“We knew we wanted to continue the “State” series of semi-responsive yo-yos and had various ideas in the works but no firm decisions had been made until we were approached by Deep State Superfan, Jeff Atwood (better known as @codinghorror on the forums). Jeff and his family are philanthropists who started a project called “Stay Gold, America” to keep the American Dream alive for everyone.
They are dedicated to doing things where everyone wins. Jeff says, “Winning does not have to come at the cost of everyone else. That’s just not true. We live in a time of incredible abundance, yet in this Second Gilded Age, more of the wealth is in the hands of fewer people than at any other time in US history.”
His family donated large amounts of money to various charities immediately, and as a longer term strategy, funded Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) studies in rural counties, providing direct cash transfer to those in need. By extension, they are helping to create and support local American manufacturing businesses. Specifically in the case of One Drop YoYos, they have contributed to the creation of the Deepest State and the whole yo-yo community wins: the Deepest State has become a reality faster than we originally planned and the retail cost of the first run will be lower than usual. The Deepest State is a great example of how everyone can win if we have the will. We don’t have to accept the zero sum game idea that if someone is winning, someone else is losing. We can make choices where everyone wins and this is exactly what Jeff’s family is doing.
In terms of the design, we started talking to Jeff and as it turned out the ideas we had for it were similar to what he was thinking and wanting in a modern semi-responsive yo-yo. We both agreed the Deeper State was an improvement on the Deep State with its wider gap and more curvy catch zone. With that as a starting point, we decided to bring back Side Effects, make it wider and even more curvy with a bigger catch zone. We didn’t want to add too much to the width to keep it from becoming something like a Panorama. We wanted it to still be a narrow semi-responsive yo-yo that still felt okay in your pocket but had a larger catch zone to make it easier to play. In honor of Devo, a great band that spoke on related themes, we felt that shipping with Energy Domes was the move. There is a documentary about them on Netflix that Jeff highly recommends:
Jeff also supported Matt at YoyoStringLabs by funding a unique run of neon yellow/orange high visibility strings that evoke the glow of ‘staying gold’ – retaining those youthful ideals we were all born with for the rest of your life. Each Deepest State in the first run will include one of these.
The first run has four solid colors: Gold (of course), Blue, Red and Clear. $59
Stay Gold, America (gold base with blue and red splash) to honor the American dream Spacious Skies (blue base with clear splash) $75
We fully support what Jeff’s family is doing to share the American Dream, which includes helping fellow Americans build businesses that proudly create unique, high quality products right here in the United States. It is a deep honor to do this collaboration with Stay Gold, America and to highlight their important work.”
“Inspired by the willow ptarmigan, a bird that survives arctic hellscapes in full winter camo, yelling “AWEBO!” at its foes, ready to square up. Then poses all cute and lively, molding its feathers to party on for the summer.
This yo-yo packs that same chaotic energy: tough enough for the cold, fast enough for the storm, and loud enough to make gravity question its life choices. The Ptarmigan doesn’t just spin, it squawks, struts, and survives.”
Colorways
Bird Berries – Purple with pink and silver splash Foliage – Green with yellow splash Summer Plumage – brown with bronze gold, and red splash Deadly Awebo – Blood covered silver.
“The Trekker is the newest throw we are adding to our slim line family. This project took a while to be completed as we went back and forth with different approaches and multiple prototypes. This project took a couple of years from initial prototyping to launch date.
This time we wanted to bring a larger diameter and more pocketable slim throw with a lighter weight. With the use of 7075 aluminum we achieved having thin walls in certain areas and push out more weight towards the outer diameter to compensate the thin width and cap seat of the Trekker.
Like El MiJo, the Trekker has a hub-system, but now the hubs themselves are completely removable and replaceable. The bearing remains sitting on the body of the throw as most of the throws.
Early prototypes measured 55.1 mm diameter, clocked in at 55 g, and stretched to 29 mm wide. Our mission was to get smaller and lighter without sacrificing playability. In the final build, the Trekker grew 3 mm in diameter, shed 5 g in weight, slimmed down 6 mm in width, and gained a fully rounded profile that fits perfectly in your hand. The ultra-fine blasted finish feels incredible under the hands.
Inside, inverted walls taper from a narrow 2.3 mm at the gap out to 5.9 mm at the catch zone, making tricky binds a breeze and landings more forgiving.
This throw is designed to play with fixed (blank) and responsive bearing with the capability to play with unresponsive bearing if you want to. The Trekker is a light-carry, all-day companion built to spark creativity and elevate your tricks.”
“Introducing El MiJo SL — redesigned to be slimmer and lighter than ever before. El MiJo SL keeps the essentials of the OG with more refined and sleeker finish.
In comparison to the two previous aluminum versions, El MiJo SL comes with 2mm less in width—almost the width of a slim bearing.
The second main change is the reduction in weight: 9g less vs the OG version and 6.4g less vs El MiJo 6061 version which has the same dimensions as the OG.
The combination of making a slimmer profile and smoothing out the caps made El MiJo SL to achieve a weight of 49g making it a nice sleek throw.
With all these changes, El MiJo SL is not only even more pocket friendly but also more comfortable to the hand and play style.”
“I played with yoyos a lot in elementary school and up through junior high until I just kinda…stopped. Over the last several months, however, I’ve uncovered my old collection and rediscovered my love for the hobby. Some of the more modern design philosophies really show a love for the craft and a grasp of physics that truly impresses me as a machinist. That said, my experience is firmly rooted in that earlier era of play and my designs reflect it.
I took a lot of inspiration for this piece from the exterior design from my favorite yoyo, my trusty old Turbo Bumblebee GT, and as such I’ve taken to calling it the “Queen Bee.” It’s a touch heavier than the original, but comes with a much longer spin time to match. I’m not a particularly advanced player by modern standards, to be perfectly honest, but I’ve been putting it through its paces as simple 0A retro yoyo and really enjoying myself. I’ve recently been able to put it into the much more talented hands of more “modern” players, and it turns out that it also plays very well on the string in a way I didn’t think was possible.”
