Dream Job – but have YOU got the balls to go for it?
Matt Crowhurst
Imagine your dream job. Add to it an awesome lifestyle and plenty of cool parties while you travel the world? Sound tempting?
Discover how Matt Crowhurst, pro Wakeboarder and TV Presenter does just that. Hang on to your seat and come on a journey with us into the competitive, fast paced and dangerous world of Wakeboarding. Find out how to overcome fear, cope with set backs and get noticed in a cut throat industry. Matt will show you how to make your passion into your living and fully embrace your dream life.
In case you’ve not heard of Wakeboarding, think of it as water skiing on a snowboard with ramps and rails and skateboard tricks thrown in for good measure.
A lot of people try extreme sports, fall off, don’t see instant progress, then quit! What motivated you to master it?
I push myself in anything I take on. The simplest explanation is, anything that is going to give you more of a rush, more satisfaction and enjoyment, something that is really going to get that blood pumping is likely going to need some hard work to get you there. However much you put in, you get out.
Matt, why Wakeboarding in particular?
I left school at 19 and decided to make it my living. I was fairly natural at the sport so it felt right. But I blew my knee after only a month of winter training in Australia. So, I was out the game. So I wanted to get stuck into something else. I got a job as a researcher on an extreme sports TV show called Rad. I’ve actively involved myself in the media side of Wakeboarding and Freesports as well as continuing to Wakeboard myself. This has carved a niche for me in a world where it isn’t easy to make a living out of your sport.
Photo by Johnny Wiggla
So in a way, the knee injury opened up new possibilities and you began presenting on TV?
All the media stuff I’m involved with got going through that knee injury in 2000. It meant a year out of the sport. So I wanted to make sure I did something productive with that year. The job on Rad started it all. It was a lot of fun. Also, I started MC’ing at wakeboard events as I wasn’t riding and with this came the wakeboard orientated TV work. Wakestock festival was my first gig and since then I’ve always been heavily involved in whatever TV covers the sport.
For those people just starting out, what advice would you give them?
I’d say you have to have an angle, a passion. On TV a person without a passion is transparent.
Make the most of every opportunity and don’t let things slide. Be focused. Be driven. Don’t let up until you’ve got what you want. This applies to most things in life. As far as developing a style, I don’t try to be anyone else but myself on camera, on stage and out on the water.
There are some TV boxes you have to tick such as; being clear, to the point, being able to ad lib when it’s needed. So, just be aware of that and blend it in with your own style.
Were you encouraged by the people around you initially to follow this unusual career?
I definitely got inspiration from people around me. Guys I’d grown up with Waterskiing, Nick & Julz Heaney and Paul Price. They had jumped ship and seemed to be having the time of their lives. I gave wakeboarding a go and just took to it. There wasn’t really much resistance because there was nothing anyone could do.
Did you set yourself any specific targets?
When I first started there were no real plans, I just knew I loved wakeboarding. I was conscious of working my position in the sport to help me continue doing it. Things like coaching clinics, media work and trying to get sponsors on board to support me.
Did you experience any problems when you started out?
For sure, where I lived in Birmingham there was nowhere for me to go wakeboarding. So I would train around the country as much as I could and ride as and when I got the chance. Money is a tough one. Those youngens who live near cable ways have it best for sure. It’s far cheaper to get riding this way and you can get lots of time on the water.
Photo by Michael Wincott
How did you sell yourself and your talents in the early days?
I was always pretty good at putting my face about and just chatting to people. The guys I was hanging out with in the early days, the Heaney brothers, they are the kings of self promotion. As far as sponsorship goes, if you’re good at what you do that isn’t always enough for a sponsor to see worth in you.
Getting free kit is your payment for doing a job and if you don’t come up with the goods in terms of riding, self promotion and being a great ambassador for your sponsor then its going to be a short lived relationship.
Photo by Michael Wincott
One thing that tends to hold people back is fear of failure. Tell us about a time when things went wrong, either in a competition or presenting, how did you turn it around?
