What got you into throwing, how did you find the hobby?
It all started during recess in elementary school when I saw some kids playing with yo-yos. I asked where they got them, and they pointed me to the most amazing toy store ever—A2Z Science and Learning Store! After that, the rest is history :crazy_face::rofl:
What is your goal in the next year for yourself personal or professional?
A goal every year for me but keep failing is to learn more 2A Tricks!!
What’s it like to work at Yo-yo Expert?
It’s a dream come true! I’m incredibly lucky to work with an amazing team who are more than just co-workers—they’re my closest friends and family. Plus, it’s a total win-win for me, since yo-yos have always been a huge part of my life. Getting to work for a company that revolves around them is just perfect!
If you could only have one yo-yo for the rest of your life what would it be?
Either between the SnapBack, Uppercut, or KO!
What trick are you working on currently?
Neckstole
What’s the trick that gives you the hardest time?
Neckstole
What’s your favorite trick of all time?
Not Neckstole! Also Elevator, Rancid Milk, Uppercut Bind, and Figure 8, Repeaters and any picture trick!
What’s your favorite yo-yo of all time?
Wayyyy too tough to answer. But will narrow it to the:
Hitman, K-OS, New Breed, Night Moves 2, 888, Superstar, Genesis, SuperNova, ProtoStar, Avant Garde 2, Grind Machine 2, Shutter Wide Angle, TOO HOT, Ricochet, Uppercut, KO, MarkMont Classic, Cabal 2, Puffin 2, Glacier Express, Garhwal 2, Yeti Turning Point 2, Mowl M, Tankette, Freehand 1 (New and Original) and anything Delrin or Organic Shaped LOLOL!
What’s the most meaningful throw you have?
This is also another tough question, because most of my yo-yos that I have I can almost tell you an entire story how I ended up with it/when I got it. They are all pretty meaningful to me, which is why I rarely ever let go any of them.
What’s your worst habit with yo-yos?
When getting a knot, switching to a new yo-yo so that I don’t deal with taking it out LOL!
What’s kind of things are you into outside of yo-yos?
Not much, but I dabble in playing the keyboard
What fictional character best fits who you are?
When I was in school, I liked to think/tried I was living a double life like a superhero LOL as a yo-yoer and non-yoyoer and keeping it separate. However that got hard and I started to embrace being the yo-yo boy LOL!
Favorite restaurant and order?
I don’t usually go out, except buying Iced Coffees at McDonalds LOL – But I do enjoy the SuperMelts (Honey BBQ) from Friendlys with a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Sundae to finish it off! MHMMMHMMMMM
Favorite movie and or book?
I wasn’t much of a book person growing up, and I can’t even remember the last time I went to the movies. But I did enjoy a lot of cartoons and TV shows like Power Rangers, Pokémon, and Yu-Gi-Oh. These days, I’m into Ted Lasso, Star Wars, The Office, anything with Adam Sandler, and pretty much anything Marvel.
Favorite song?
Another tough question, but I am a fan of Eiffel 65, Smash Mouth, Blink 182, Yellow Card, My Chemical Romance, Elton John, Billy Joel, and anything electronica/techno/trance.
If you could wake up tomorrow and magically has the skills from one player who and what would it be?
-Alex Lozynaik/Jason Lee/Charles Haycock/Tyler Vienneau for style/swagger/smoothness
-Mir Kim/Jensen Kimmitt/Yuuki Spencer for their competition abilities and John Ando for like everything LOLOL
What’s your favorite memory from your time in the hobby ?
Again a very tough question, but I would have to say getting a phone call from the President of Yomega when I was like 12 asking me to join their Presidents Invitational Team!
How has the community changed since you started? Where do you want it to go?
It has changed a lot since I have started! LOL
Let’s just say I now enjoy watching yo-yo videos online a lot more than dealing with dial-up or asking a friend to download and burn a CD with the “latest tricks”—which usually meant they were already a year old! LOLOL
But seriously, I’ve been lucky enough to witness the yo-yo world evolve over the years. Starting with responsive yo-yos in the ’90s, it’s been a wild ride to see how both the technology and tricks have transformed. Being a part of that change, both as a spectator and participant, has been an incredible experience!
Yo-yoing is definitely moving in the right direction, especially with how easy it is to share tricks and connect on social media. I’d love to see the community keep growing because it would make a huge difference in things like sponsorships and events. With the Olympics just wrapping up, people keep asking why yo-yos aren’t included, and the simple truth is the sport just isn’t big enough… yet.
