Everyone wants to live like a rock star, a carefree life, and just do things they love to do, travel, and try to make the most of life; however, is this idea feasible as an individual who wants to earn through riding BMX?
Sure, you can make fortunes with riding BMX from bike sponsors to shoes and energy drink companies; you will never have to worry about paying your mortgage.
So, how much do BMX riders make? To find the answer to this question, consider reading this article to the end.
How Much Do BMX Riders Make?
The best way to understand the amount of money BMX riders make is by going through Pro BMX rider’s salary income sources. Usually, BMX rider make income through the following items;
1. BMX Events Prize Cash
The international events organized by Union Cycliste International or UCI have prize money charts. The grand prize or the maximum amount of money winners take is €10,000. The best part is that both women and men get paid equally. In the freestyle calendar, the X-Games are the best paying and most important competition.
2. Bike Sponsorship
Bike brands that sign with BMX riders offer riders with the only bike and no additional cash. However, this is still a great prize since BMX bikes for racing and performing stunts tend to be expensive, and as a result, riders are able to save a significant amount of money.
3. Local Support
There are local cycling federations that offer their athletes entry fees, travel fees, and other expenses. In most cases, this aid is vital for BMX riders as they would find it challenging to afford such expenses in addition to the risk of losing ranking points.
4. Sponsorship From Energy Drinks
Energy drinks appeared on sports scenes approximately two decades ago, and they have grown in popularity. They are often associated with rides, such as Monster Energy and Red Bull.
5. Sponsorship From Shoes and Clothing
Shoes and clothes also target BMX bikers such as DC and Vans.
6. Revenue From YouTube
YouTube has grown to become one of the best paying platforms for freelancers, and BMX riders are no different. However, there are not many examples for top-notch BMX riders that own a YouTube channel and strive to create content more often.
However, as a BMX rider, you can also become a successful YouTuber by creating content more often and posting it on your channel. One of the best examples is Scotty Cranmer, who has 1.4 million subscribers.
The above-discussed items work differently for BMX riders; however, the top and best paid bikers make a fortune in this industry. As you continue reading this article, you will see the prize money most pro BMX bikers make can allow them to earn a living from riding. This means that, as a pro BMX biker, you will be able to purchase a nice house, a lovely car, and even provide for your family.
Break Down For the UCI BMX Bike Events Prize Award
Let’s go through some of the best paying BMX bike awards to understand better how much you can make as a BMX biker. UCI is an international body that governs cycling. They are known for organizing and regulating some of the most relevant BMX cycling events across the globe.
Some of the common BMX bike events organized by UCI include Word Championship (this is for both freestyling and racing), Supercross World Cup as well as the Olympic Games. In addition to that, UCI regulates all Nationals and Continental championships.
Regarding UCI events, the prize award for BMX racing races is as follows;
The BMX World Championship
This is an annual competition where the winner takes home a grand prize of €5000 while the 2nd and 3rd take-home €3000 and €2000 respectively. The best part about this competition is that juniors also have their shares of €1,800, €1,200, and €900.
BMX Freestyle Prize Money
When it comes to freestyle competitions, the prize money is distributed at UCI Urban Cycling World Championship (this event includes mountain bikes as well as trials competitions). In this event, the overall winner walks away with €10,000 while 2nd and 3rd persons take €5,000 and 3,000 respectively.
The BMX Supercross World Cup
Like the BMX World Championship, the BMX Supercross World Cup is an annual event that is made up of 10 rounds that are held in 5 unique venues across the globe. The winner of each round gets €2,500 while the 2nd and 3rd place individuals get €1,500 and €1,000, respectively. The one who leads after the end of 10 rounds becomes the overall winner and will receive an additional €10,000, while 2nd and 3rd positions each receive €6,000 and 4,000 respectively.
X-Games
These are by far the best-paying event each year for a lucky BMX biker that has a chance to participate in them. Each participant will receive their share, and the overall winner can take home a grand prize of up to $100,000. If you are not familiar with X-Games, these are extreme sporting events produced each year by ESPN.
The games involve BMX competitions, motocross, skateboarding as well as Esports (Call of Duty and Counter-Strike). In addition to the incredible grand prize, the X-Games give riders an excellent source of visibility which tends to be very beneficial when it comes to sponsorships as well as commercial opportunities.
Who Are Some Of The Most Successful BMX Bikers Ever?
There are several BMX bike riders who have managed to make a fortune in their career. Nonetheless, they only made a small portion while touring the world on their bikes to win titles. Pro BMX riding is not a forever thing. If you are great at BMX riding, you might end up making a living from it for about 10 to 15 or even 20 years.
Afterward, you will need to be ready to make money in some new ways since your savings will last for an extended period. Perfect examples are Dace Mirra and Mat Hoffman- they are two of the greatest BMX riders ever to walk the world. In addition to that, the two took advantage of BMX-related business with incredible success, and they managed to add lots of additional income sources.
Dave Mirra
Dave Mirra is said to be a high-profile BMX rider of all times. Unfortunately, the Venezuelan passed away in 2016; however, Dave had an estimated net worth of approximately $15 million before his passing. This amount of cash is undoubtedly a rock star level, and Dave could do anything he always wanted.
Dave was seen as an outlier, and he was undoubtedly one of the most successful X Games athletes. In fact, he had a computer game that was based on him; he also owned a bike company and hosted a TV show as well.
His pattern of work is something not everyone can imitate. In addition to that, Mirra has lots of high-profile sponsors, including his company Mirraco, Monster Energy, Recarco, Bell Helmets, Haro, Subaru, Maxxis Tires, Nike, Snafu, and Puma.
Mat Hoffman
If there is an individual who might surpass Dave Mirra, it is Mat Hoffman. Hoffman is said to be estimated at $18 million. Like Dave Mirra, Hoffman owns a bike company and also worked on TV shows, including Jackass.
He also set up a path for X Games, and he has been pretty much one of the best BMX riders of all time. In fact, he is known as the one who saved BMX from extinction back in the 90s.
Mat is one the greatest vert ramp riders in history; he was the one who expanded the boundaries of freestyle BMX riding by taking vert to a whole new height. He managed to win a total of 6 models at X-Games.
He launched his bike company in 1991 and founded the Hoffman Promotion- an organization that organized freestyle events across the globe.
Scotty Cranmer
Sitting between Dave Mirra and Mat Hoffman is another great BMX biker, Scotty Cranmer. Scotty holds the highest number of medals won at X-Games BMX park, which is clear evidence that he was a successful biker. He also owns a successful YouTube channel with over 1.4 million subscribers. He is said to be worth between $800,000 and $1 million.
Though it is not an amount of money one can sniff at, it is still not close to what the likes of Hoffman and Mirra have. Like Hoffman, Scotty has managed to diversify his business, and he uses social media to keep himself updated and worth investing in some money,
Final Words
After taking a quick look at salaries, we found out that the average salary of a pro BMX biker is approximately $70,000. Although it is not bad, it is also not enough for living a rock star lifestyle.
To become successful and make a fortune with BMX biking, you will need to combine your BMX biking career with other BMX-related businesses like what Dave Mirra and Mat Hoffman did. Hosting a TV show or even starting a BMX bike company is often one of the greatest ways of becoming rich as a BMX biker.
Nowadays, you can also make a fortune by creating a YouTube channel for your biking career. With that said, we hope that you have found this article beneficial and that the question on how much do BMX riders make? has been answered accordingly.