Oh, I’ve cocked up non stop in front of camera during interviews. Hell, when I was on stage at Wakestock festival, after the prize giving, I introduced Goldie Lookin Chain when it was actually Morcheeba! Making mistakes MC’ing in front of a big crowd can be nerve-wracking. I’ve got a terrible memory so remembering all that I have to say while making it look natural and unscripted has, on occasion, not quite happened.
‘But so what?’ is all I think at the end of the day. What’s the point in letting things bother you. Shit happens and you have to deal with it. If you are doing any kind of job that involves being in the public eye, be it a sport, musician, MC or presenter, you are going to have some embarrassing moments, that’s a given.
What advice would you give other extreme sports people who want to pursue this as a serious career?
Put yourself on the line in every way. If being able to ride means that you have to get a shitty job then get a shitty job. It’s not ideal of course but it is a means to an end. Play the game with sponsors, as that is the only way you’ll ride more and work less. Remember that to keep hold of sponsors you have a job to do.
For those people who want to get sponsorship, what is the best way for them to approach companies?
Always remember companies are out to sell, plain and simple. Sponsoring individuals is so that an association with that individual will help to sell more of the company’s product(s).
You have to offer something really special to get full product support and financial backing. It takes working as hard off the water as you do on, whatever you’re chosen field of play is.
Find the person in charge of marketing at which ever brand you’re pursuing. Get an email address. Drop them a line with your portfolio, good quality photos, video etc. Then follow up with a phone call.
As long as you are offering them a viable way of raising the brands profile to help them sell more, or can actually raise sales directly, there is a viable reason for them sponsoring you.
My motto has always been, “if you don’t ask you don’t get”. Make sure that you are always popping up on peoples radar as the person who’s attending all the events, helping out and are willing to get up early for photo shoots. Just generally being proactive about your career. People really DO notice this and it will come back to you in the end.
What did you do to impress your sponsors in the beginning?
Initially my riding ability and how I was doing at contests. To keep hold of them and offer them something more, I’ve always worked as hard off the water as I do on. By this I mean, putting together shoots, writing articles, hitting a good few events, getting on the mic, teaching across the country, doing demos here and there and generally putting my face about.
Artwork by Dan Spinks
Who are your hero’s, what have you learned from them?
Lots of people in wakeboarding and further a field. Certain riders I just love to watch like Keith Lyman, Randy Harris, Aaron Reed. They inspire me for sure. Any athlete who is at the top of their game and pushes themselves relentlessly has my total respect.
Extreme sports for a lot of people seem very scary, how often do you find yourself doing things that you’re afraid of?
The main thing that scares me is trying out new wakeboard tricks. It seems to just get harder and harder as well. You have to commit to something fully, have faith in your own abilities and go for it. Any half arsed attempts at anything in life aren’t going to turn out well.
Photo by Michael Wincott
Most people think that being an extreme sportsperson and traveling the world is a very glamorous and fun career. Tell us about the other side of it?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a very lucky boy and I lead an awesome life. As far as riding goes I don’t actually get much time on the water, which does really get to me.
I do end up between a rock and hard place on this front. Because I am so busy with events, demos, coaching clinics, media work and so on, that I’m never in one place or have any time to just ride. It’s just a case of finding balance between it all. Either way, I’m still living the good life.
How do you keep your energy levels up with all the demanding work required to make it in this competitive business?
You do have to eat properly whether you’re on the road all day or at an event. Also getting enough sleep wherever you can is super important. I’m actually trying to do more to look after myself now. My partner is great at making me eat well and I think doing exercise outside of wakeboarding will just mean you are in a much better position to recover quicker after riding.
Click here for Part 2 Of This Interview where Matt shares with us the sacrifices he’s made for his dream job and offers his advice on how to make it in a competitive industry. Then we journey even further into the action. You’ll hear from 7 of the hottest wakeboarders in the world, who’ll tell you exclusively their top tips for a successful career and their personal secrets for overcoming fear.