If you never picked up a yo-yo – what would life look like now?
I would be really really good at HALO and Poker, and also possibly a Professional Ping-Ponger
Advice/ words of wisdom to new players?
It might sound cliché, but it’s all about having fun. It’s easy to get burned out, especially with competition yo-yoing, which is awesome in its own right, but it’s important to find balance and remember there’s so much more to the hobby than just competing. Most of my closest friends I met through this shared passion, and now that I’m older, it’s really about catching up with them and meeting new people who share the same love for yo-yoing!
Whats you want to tell the world?
Purchase an Uppercut or KO! – Best Yo-Yos in the world!!!
Player Profiles is a series of articles/interviews dedicated to spotlighting the vibrant and diverse community of yo-yo enthusiasts. Each article delves into the unique stories of players from different backgrounds, showcasing their journeys, skills, and contributions to the yo-yo world. The series aims to highlight the passion and creativity that drive these individuals, offering readers an inside look at their personal experiences, favorite tricks, and the impact yo-yoing has had on their lives. Whether they’re seasoned competitors or inspiring newcomers, these profiles celebrate the people who make the yo-yo community so dynamic and inclusive.
What got you into throwing, how did you find the hobby? So, my son Justin started yoyo’ing about ten years ago. In the beginning, we spent almost all of our time watching contest vids and talking about yoyos and yoyo players. A few years into it he started competing and we spent entire weekends at contests. One day I got tired of sitting around watching all these cool tricks and decided to challenge myself…Could I do this? Why not? I had done so much in my life already and knew I wanted to add a new, fun hobby into my life…So instead of knitting or painting, like most middle aged ladies, I decided to start yoyo’ing! It has been a slow, but fun process learning! I’m proud of myself for working to get where I am.
If you could only have one yo-yo for the rest of your life what would it be? Hmmmm…I wonder….haha! No, honestly, I have been wanting to yoyo so much more with Justin’s new signature, the Duncan EVOLVE. There’s something different about it that just makes me yoyo better…It has a wide gap and feels floatier than any other yoyo I’ve used. It honestly is making me want to yoyo more cause I love the way it feels. He did a great job on the design according to lots of people who got it at Worlds!
What trick are you working on currently and what is your all time favorite trick? Not working on anything in particular but when I’m in the mood I go to Rewind tutorials cause I can always find something that looks super cool and is fairly easy. It’s super hard to find just the right tutorial… I get stuck so much! I’m thinking about continuing the Skill Addicts causeI’ve heard it covers a lot of the basics I skipped right over wanting to do just cool looking stuff. Haha! Favorite trick is Eli Hops cause it looks flashy to non yoyo’ers and I can do it anytime, anywhere!
What’s the most meaningful yoyo you have in your collection? I would have to say my Andrei Conag YoyoFactory Hyperrr Edge. In 2018 there was a player named Andrei Conag who was a great player who had a bright future in yoyo. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with Leukemia and passed away in 2018. Justin and I attended Andrei’s funeral, representing the yoyo community, and became friends with his parents. His mom, Jessica, takes pictures with the Hyperr Edge yoyo on all her trips still keeps up with and supports the yoyo community even thought her beloved son isn’t with us. To keep the memory of Andrei alive you can find a few videos on YouTube that will make you smile. If You could drop a comment for his mom, I’m sure she would really appreciate it.
What’s kind of things are you into outside of yo-yos? I’ve been riding dirtbikes in the California desert with Justin and my hubby for over 15 years now! I absolutely love the freedom of being out in the open desert enjoying trails and using the skills I’ve learned. There have been many times where we were in the middle of nowhere, or on super sketchy mountain trails with a sheer cliff on one side…It has definitely strengthened me mentally as well as my riding skills, having no choice but to get out of these situations! I also LOVE to vacuum and buy shoes 😊
What’s your favorite restaurants and order? I actually don’teat out much as my hubby loves cooking and whips up some of the most amazing dishes you have ever tasted. Lemon Chicken, Shrimp Scampi, Smoke Tri Tip, Teriyaki Chicken with Kim Chi Fried Rice….I could go on and on!! I’m super lucky I can yoyo while he cooks dinner! haha
Favorite movie or TV show? Not a huge movie or tv watcher but I gotta say my favorites movies are Daddy’s Home 1 & 2! It’s got the family aspect, Will Ferrell is so hilarious and Mark Walberg is not hard to watch so it has everything for me! I love watching either documentaries or shows like Married at First Sight or Love is Blind…I prefer reality shows oppose to scripted where I know it’s something that actually happened in real lifeand you can learn from it rather than something that was scripted.
