To ask a sponsor for a testimonial, contact someone who has worked with you on a completed project, ask one specific question about that experience and explain where you would like to use their response. Before adding anything to your athlete media kit, agree on the exact wording, attribution and placement. Give the person an easy way to decline.
For a jiu jitsu athlete, a useful recommendation can describe the working relationship: how you communicated, handled a brief or delivered agreed content. It does not need to praise your competitive results. This guide offers an editorial process for collecting honest feedback, without turning a friendly message into an endorsement the writer never intended.
Choose someone who saw the work
Start with one finished collaboration. Look back at the brief and your delivery plan: what did you agree to make, and who reviewed it? Ask the person with direct experience of your contribution. A well-known name with little involvement gives you less useful context than the contact who actually worked alongside you.
If something remains unresolved, address that before requesting a recommendation. Feedback is not a substitute for completing the work. You can also ask for a private review first, particularly when you want to understand what to improve.
No sponsor yet? A photographer or event organiser you have genuinely collaborated with may be able to describe that experience. Label the relationship accurately. A photographer's comment about a session is a collaborator recommendation, not proof of a paid brand partnership.
Ask about a concrete experience
Instead of asking someone to say you are a great athlete, ask what stood out about working together. Offer a narrow prompt: was the handover clear, were updates useful, or what could you improve next time? Let the respondent choose what they can honestly answer.
Here is an original request template, not a quote from a real collaboration:
“Hi [name], now that [project] is complete, I would appreciate a short reflection on working together. What was useful about [specific part of the collaboration], and what could I improve? If you are comfortable with it, I would like to include a short comment in my media kit. I will send you the exact proposed wording and attribution for approval first. Private feedback is equally welcome; there is no obligation to provide a public recommendation.”
Replace the placeholders with real details. Keep the question short enough to answer without writing a full review. Do not offer a reward for positive wording or draft praise and ask someone to put their name under it.
Separate feedback from permission to publish
A reply can help you improve even when it stays private. If you want to publish an excerpt, show the person precisely what a reader will see. Include the selected words, their proposed name and role, the project context and the place where the comment will appear.
Ask them to confirm the final version. Do not quietly shorten away a qualification or turn a comment about one delivery into a claim about your whole career. If you need a translation, share that version too. Check separately before adding a company logo or presenting someone's personal comment as an official company endorsement.
Keep a simple record of the approved text, approval date, attribution and agreed use. If approval is unclear, leave the comment out. You can still show the finished work in your content portfolio with an accurate description of your own contribution.
Use a small recommendation with enough context
Place the comment beside the relevant project or a short collaboration section. State what the work involved and when it happened, rather than creating a wall of anonymous praise. Choose an excerpt that says something a potential partner can understand about the experience.
Keep performance claims separate. A recommendation about clear communication does not establish audience reach, sales or a sponsor's return. Use your own verified reporting for those questions. Review older comments when roles, project descriptions or agreed permissions change, and provide a straightforward way for the contributor to contact you about their words.
Our take: ask for evidence of the experience
The useful question is what another person can honestly say about working with you. A modest, specific comment can add context to the work you already show.
- Pick one completed project. Identify someone who directly experienced your contribution.
- Ask one focused question. Make private feedback and declining equally acceptable.
- Approve the final presentation together. Confirm words, attribution, translation and intended placement.
- Publish with project context. Save the approval and keep broader claims out of the excerpt.