About Paul Kerbel
Paul Kerbel was born April 18, 1995, in Mexico City, where he began yoyoing in 2005 after seeing a classmate named Ariel Cohen perform beginner tricks at school. He attended free weekly lessons at Parque México through the Mexican Yoyo Association under instructor Isaac Kanarek, and entered his first official competition — Mexican Nationals — in 2007, placing second. By 2008, at age 13, he had joined YoYoFactory's junior team.
Kerbel is an eight-time Mexican National Champion and one of Mexico's most decorated competitive players. His career-best world result came at the 2014 World Yo-Yo Contest in Prague, where he placed 4th in 1A. That same year he won the EYYC 1A Open title and introduced his first signature model, the YoYoFactory Horizon — an oversized, wide-cup yoyo built specifically to enable complex horizontal and fingerspin techniques. The Horizon's cup geometry became widely influential; subsequent yoyos from many manufacturers adopted similar fingerspin chambers.
Known for a high-energy, crowd-oriented style built around visually dramatic tricks he calls “bangers,” Kerbel is credited with bringing fingerspin combinations into mainstream competitive 1A freestyles and remains one of the few high-level players to incorporate a ball cap as a performance prop. He won 1st place in both 1A and 2A at the 2015 Latin American Yo-Yo Contest, demonstrating range across multiple play styles. In 2015 he launched Team Horizon, an open-call initiative inviting players worldwide to submit Horizon trick videos for a chance at YoYoFactory sponsorship consideration.
As of 2025, Kerbel remains active — releasing the Horizon 2025, a complete reimagining of his 2014 signature with updated specs, as YoYoFactory's first product of the year. He has been with YoYoFactory for approximately 17 years, making him one of the company's longest-tenured team members.
In Their Own Words
From a YoYoNews interview by Matt McDade, February 28, 2014:
How did you start yoyoing?
“When I saw a close friend named Ariel Cohen in school doing the beginner's tricks I really liked it, so we went to free yoyo classes in Mexico with Isaac Kanarek.”
What are your favorite elements to put in a freestyle?
“My favorite elements are those that make the crowd/people just go crazy, so bangers in general!”
What are your goals for the rest of 2014?
“I'm aiming for the World Title and I also want to make the first Israeli yoyo contest happen. I'm actually living in Israel right now.”
What advice would you give to aspiring players?
“Perseverance.”