If there was one song that you say fits your mood and personality perfectly, what it be? First song that popped into my head was You Should Be Dancing by the Bee Gees so I’m going with it.
What’s your best yo-yo memory? Oh my goshhh…most definitely the moment Justin won Nationals this past June. I posted a video on my channel “ 2024 U.S. National Yoyo Contest Justin Dauer- 1A Champion Announcement” that pretty much sums up how I felt. I’m having an out of body experience, literally, making unidentifiable noises, shrieking and who knows what else cause I cannot believe after 10 years of competing that he actually won. It was so unexpected…I still can’t believe it.
What’s your yoyo bad habit? Well, I don’t know if I yoyo enough to have bad habits but I can tell you that once I learn a trick and post it, I will forget how to do it by the next day most of the time. It’s crazy. But the middle-aged foggy brain in women is REAL. I have to relearn everything ( much easier the second time though 😉)
If you could wake up tomorrow and have any skill set from another player what would it be? I’d love to yoyo like Tyler Vinneau or Justin. Those are my two favorite players 😊
How do you want to inspire others? One of the reasons I yoyo is because I want to show people that there are no boundaries in sex, age or skill level. You CAN do anything if you want it bad enough and set your mind to it. There are seriously not enough female yoyo’ers, so that really inspires me to keep going andhopefully inspire more women and even mom’s to start. I want people to experience the joy of pushing through something hard and coming out the other side having something beautiful to show for it.
If you never found yo-yo what would you be doing instead? When I first read this question, I’m not gonna lie…it made me cry. To imagine my life, to imagine Justins’ life, our lives without yoyo, makes me feel so completely empty. It hurts to even think about how much fun, friends and love we would be missing out on.
How has the community changed from what it used to be, and where do you think it will end up? I love the way Brandon Vu, Angelo Aguirre ( Angel2Up) and Gentry have inspired the next generation of yoyo’ers through social media. Some may think it’s cringy, but they truly have put in the work to bring our hobby to the mainstream. Because of them we have new kids coming every month to DXL Crew meetup in Los Angeles. From there I guide the parents to all the yoyo resources and how to learn tricks, find contests and become part of the community. If it weren’t for these pioneers we might not have a next generation of yoyo’ers…We might not even have contests anymore. I think our community and future is VERY bright and we have them ( Brandon, Angelo, Gentry) to thank for it.
Advice/ words of wisdom to new players? Yes!! Get connected to other players at your age or skill level. Just reach out! Yoyo’ing is fun alone, but wayyyy more fun with others. In person or get together on Discord or Zoom! Justin’s on every night with friends…makes me happy to see all the guys together yo-braining and getting better.
What you want to tell the world?
If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all…( it will be screenshotted haha) !!Life is short…Have fun!! Push yourself to do hard things! Encourage and try to understand others…you never know what they are going through. What you put in, you get out… Try meeting people different than you…you will learn and grow. I could go on and on….haha! You’re still here??? You guys are real ones!! <3 Thanks for having me here! 😊
Player Profiles is a series of articles/interviews dedicated to spotlighting the vibrant and diverse community of yo-yo enthusiasts. Each article delves into the unique stories of players from different backgrounds, showcasing their journeys, skills, and contributions to the yo-yo world. The series aims to highlight the passion and creativity that drive these individuals, offering readers an inside look at their personal experiences, favorite tricks, and the impact yo-yoing has had on their lives. Whether they’re seasoned competitors or inspiring newcomers, these profiles celebrate the people who make the yo-yo community so dynamic and inclusive.
What got you into throwing? How did you find the hobby?
I first saw yoyo tricks in 2013! I was in 8th grade and 14 years old! I was a very shy and introverted kid, and was in desperate need of something to grow my confidence. A group of yoyoers called The N.E.D. Show, came to my middle school to put on a show for us! NED stood for Never give up, Encourage others, and Do your best! A slogan I live by! They performed tricks like, Rock and baby, Eiffel Tower, Walk the Dog and Shoot the Moon, while also explaining the importance of hard work through yoyo! They also sold yoyos to the students afterwards, which I purchased immediately! I remember being really fascinated by the tricks I saw! It made me want to learn more about it. So I purchased an instructional trick DVD from them as well, and the rest is history!
