About Paul Escolar
Paul John Escolar (February 6, 1984 – April 17, 2021) was a Bay Area yoyo player, trick innovator, and graphic artist from Alameda, California, widely regarded as a godfather of modern 1A yoyoing. He began throwing in 1998 during the height of the yoyo boom, joining David Capurro’s Spindoctors YoYo Club in the San Francisco Bay Area — a crew that also produced Gabe Lozano, Gary Longoria, Johnnie Delvalle, Augie Fash, and Spencer Berry. Paul was an experimenter in the era he helped define: the “Mid-School” years after fixed-axle play but before non-responsive binding took hold.
Between 1999 and 2001, starting at around age 16, Paul invented the tricks that would become the foundational vocabulary of modern string play. The Green Triangle, Magic Drop, White Buddha, and Kamikaze — all now staples taught to beginners worldwide — were products of his experimental approach, which he described as chasing “happy accidents”: deliberately practicing mistakes until they became controlled techniques. Magic Drop emerged from noticing the yoyo’s spin forcefully throwing the string out of plane. Green Triangle came from deciding to do tricks inside a knot rather than escaping it. He was sponsored by SuperYo and toured with HPK Marketing before being recruited by Steve Brown into the nascent Duncan Crew around 2001.
Paul’s association with Duncan Toys lasted over fifteen years. In 2002, he was named Trick Innovator of the Year. Rather than pursuing a formal competitive career — he described himself as “never a real competitor, never a national or world champion” — he gravitated toward judging, demonstration, and mentorship, co-coordinating the Bay Area Classic contest with Johnnie Delvalle. He was a fixture at the judges’ table at contests across the country. As a graphic artist, he produced work for nearly every major yoyo brand, including CLYW, Save Deth, and One Drop, and contributed artwork to the One Drop Code 2 Argonaut Special Edition and several Duncan colorway releases.
Paul passed away unexpectedly on April 17, 2021. Duncan released a posthumous Freehand ONE Memorial Edition in April 2022, with proceeds going to his family. In April 2024, a memorial art show — “The Art of Paul Escolar (In Memory)” — was held at Method Made SF Gallery in San Francisco’s Mission District. His legacy is inseparable from the tricks every 1A player learns: as Ed Haponik wrote, “it could be argued that no progressive modern player has been more innovative or inspirational than him.”
In Their Own Words
From an interview with Matt McDade, YoYoNews, August 26, 2013.
How did you get your start?
“I made up most of those tricks when I was 16, and I pretty much only actively thought about yoyo tricks and combos for a couple years — 1999 to 2001.”
How did Magic Drop come about?
“Magic Drop was an accident… I consider Magic Drop the simplest and earliest form of string rejection.”
And the Green Triangle?
“Green Triangles was a trick I came up with to say — hey, this mount is inside of a knot, whatever, let’s do tricks with it.”
What advice do you have for players?
“Be creative! Yoyos are toys — have fun with them. Practice your skills constantly, build flow and persistence, avoid trends. Explore and experiment!”