History / About
Jake describes the Slim Dunk as “being a band coming off a surprise hit debut album.” He had zero plans for a second yo-yo when the Dunk took off. The concept arrived during a fly-fishing trip in northern Pennsylvania: chatting with Drew Tetz from a cabin toilet, Jake got the suggestion to “chop shop” the Dunk — remove the inner bump and slim it to the width of a Duncan Freehand. He loved it instantly, texted CJ Atkinson from that same toilet mid-poop, and got an immediate yes. CJ suggested the name Slim Dunk on the spot. Jake laughs that it took him weeks to realize “Slim” was a play on “Slam” as well. Having learned from the Dunk’s two-run sellout, he ordered 600 pieces at once — still his largest single run ever. The tiffany blue prototype arrived June 30, 2020, and was immediately approved with zero changes. Jake regrets not running that colorway for production, thinking at the time it was important to keep prototypes visually distinct, which he now calls “stupid.” The main drop on August 17 featured 20 distinct colorways including culturally referential names: Bape (Light Green/Light Blue), Halloween (Black/Orange), Ninja Turtle (Light Green/Brown), Fluch (Pink/Black), Eetsit (Brown/Silver), Redbull (Light Blue/Silver), Pyro (Red/Orange). Jake attempted to ship every Slim Dunk disassembled inside recycled bubble mailers as an environmental gesture — removing the axle, wrapping each half separately, shipping flat. His partner Mikhaila helped with every order. He later acknowledged this had a net zero environmental impact once global air freight was factored in, but finds it funny to look back on. The Nature Series colorways (October 2020) were intended to be more ambitious — a tortoiseshell acid wash, a CJ-inspired colorway for his wrestling persona “The Whisper,” and a camo pattern. The factory delivered three basic two-color splashes instead. Jake pivoted, grouping them as Earth, Water, and Fire. They were the first and last splash-anodized Dunks ever released publicly. The Whisper Edition was eventually executed properly: raw Slim Dunks sent to a USA anodizing shop, blasted and anodized to a dark blue/gunmetal with laser engraving, celebrating CJ’s 4-year wrestling anniversary. The Nicky Slim (nickel plated) was a quiet release of leftover raw Slims sent to the nickel shop alongside Slappas, appearing about 18 months after the original drop.