Yoyo Goals for 2025?
I would like to work on consistency when I make freestyles! Limiting mistakes on stage!
I also want to continue to participate in online contests. As it helps me display freestyles I’ve been working hard on!
I would also like to continue to develop my trick set and make combos people like!
I also aim to make the podium in the Women’s division at Worlds!
If you only had one yoyo to use for the rest of your life, what would it be?
The yoyo I use most often is the YYF Mega Monster! My current competition yoyo!
What trick are you currently working on?
I wouldn’t say a particular trick, but I will often look at a player’s freestyle and pinpoint certain elements I want to learn. I’ll try them and it usually leads to inspiration for new tricks. This is my process for creating new combos.
What trick gave you the hardest time to learn?
Back in 2013 I remember that it took me 10 days to learn the trick “Spirit Bomb.” Ten days meaning, “that was the only trick I did over the course of ten days….. Nothing else!” Haha! Never had that experience with any other trick! It was so hard at the time!
Favorite Yoyo?
As mentioned above, My current competition yoyo is the Mega monster, however, I did grow up loving the Shutter line. So those yoyos definitely give me nostalgia!
What is the most meaningful yoyo you have?
Probably my first ever metal/unresponsive yoyo: The Yomega Maverick! I think of this yoyo as “the one that started it all.”
What is your worst habit with yoyo?
People have told me that I go through strings too quickly. I get strings by packs of 100 and I go through them in about 2 months! I will also change my string after about 2 hours of play! I’ve heard that players will go longer on the same string but I personally like the feeling of a new string too much to continue on the same string for multiple hours.
What are you into besides yoyo?
Does teaching count?? I love teaching the next generation how to yoyo and seeing growth in the players I teach! It’s important to encourage kids and tell them they can achieve things if they practice! I love working with kids in general really!
If you could be described as a fictional character, who would it be?
Maybe Sonic the Hedgehog! I am always on the go! I love keeping myself busy and productive! I like to fidget and do things with my hands! I also love to yoyo fast and practice for long periods of time! And when I’m not yoyoing, my mind is always racing, just like Sonic!
Favorite food place and menu item?
Chipotle- Steak burrito
Favorite movie?
The Harry Potter Franchise
What does yoyoing mean to you?
Yoyo has also been a great stress reliever for me. If I have a bad day, I can always look forward to enjoying some yoyo practice.
Yoyo is also a great creative outlet. I love coming up with new things and making myself stand out as a player.
I also love choreography and the freestyle making process. It allows me to express myself and convey emotions to an audience! Being able to hit music cues and make something I’m proud of is very meaningful to me.
I love seeing myself grow in skill! Every time I learn a hard trick, I was able to push through failure. I love tracking my progress and knowing I’m getting better!
Favorite memory from yoyo?
Probably winning Women’s nationals 2023! It was my first contest ever! I met so many people I always dreamt of meeting! Very emotional time for me!
How has the yoyo community changed since you started? Where do you want it to go?
I feel like I can’t answer the first question. I literally just started competing last summer. But it would be cool if the community can grow! Yoyo is a unique hobby so there are not many yoyoers in the world. I want everyone to know what yoyoing is! It’s not a child’s toy anymore. LOL!
If you never picked up a yoyo, how would your life be different?
Dang, I don’t even want to think about it! Haha! It’s been a part of my life for so long! Its hard to even try to fathom it, but i’ll force myself to try!
I would probably be doing something with sports. I played softball all throughout highschool and college so I love being active! I might have ended up being a softball coach or something. Either that or became a fitness nut because I love to work out and be healthy.
Words of wisdom for new players?
Enjoy the journey: It takes a long time to climb the ranks of yoyo. While you are learning it’s important to have fun and not stress too much about how quickly you get better, or how hard your tricks are. If you enjoy the sport, the rest will take care of itself!
Don’t take it too seriously: Yes, it’s important to do your best and work hard for goals, but don’t let it be the most important thing. You have to enjoy life too! Take yoyo and make it a part of who you are, but don’t let it become ALL of who you are. Spend time with family and friends because relationships and memories last forever!
