The life of a professional beach volleyball player involves more than sand and sunny days. Unless players are in the top tiers and winning big prize money they are looking for sponsorship or making the Herculean effort to work and play full-time.
Sponsored athletes wear logo bathing suits and sport temporary message tattoos on their arms using their bodies as walking advertisements. Before they are picked up, however, some athletes have to pay their own way.
A.J. Mihalic is an engineer. Early in his career, the 32-year-old worked for a company and competed, but he couldn't maintain the hours and was let go. So he started consulting.
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