The most common mistake that people associate with having an agent is that they cost money. To be honest, if your agent is costing you money, you should probably fire them and start negotiating your own contracts. A good agent needs to have the relationships and the negotiation skills to sign a long-term deal that is mutually beneficial for the company, the agent and most of all, the athlete. Throughout her professional snowboard career, Roberta Rodger was always respected as an athlete that made the right choices when negotiating her own sponsorships. Since taking on the role of expanding the women's side of Infamous Management - an action sports athlete agency - she has played a critical role in aligning some of today's biggest athletes with the right companies.  Let's get down to the bottom of being a sports agent with Vancouver's very own Roberta Rodger of Infamous Management Inc.

When did you start Infamous Management?
I actually didn't start it. Sean Kearns started the company in 2004. I started working for him in December 2004 and then bought him out of the company in November 2007.

Why did you want to get involved?
Originally, I just wanted to work for Sean on a part-time basis and help him build his women's program, since he was more connected on the men's side. I never had any aspirations to really be an agent, but as I began working with Elena Height and Spencer O'Brien, I realized that I had a lot of knowledge and experience from my career as a pro snowboarder that could really help these girls out. Eventually I started working with all the guys on the crew and recruiting more athletes.

What was the first deal that you negotiated for one of the riders?  
It's hard to remember, but it was probably Spencer's first Burton contract.

What's the process for an agent in running a business deal? Line up people, line up sponsors and just connect the dots?  
It's a pretty lengthy process, much more than people know. It starts with proper promotion and image representation for your athlete, followed by lining them up with sponsors that fit that image, and finally selling that athlete to the brand while proving their worth. After all that, it's the actual contract negotiation and working with both the brand and the athlete to make sure each does their end in relation to the contract.

What's the best thing about your job?
It's pretty sweet to be a part of an athlete's success and to be able to help them reach their goals.

If an athlete has the skill, but not the personality, can it still work for them to have an agent?
If an athlete doesn't have a personality or an image that's marketable, it's pretty hard for both the agent and the brand to benefit.

What type of person would benefit from having an agent?
It all depends on what type of career you want to have, where you are in your career, and what type of agent the person is. Some agents go into a meeting, negotiate the deal and that's really the end of it. I like to work with athletes on all levels, including setting goals, making proper decisions, and helping them gain media exposure. Giving them proper guidance and direction with their career is essential. It's also important to make sure that they're properly marketed with the right brands that they will actually have a future with, and not just the cool brands that may be good for the short term.

Who do you currently work with?
For snowboarding we have JP Walker, Seth Huot, Simon Chamberlain, Stevie Bell, Spencer O'Brien, Joe Sexton, Stian Solberg, Kyle Mack, Meghann O'Brien, and Brooke Voigt.  For skating we have Chris Haslam and for surfing we have Keala Kennelly and Leilani Gryde.

Who is the most unique athlete in your agency?
That's a hard one, because everyone's perspective on "unique" is different.  JP Walker is unique in the fact that he's one of a few icons in this sport who has constantly raised the bar for snowboarding, but then there's Joe Sexton who has a totally unique style and way of looking at snowboarding and what he wants to accomplish. Meghann O'Brien is not only a talented snowboarder but an accomplished basket weaver, learning the art of her Native background and selling pieces at galleries in the lower mainland. Simon Chamberlain owns his own company and has a pro career. I could go on and on... they're all unique!

What qualifies you to be an agent? Is there a lot of politics involved?
My experience in my own pro career, my contacts in the industry, the great relationships I have in the industry that I maintain, my reputation... I'm very social and outgoing and you need to be in this job; you have to be able to put yourself out there for your athlete. And yeah, there's politics in everything!

Have you ever been close to compromising the athlete's needs within his or her negotiation of a sponsor?  
Never... The athlete's needs and snowboarding come before everything, money included.

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