What do you want to tell the world?
Yoyoing has been quite the journey! It has given me confidence when I had very little of it as a little kid. It has given me great friendships and it’s taking me to places I never thought I would go. Seeing myself grow in yoyo has taught me that you can do anything if you want it badly enough. As the 2024 yoyo season is closing, I plan to put my best foot forward to what’s to come! I will begin 2025 with more determination than ever! I plan to continue to grow and show the world how cool yoyoing is!
Thank you so much for reading this far! I appreciate you! Now go throw!:)
Player Profiles is a series of articles/interviews dedicated to spotlighting the vibrant and diverse community of yo-yo enthusiasts. Each article delves into the unique stories of players from different backgrounds, showcasing their journeys, skills, and contributions to the yo-yo world. The series aims to highlight the passion and creativity that drive these individuals, offering readers an inside look at their personal experiences, favorite tricks, and the impact yo-yoing has had on their lives. Whether they’re seasoned competitors or inspiring newcomers, these profiles celebrate the people who make the yo-yo community so dynamic and inclusive.
What got you into throwing, how did you find the hobby?
I yoyoed during the late 90s boom like every other kid at the time, with a Duncan Butterfly and Yomega Fireball, but it didn’t stick. In 2003 my friend Randy Shreeves introduced me to a toy called Astrojax which we both got really into. Astrojax had a messageboard on their website which allowed users to upload photos of themselves playing with Astrojax. I found a user named DJReaxion (Brian Cosky) who had a bunch of photos of himself yoyoing on his profile. He was using YoYoJam yoyos with metal rims and they looked so cool to me, so I messaged him and he pointed me to Dave’s Skilltoys. I got myself my first ball bearing yoyo, a Duncan Throwmonkey. The first thing I remember doing is throwing the yoyo down and walking into the bathroom to pee. The yoyo kept sleeping the entire duration of my urination, and I was so stoked on that. 😂 Brian Cosky and I ended up being on Team Anti-Yo together a couple years later, and he remains a great friend to this day. I owe him a lot.
How did you come about creating your own yo-yo company?
I was sponsored by Anti-Yo during my “prime”, and after placing 2nd at Worlds and winning a few smaller contests, we began to discuss a signature yoyo. I wanted a delrin version of the Bapezilla, and I wanted to call it the Jakezilla. Long story short, I was young and impatient, ended up leaving Anti-Yo, and the Jakezilla never happened. Pretty soon after I started dealing with a serious opiate addiction and yoyoing took a backseat to everything else going on in my life. I never stopped yoyoing everyday, but I stopped competing and interacting with the community. That lasted basically 2010-2016. When Worlds came around to Cleveland in 2016 I decided to drive out and catch up with everyone. It reignited my passion for the yoyo community, and I started talking to old yoyo friends more regularly. By 2019 Worlds I was fully back in, and after that contest I decided to start a yoyo instagram (@jakebullockyoyo) to share my old and new tricks with a new generation of yoyoers who weren’t necessarily familiar with me. The reaction blew me away, and one day I texted Tyler Severance and asked if he could help me finally make myself a signature yoyo. He hooked me up with CJ and a factory and the rest is history. Basically, it was a dream of mine from the time I started yoyoing, it just took 16 years for it to finally happen.
If you could only have one yo-yo for the rest of your life what would it be?
Very difficult question. Probably the Slappa/SlappaSS. It’s very comfortable for me to use, and very capable for both 1A and 5A.
What trick are you working on currently and what is your all time favorite trick?
My favorite trick is double or nothing. I guess nowadays that is just a mount and not a trick. I think there are endless possibilities for amazing tricks from double or nothing and I never get bored of finding new things to do from it.
As far as real tricks, I appreciate all of the classics that Spencer Berry and Paul Escolar created. I could never pick a favorite. I like “old school” yoyo tricks that have a clear beginning, middle, and end. They feel most pure and interesting to me.
Currently I’m working on 1A slacks that wrapped around different fingers multiple times, so that you can unwrap them in different ways. It’s visually appealing and fun to do. Andrew Bergen told me “yoyoers love when it happens twice”. So if I can make a slack wrap or spin around an extra time, it always makes the trick cooler to watch.
What’s the most meaningful yoyo you have?
