to share in the way of pro skateboarding careers.”
“You mentioned you needed an agent after your big 720 because you’ve had a lot of sponsors reach out.” Ted dumps a serving of potato wedges on his plate. “What kind of sponsors?”
Jordan tells them about some of the companies who’ve shown an interest, and Ted asks if they pay her in addition to providing her with the product.
“Of course, Dad. Well, not of course,” she remedies. “A lot of pros don’t get paid with money, just the product. Or they don’t get paid much. But I think seeing real money supporting the offers is helping me get through this week. It’s not like I set out motivated to make money, but I’m realizing this is really happening. It’s legitimate. I can earn a living, way more than I made at The Swirl, simply doing what I love. It’s kind of mind-blowing.”
Colleen asks what kind of numbers she’s talking about and when her daughter tells her, Colleen’s jaw drops and Ted nearly chokes on his burger. We’re not talking six or seven figures – yet – but I think they were under a different impression about what kind of money was possible. They recover, and joke about how much they made on their side jobs in college thirty years ago.
“That’s really something, Jo Jo.” Ted doesn’t hide his amazement.
Jordan darts a glance my way. “It will be time to renegotiate with Brazen soon, and Scarlett has some pretty crazy ideas about what I should be asking for. When I expressed that I felt loyal to Brazen for taking me on before they knew anything about me, she had an interesting take.”
“Oh yeah?” Maybe Scarlett will be the one to get Jordan to see things clearly on this.
“Yeah, she said I shouldn’t feel like I owe Griff anything, because he really wasn’t doing me any favors. If he’d waited until later to offer me sponsorship, I would’ve been more expensive. Maybe he took a risk, and maybe he felt more comfortable taking the risk because he knew me, but it was good business sense at the end of the day.” She looks at me suspiciously. “I’m still not sure I buy it, I still feel like I owe Griff something because I needed that push and he gave it to me, but I get her point.”
“The point is, you went from an unknown to one of the most inspiring, interesting, talented women on the pro circuit, in less than a year. Brazen’s lucky to have you. It would be ridiculous if you didn’t negotiate for a better contract.”
Jordan holds my gaze, like she’s still uncertain whether I’m just being her devoted boyfriend or if there’s any truth to what I’m saying. Her agent must have voiced a similar opinion, because she turns to her parents and puts down the burger in her hands.
Jordan straightens in her seat, and I’m totally caught off guard with what she says next.
“So, with all these new sponsorships and an upcoming contract renegotiation with Brazen, I’m going to make a real living,” she explains to her parents, though I think they’ve just figured this out for themselves over the past few minutes.
“That’s incredible, honey,” Colleen says.
“But as part of the negotiations with Brazen, I’m going to need to commit to a lot more competitions and events, all over the world.”
“How exciting!” Colleen claps her hands. “I hope we can travel to come see you at some of them.”
“Well, the thing is, I’m considering taking some time off college in order to make this work, in order to go all in with pro skateboarding.” Jordan’s talking quickly without pausing, and I realize she’s nervous, not sure how her parents will react. I had no idea she was seriously considering this. “Or I could take some classes part time. But I wouldn’t be on campus a ton and it would be tricky.”
Ted shrugs. “That makes sense to me. You kids these days don’t do things like we used to. And what’s happening with your skateboarding is really something special.”
Jordan’s own jaw drops at this. “Seriously? You’re not going to try to talk me out of it?”
Ted shakes his head. “These kinds of opportunities don’t come around every day. I’m not going to be that old guy who’s too narrow-minded to see his daughter’s already a star and doesn’t need to take the safer more secure route to adulthood like the rest of us.”
Colleen’s smile gets bigger as her husband explains