Professional triathletes are a rare breed. Even in my most financially successful year, my hourly rate factoring in all my triathlon-related activities would be well below minimum wage.

A Q+A With a Professional Triathlete About His Money

My rookie pro triathlon budget , My second year pro triathlon budget. By all measures, my third professional season was my most successful year. Coupled with increasing sponsorship, it was my best financial year to date. However, unlike previous budgets, this year I included the cost of food while on the road for triathlon.

This is despite a very budget-conscious approach with scarcely any fat to trim on my budget. Outside of triathlon, this was a spendy year for me.

I raced eight Ironman Gracias Ecuador for making this Canadian boy feel like kindofabigdeal.

A photo posted by Cody Beals cody. Podiums and particularly wins are disproportionately lucrative, both in terms of prize money and sponsor bonuses. For example, my wins at Ironman How do pro triathletes choose races? It takes time to build the resume, reputation and connections required to procure solid contracts. I politely decline far more sponsorship offers than I accept these days.

How Do Triathletes Make Money?

Some are too demanding. Others undervalue my services.

Others lack room to grow. This was the first year that all my sponsor relationships included a financial component, mostly in the form of performance bonuses or appearance fees. This is one reason that I still have a relatively limited number of sponsors and a good deal of my gear is not sponsored.

This coming year, my fourth as a professional, will be the first that most of my contracts will pay a modest salary or stipend. More predictable income will also improve cash flow and provide a measure of income security, critical in the event of injury or other unforeseen circumstances impacting my racing. Convincing sponsors to part with cash up front is no mean feat and is the culmination of years of work, trust and experience. Another recent achievement was adding two new non-endemic sponsorships i.

Companies from other industries are sometimes in a position to offer larger contracts, broader exposure and a refreshing change of pace such as a recent trip to Taiwan to shoot a commercial.

Taking in the sunset over Taichung after a long day of filming. First of all, I really enjoy the process of courting sponsors, negotiating deals and personally maintaining these relationships. It can sometimes feel like a burden on top of everything else, but I find it rewarding. These business dealings are also developing a skill set that could prove to be useful in my post-racing career. That work is rewarding in ways that money could never match.

It has forced me and other full-time non-Olympic stream athletes to cultivate an entrepreneurial streak in order to survive. In the sink or swim world of pro triathlon, I learned pretty quickly that hacking it demands equal measures of athleticism and business savvy.

Achieving financial self-sufficiency and sustainability in my triathlon career was my goal from the get-go. Notwithstanding my ethical reservations, my view is that crowdfunding may provide short-term gain for athletes, but it may harm their image to a much greater extent.

Many are surprised to learn that pro triathlon is not as lucrative as they had imagined. Professional triathlon is not without its challenges. Even so, I consider it a privelege. Cody Beals Professional triathlete, nerd in jock's clothing.

Dec 21 My Third Year Pro Triathlon Budget.

Comparison of annual triathlon revenue, expenses and earnings before interest and taxes EBIT from to in Canadian dollars. Keystone Communications, Giles Atkinson and Randy Stanfield generously covered many of my flights. Sponsorship strictly includes cash, with no value applied to in-kind support such as equipment and travel.

Appearance fees only include one-off contracts for events, not appearances included in annual contracts.