Probably the YoYoJam Master Hot Stamper gifted to me by Tyler Severance. It belonged to his brother Danny who was a good friend who is no longer with us. It’s a very rare yoyo with an interesting backstory, and the fact that it was Danny’s makes it even more special.
My friend and old Anti-Yo teammate Kevin (Field Medic on Spotify, check out his music) also gifted me his Hspin Good & Evil which really meant a lot to me. It was my first aluminum yoyo back in 2004, I lost or sold it somewhere over the years, so Kevin gave me his.
What’s kind of things are you into outside of yo-yos?
I’m a chronic hobbyist and at any given time I am obsessed with something new. Sometimes the hobby comes and goes, other times it sticks around forever (like yoyoing).
Some that have stuck over the years: fly fishing, disc golf, playing guitar, aquarium keeping, cooking/baking, drawing and painting.
What’s your favorite restaurants and order?
I used to be a super foodie guy and spent a lot of time and money eating at nice restaurants but the past few years I’ve sorta grown out of that. I like crab rangoons, burgers, Indian food, and I believe the cheesesteaks I make at home are on par or better than any cheesesteak you can buy in the world. If I had to pick a favorite place to eat right now I’d probably say La Placita Mexico in Allentown, PA.
Favorite movie or band?
My go to answer for favorite movie is Freddy Got Fingered. But in reality it changes all the time. I really enjoy all of Paul Thomas Anderson’s movies, and I’m not sure I could pick just one. My favorite film in recent memory is Banshees of Inisherin.
My go to answer for band is the Melvins. I have a weird relationship with music, for me to really appreciate listening to an artist I need to learn as much as I can about them as people. It makes it harder for me to consume new music because I have to put in the time to learn about the artist before really digging in. But I truly like all kinds of music. Lately i’ve been listening to country from the 50s/60s, Jay Reatard, and pop punk from the early 2000s. I also have an obsession with the band Nirvana that goes back to childhood, i have read dozens of books about them and consumed basically all the content I could find surrounding the band.
What’s your best yo-yo memory?
There are so many and I have a bad memory. One that sticks out is eating Taco Bell with Jonrob at Nationals 2007, then walking back to the venue right as we were announced Trick Innovators of the Year. It was a prestigious award back then, it was a surprise, and we almost missed it because we were discussing how much we miss the green onions on the Nachos Bell Grande.
What’s your yoyo bad habit?
I have no go-to string length and I never have. It’s a crap shoot based on my mood every time I cut a new string to length. I have attempted to figure out lengths in the past but I’ve never been able to stick to anything. It really annoys me and I hate changing string. I also don’t mess with pads or bearings ever. I use whatever bearing until it breaks and then replace it with konkave bearings i buy in bulk from China, and i have never changed pads (unless they tear or out something crazy).
How do you feel throwing allows expression?
Just go back and watch early Spindox/Sector Y clip videos. Every player back then had a completely unique style. There used to be regional styles too. Brazilians, Russians, Poles, Japanese, Americans all yoyoed with completely different styles. Everything has become a lot more homogenized with social media and modern competition, for better or worse. But you can still find players with completely unique styles. That’s my favorite part about yoyoing. Everyone can do Rancid Milk but not a single person on the planet can do it like Spencer, except for Spencer. No one can yoyo like Yuuki Spencer or Jesse Garcia. People have gotten close, but their styles are still wholly unique and personal to them. It’s so interesting to me how you can take the most basic trick or mount, and have 10 people do it, and they each do it a little differently. It’s endlessly fascinating and beautiful to me.
If you couldn’t yo-yo what would you be doing?
I really have no idea. It sounds silly but I don’t think there’s a world where I don’t find yoyoing and become obsessed with it. It is the perfect hobby for me, I cannot imagine anything better, and it checks every box of what I look for in something to stimulate my brain and have fun with.
Being a part of the yoyo community has benefitted my life in every way possible, mentally, socially, financially. It allowed me to travel out of my small town at a young age and meet people I would have never had the chance to interact with. It’s provided the majority of my oldest friends. The Dunk project helped me get a place to live. And even if none of that existed, the personal satisfaction and joy yoyoing has brought me and continues to provide would be more than enough.
Advice/ words of wisdom to new players?
Watch some old yoyo videos, like 2000-2009 era. I know the video quality is trash but there are lots of amazing forgotten tricks to be learned. I’m a firm believer that researching the history and background of any hobby will help you appreciate it more.
What you want to tell the world?
