Do I have to pay tax on the free products?

Honest answer: we're not accountants, and your situation depends on you. But here's roughly how it works.

From a collab you get a product or an experience, not money. Most athletes who take part now and then treat it as what it is — something you use and post about, not income. As long as it stays occasional, most rightly don't lose sleep over it.

It's different when sportfluencing becomes a structural source of products or income: many collabs, high value, on a regular basis. Then it can become tax-relevant, and it's smart to run it past your accountant. Not because it's automatically a problem, but so you know where you stand.

What we do to keep it clear: we communicate the retail value of what you receive up front, so you're never surprised about what a collab is worth. What you do with that is your call — and when in doubt, ask someone who knows. That's not dodging the question, that's just the right address.