

Higher up, the mix depends on the discipline. In short course, the tire package and race service "often eats up the majority of the offering." Elsewhere the deal can stack product, marketing money and "pay for performance type incentive bonuses," and "if the opportunity is right and the value's there, there's always a salary that can come into play as well." If you also ride a bike or race something else Maxxis makes tires for, "by all means let us know." ▶ Watch the clip

Maxxis is a business, not a charity

"We're not a charity," Meyer said. "We're fans of the sports we're involved in, but we can't make bad business decisions or we won't have jobs... so there has to be a need." Your deck should show that need fast. He compared it to a job search: "taking the time to research the company that you're applying for a job with and sprinkling the language that you find on their website into your pitch deck, and making sure that your photography is of a professional quality." ▶ Watch Meyer on decks

He wants value beyond the results sheet. "There's a lot of ways to bring value to the table outside of your results," he said, including "turnkey asset packages that make it easier for us to promote our relationship with you," and a schedule that hits high-impact events. ▶ Watch the clip

His closing advice to racers on a tire and wheel panel: "You're applying for a job. You're applying to be a marketer of our brand." And be patient: "You may have to take a hit in the first year too to prove yourself." ▶ See the full session

Be honest about where you finish

Meyer's first piece of advice for a young racer: "You gotta be honest. I think honesty is something that's incredibly underrated, and be professional no matter how old you are." He has seen what happens when racers oversell: "Don't tell me you're a podium guy if you're not, and then ask me for a certain salary saying you're a podium guy, and then when you're not a podium guy, well, you've under-delivered on our agreement." A top-10 racer "that gets out there and promotes and really treats racing as a job... can create plenty of value without having the tippity-top result." ▶ Watch Meyer on honesty

Honesty is also smart negotiating. "If you say, hey, I feel pretty solid, end of the year I'm going to be a top five guy for you, and then you deliver top three status or a championship, well then you've over-delivered on value." Promise too much and you lose your leverage for next year's deal. ▶ Watch the clip

Get known before the window opens

You can email Maxxis or message its social accounts, but Meyer said the fast track is at the track. "Most of the stuff that's fast-tracked, you come find a support truck at an event. There you go, introduce yourself. Our support truck guys are really great about relaying the winners up the pipeline to someone who can make a decision." ▶ Watch Meyer on getting noticed

Then mind the calendar. "The sponsorship window is kind of traditionally September 1st to the end of October, and then contracts go out." Applying cold on day one is a long shot: "If we have no clue who you are until you send that resume in on September first, maybe, maybe not." What works is legwork beforehand, so you have a contact who says, "When you send your information in, let me know so we can pull it and take a closer look. That's when you're making progress." ▶ Watch the clip

Apply early in the window, "before we're tired of reviewing things," and put a reminder in your phone. Missing it is common: "It's amazing the amount of people that we would probably have offered a grassroots sponsorship that email us on November 1st and go, hey, missed the sponsorship window." ▶ Watch Meyer on timing

Referrals speed things up too. The applications that move quickest, he said, come from athletes with name value or "with a referral from someone in the industry that we respect, and that matters a lot." ▶ Watch the clip

The simplest first step is contingency. "If we're putting money up for contingency, we're interested in growing in that space," Meyer said. Running the product and the right logos to qualify "is a super simple one to do that doesn't even involve necessarily building a traditional relationship out the box." ▶ Watch Meyer on contingency

Your checklist for Maxxis

• Run Maxxis tires and the right decals in a series where Maxxis pays contingency.
• Introduce yourself at the Maxxis support truck at your events, and get a referral from someone the brand respects.
• Put the September 1 window in your calendar and apply early, with a contact already expecting your application.
• Research the brand, use its language in your deck, and use professional photos.
• State your real finishing level, then beat it.
• Offer value off the track, such as ready-to-use photo and video assets, other disciplines you compete in, and high-impact events on your schedule.