The world needs to be nicer to each other but that will never happen. As far as the yoyo world, try to remember that it’s not all about clicks. You can get immense personal satisfaction, and even the respect of the community, without ever competing in a yoyo contest. I’m not knocking competition, but there is so much more to yoyoing. For me, competition has always just been the excuse for all of us to get together and share tricks and hang out. It’s fun to watch and exciting, but it’s not really pushing creativity very much anymore. The best stuff is happening off stage .
Player Profiles is a series of articles/interviews dedicated to spotlighting the vibrant and diverse community of yo-yo enthusiasts. Each article delves into the unique stories of players from different backgrounds, showcasing their journeys, skills, and contributions to the yo-yo world. The series aims to highlight the passion and creativity that drive these individuals, offering readers an inside look at their personal experiences, favorite tricks, and the impact yo-yoing has had on their lives. Whether they’re seasoned competitors or inspiring newcomers, these profiles celebrate the people who make the yo-yo community so dynamic and inclusive.
What got you into throwing, how did you find the hobby?
The NED yoyo guys! They came to my school and left their mark by selling $10 yoyos to over half the kids. Soon everyone on the playground was learning the forward throw. The kids who could do the best tricks were like royalty. Young me decided I wanted to be the best yoyoer on the elementary school playground, and got to work!
What is your goal in the next year for yourself, personal or professional?
I have a few, but some big ones are
1.) I would like to do well in my upper division physics course load this year, as I’ll be jumping into some of the “big boy” stuff. I’m a little terrified!
2.) My shot to have my name on a medical research paper is also going to come up this year, which has been a goal of mine for 2 years. A paper I’m on is being submitted for peer review this summer. Fingers crossed!
How did you come about with the idea for Stricklin strings?
A quote from the great car maker Horacio Pagani! (“If you cannot buy it, build it”). If you’d like to hear me yap about the strings more more, you can check out my thread on them, but in short, I found myself always wanting strings that were
Softer
THICKER
Higher coil count per inch
I realized I really couldn’t get what I had in mind unless I made it myself!
If you could only have one yo-yo for the rest of your life what would it be?
Something titanium! Just for the durability of the bearing seat. After all, this thing is going to have to last me for the rest of my life!
I would probably go for something like the Sengoku Ieyasu, or Oxygen Hyperion. Both performance beasts.
If it is going to be the only yoyo I ever use, it had better be able to handle a lot, because I know I’m going to keep trying to get better.
What’s your favorite trick?
Not really a trick, but more of an element. I have always been drawn to that thing where you spin a string around, and it untwists really fast on its own. When I was little, it was a huge mystery to me how they were done, and I knew that if I could just figure one trick with a spinny string out, I would do it all the time.
Now, I stick them in my tricks constantly!
Here is a compilation: (in chronological order, so the general trend is they get harder as you watch)
Tech stuff. I never liked the way it looked, and the effort to payoff ratio of working for weeks to get one part of the spiderweb to cross behind the other just isn’t there for me.
I suppose the reason that I never really did tech well was that my heart wasn’t in it.
What’s your favorite yo-yo of all time?
Not sure, definitely something undercut. Haven’t tried the new Sengoku Bishamonten, but from what I know, it will probably be that!
What’s the most meaningful throw you have?
My Yoyofactory Shutter. It is the yoyo I used to gain most of the skill I have today. Young me worked towards my goals of mastery for many hundreds of hours on it. It was the first tool I used in a really disciplined way.
What’s your worst habit with yo-yos?
Focusing too much on perfecting one trick for weeks, rather than moving on to a new one
What kind of things are you into outside of yo-yos?
I’m an undergraduate student, so over half my time is devoted to academics, but when I’m not in class or studying:
I have been grabbed by aviation, I’m working towards my pilot’s license. I fly 2-3 times a week. My landings are getting smoother!
(I’d like to include a quick side note on the subject of aviation, because I don’t like the idea of coming off as an entitled kid who has tens of thousands of dollars to throw at waltzing into airplanes.
The only reason that I’m able to fly is because UC Davis has a tiny airport on their land, and has been running a micro flight school since the 40s. When I finished my pre-med studies at UC Berkeley, I submitted an application to UC Davis as an applied physics major.
As part of their acceptance, they agreed to let me skip the 2 year waitlist for flight school, and to fund ~100 hours flight hours.
