Are you sponsored? 

Doc arrives in Reykjavik, Iceland

How can you afford to take two years off? Are you independently wealthy? The questions go on when I explain to people my mission and the details of my long journey. Truth is, I’ve been planning this trip my whole life. But it was just in early 2003 that I decided to do it on a motorcycle.

The laborious and time-consuming process of planning this trip combined with the realities of traveling on a motorcycle — limited cargo space, safety issues with regards to maintenance, product reliability, and durability and more meant carefully outfitting the motorcycle and packing only the essentials.

As I put my wish list together I knew all along which products that I insisted on using whether I could convince anyone to sponsor me or not. So before I contacted any potential sponsor I put my “Sponsorship Criteria” checklist together. It’s important to note that I wasn’t just looking for a free product. I had offers of products that frankly I didn’t think were right or would help me successfully complete my journey. Instead, I personally selected each sponsor/brand candidate and offered my criteria:

• I must either have personal experience with the product or received credible third-party reviews, endorsements or word of mouth
• I must be confident in the quality, workmanship, and durability of the product
• I must be comfortable with the company’s customer service on a global scale
• I must be passionate about the product so I can speak with conviction, integrity, and honesty about my experience with it
• I must be convinced that the products will perform under the rigorous demands of adventure travel both in the most remote parts of the world and the busiest metropolitan cities globally
• The products must significantly contribute to the successful completion of my journey

Securing sponsorship for this type of journey is extremely time-consuming. In the end, I am happy to have convinced the companies that have supported me that my journey would be the ultimate proving ground for their products and that my cause would bring awareness and more interest for each of my sponsors.

So please take a moment to browse through my list of sponsors and visit their web sites. And if I catch you on the road, be sure to ask how the products are holding up. As I make my way around the world I’ll surely write about the products and how they have served me mile after mile.

All 15 /Sponsors 12

Friends of WorldRider

Be sure to check out those individuals and companies that have supported my WorldRider Journey with generous contributions. I’m grateful to have so many friends and supporters who continue to support, encourage and inspire me to keep traveling and sharing the beauty and humanity of our world.

Interested in Helping Out?

Gas is expensive. Shipping my motorcycle on key legs of my journey and repairs and maintenance are my biggest costs. If you like what you read, appreciate my mission and passion, then consider becoming a sponsor, patron, or fan. I funded the production of my book FORKS through Kickstarter, and will soon have another source for supporters to send me “love” in other ways. You can always buy my book, too.