How much does a passion project cost?

We have now gotten used to seeing people start their passion projects on social networks. They show us how, with almost nothing, they manage to build a viable business, sometimes working abroad, hiring people, etc. And that inspires a lot — it makes you want to try. But it isn’t that simple. 

To avoid speaking in generalities, let’s talk about SBNN, because after all that is our project. Even though we have often highlighted other projects, we also aspire to something big. Far from us the idea of going viral — that will be difficult with our archaic means — but our goal is to pass something on.

SBNN is an idea born in November 2019 and made public in April 2020. At first, we didn’t have great ambitions: it was more a matter of circumstance, one test among many. But over time and with the feedback received, we realized there was something to be done, and we continued, evolving the idea. However, it does cost us to move the project forward as we wish. Here are the things that have cost us the most since the launch of SBNN: 

• Clothing production

This was our starting point, but we put it aside for a time. That doesn’t stop the costs incurred by our first collection of T-shirts (10), even if these were not intended for sale. There are also the special clothes for events or promotion (let’s call it that because it sounds more professional, but in reality these were tests that look good and give the impression that there will be a sequel — don’t worry, there will be one). 

These pieces do not generate direct income. Only the clothes meant for sale allow us to continue, even if those revenues represent no profit. But 2026 is our return to this market, with sales targets and anticipated revenue. 

• Clothing design

Yes, it costs money to make designs… If we have the ability to have a few people on the team prepare the basics of our designs and handle technical parts, we still need to call in third parties. That necessarily costs money, and it’s often more expensive than the production itself. Indeed, if by luck one day one of our products breaks through and becomes popular, the person who participated in its creation won’t earn anything — only the one-time payment for the design. 

For that reason, we make sure that the price is fair and in line with each designer’s scale. That also limits us, because as we said earlier, we did not flood the market with our products — so you can imagine none of that has been reimbursed. 

• The website

Our communication channels — the blog, the magazines, Instagram — are free and accessible to everyone, which works in our favor. But for clothes, we need a platform, and that has to be paid for. Therefore, the future site is part of our costs. Yes, the domain has already been purchased, so that can be included in the expenses.

There’s also the design of the site and maintenance costs that haven’t hit us yet since, at the time of writing, the site is not yet published. Still, it remains something we must take into account. 

• The magazine

Our greatest pride for various reasons — but also what has cost us the most in the long run. From January 2023 to October 2024, we put together this magazine that allowed us to highlight what interests us in terms of brands, viewpoints, and current events. And because we tried to go big, we created covers that are quite incredible. 

Since these covers were made by a truly amazing artist, we felt that we owed her compensation. In addition, the content of our articles (blog or magazine), often connected to the sporting events we attend, makes the costs rise quickly.

Yes, SBNN is a passion project, but also an expensive one. We’re not complaining: we still have plenty of costly ideas in mind, and believe us, if we can realize them even without much gain, we will. With the aim of promoting SBNN athletes, we cannot count our pockets before any of them can be where they deserve — that is, number 1 in their discipline. 

But who are the SBNN athletes?

Note: we are the only ones calling them that… Our only contribution to their careers is support. And for most of them, they give us so much back that it will be impossible for us to let them go. The list grows rather than shrinks. And if you followed our very first list of athletes to watch, many of them were already semi-pro or in professional circuits, and we were rarely wrong about their potential. 

As a reminder, there was Diana Shnaider in tennis, who at the time of writing is world No. 11 with a silver medal in doubles at the Paris Olympics; and also Nikola Tsolov, the new Red Bull prodigy, who scored his first podium in F2 after only 4 races and who is going to do his first full season in F2. 

If you follow us, you already have the list of athletes to watch, but we will expand it with all the athletes we follow closely — those we call SBNN athletes: 

Tennis

  • Léo Dodinot 

Karting / Automobile

  • Benjamin Brienne

  • Zoe Florescu 

Equestrian

  • Sasha Calonne

  • Emma Meline

  • Marek Pokorny

  • La Ligne Rouge

  • That’s My Power

  • Khéops d’Hameline

  • Meknes

  • Antico 

Running

  • Jeffrey Duval

  • Berenger Isnard

  • Jonathan Robin

  • Paul Bouchard

  • Jérémie Dalle-Ekollo 

Football

  • Diroumba Tandjigora

  • Yanis Trabelsi

  • Karim Bouzouik

  • Mamadou Camara

  • Fousseny Kamissoko

  • Steven Nsimba 

Handball

  • Lola Paquier

  • Thibault Paquier

  • Noah Muller-Grac

  • Nino Pradith 

Volleyball

  • Lily Méline-Viullin

  • Noémie Gernez 

We also have 3 athletes we plan to add, whom we will talk about during the year.

How to support these athletes

As we repeat: our goal is to highlight each of these athletes and accompany those we can support. And you can help us do that in various ways: 

  • By following each of them on social networks (and at the tracks for our awesome horses).

  • By attending their sporting events: for some, this will even allow you to discover new countries. 

  • Finally, by purchasing SBNN products: you’ll have the option that the profits help support some practices… but well, that’s for when the website exists (if it ever does).