So in short, I got exceptionally lucky. I will always be grateful to the universities of California for the opportunities they have given me.)
Anyway, continuing to answer the question:
Another interest of mine is the medical research I was lucky enough to be selected to assist with at Dr. Paul Sieving’s lab in UC Davis medical school. He has a fascinating background, and it has been an incredible job over the last year, a real window into how research on that level is conducted.
I am especially interested in Aerospace/aviation medicine, and look forward to attending the annual conference this May.
I play the violin (and spent most of my late preteens through high school wanting to do it as a career!)
I also try and keep up with a few topics in anthropology, especially those related to egyptology. During my time as a premed student, my medicine related major was biological anthropology. A bi-product was a solid liberal arts foundation, and exposure to the field of anthropology for a few years. I try to carry these historical interests/perspectives with me today, even when surrounded by physics and engineering material.
I am also a part time firefighter, on shift 72 hours a month.
What fictional character best fits who you are?
Gimli the dwarf (see my favorite books/movies).
Staunchly loyal, and usually approaches problems head on by bashing on them until they (hopefully) yield.
Favorite restaurant and order?
La Bonne Bouche in St. Louis. Honestly, their croissants are incredible.
Favorite movie and or book?
Movies: A Philadelphia story, The Sting, The Iron Giant, Lord of the Rings trilogy
Book: Lord of the Rings trilogy
If you could wake up tomorrow and magically have the skills from one player who and what would it be?
Honest answer: there is a player I met on the forums who is now a friend of mine who was an airforce pilot. I’d like to have his skills behind the yoke.
What’s your favorite memory from your time in the hobby ?
I have a few:
Finally mastering boingy-boing
My first yoyo competition
Getting sponsored. The culmination of many hours of planning and practicing.
When Julio finally caved and gave the green light to an undercut Sengoku model
How has the community changed since you started? Where do you want it to go?
I’ve seen the community change a lot since I started. It’s grown in a lot of ways, but shrunk in the areas I used to think of as Meccas. Like Chico.
Of course, the skill level at contests in getting off the charts. This is cool to see! Sometimes I miss the days of 2013 or so when things were a little less competitive, and folks could still win with funky/cool ideas and routines that were less dialed in. But many players today are also such a joy to watch.
I have also watched the world at large get more divided in recent years, and some of this has appeared to seep into even the yoyo scene occasionally.
Where I’d want the community to go is in more of a direction of focusing on what matters, the fact that we all like to yoyo together, and less on the divisive/darker issues of today. The world outside may be in turmoil, but this community can still get together and discuss rim weight, response pads, and how the heck Mir Kim hit that horizontal 5.0 hook.
If you never picked up a yo-yo – what would life look like now?
That’s hard to say. Yoyo was my first exposure to profound motivation, and working towards goals in a disciplined way. It was great for me because it initially presented as a fun hobby for a young child (wanting to do cool tricks on the playground), but had enough depth for me to learn how to work hard, and what it felt like to want to be great at something very badly. I owe the mentality I started developing with yoyo for most of the success I’ve had thus far.
Advice/ words of wisdom to new players?
Learn to practice well! Figure out a specific element that is troubling you, and isolate it. Do it repeatedly over the course of days and weeks, and it WILL yield. Better practice leads to faster progress, and less frustration.
It is easy to plateau for years at a time (I see many folks that still have newbie looking breakaways after 5+ years of throwing), but if you are consistent (and focused!) in your practice, you will progress more than you might think, even on as little as 30 minutes a day.
Whats you want to tell the world?
I think its important not to live passively. I am well aware of how naive I am at this point, but there have been some pieces of advice I’ve gotten from folks farther along in life that really made sense to me.
When I was in fifth grade, I won an essay contest and got to speak to an astronaut. One of the things he said to me was: “Find things you love doing, and are useful to the world. And then get really good at them.”
Player Profiles is a series of articles/interviews dedicated to spotlighting the vibrant and diverse community of yo-yo enthusiasts. Each article delves into the unique stories of players from different backgrounds, showcasing their journeys, skills, and contributions to the yo-yo world. The series aims to highlight the passion and creativity that drive these individuals, offering readers an inside look at their personal experiences, favorite tricks, and the impact yo-yoing has had on their lives. Whether they’re seasoned competitors or inspiring newcomers, these profiles celebrate the people who make the yo-yo community so dynamic and inclusive.
