Sorry, no results. There are results, that’s not what this is about.
Rolled in a half an hour late. Why? It’s hard to wake up at 5AM for me these days and two of my kids wanted to come with me. I think they wanted to go to meet Andre Boulay. Anyhow, I roll in with my truck, and my crew, stephosh, theroybit and two others who are friends of mine from other shows that I do, got down and dirty and got it done. We missed our set-up mark by 15 minutes, which was amazing considering the logistics of moving gear into the venue, and then we were further delayed by waiting for the power to get turned on. Once we got rolling, it was nearly non-stop “throw and go”.
Great day. Wonderful weather. Finally got to meet Andre Boulay. Saw JD for a second time. Worked with Stu Branof again. Also saw Chris “Dr. YoYo” Allen again. As a team, JD, Stu and I work very well together. I think in general, I “have arrived” in the yoyo world. I think having my logo on a banner with the likes of JD, YYE, Duncan and many other important brands really is an honor and a privilege.
Other highlights: Saw many more amazing players. I FINALLY got to meet Josh Yee. Elephark earned his way into the 1A finals, which no doubt helped his issues with competitions as well as PROVING what I said was true: concentrate on YOUR flow and “screw the rest”. I don’t think he would have placed in the Top 5, but I think if points weren’t an issue and artistry was, man, Elephark would be kicking serious butt. Sorry, I like how the guy plays and I wish it would get more notice from a “Critical” perspective. Josh Yee hit his 3A clean and walked away with a well earned 3rd place, so I’m happy for him. I honestly wish I could watch more, but I gotta bury my face in the computer screen and watch times for music cut-offs.
Either way, many amazing players. Too many to list, too many to remember. But I’ll try. Anthony Rojos, Paul Han, Mark Montgomery, Paul Dang, Patrick Mitchel(oops, spelling error, fixed!), just to name a few.
Let me get to what I really wanted to talk about. The event is over and we’ve pretty much got all my stuff back in the truck. I’m out walking the stage doing an “idiot check” to make sure I’ve got everything. I come back and there’s Joseph Harris, who is a player I like, mostly since watching his 2A made me want to get into 2A, and well, I got a pair of Unleashed as well. As far as 2A is concerned, I do like my Unleashed pair the best. Anyhow, this isn’t quite about me. He kinda had this look of amazement on his face and my son, who is 5, is the target. I’m like “uh, what is Joseph Harris doing here, but either way that’s still cool”. My son was playing his red Protostar and doing some trick he made up so it takes him longer to bind. I think Joseph Harris was walking by and he said “now bind it back” and like a machine, did that front bind that he can do and brought it back to his hand. That impressed Joseph Harris, who wasn’t expecting that!
My kid impressed a pro! 5.5 years old! He can’t do much yet, but I think this is a heads-up that I may have created a yoyo monster!
Yes, there are witnesses!
My only regret of the day: I didn’t get a chance to throw! I did get to share my collection with anyone who asked nicely(and every single one did without exception). I did try JD’s new Trigger. I’m not sure what I’m allowed to share, but let me say two things: ME WANT and “yes, it’s affordable and reasonably priced”. JD couldn’t sell me something I wanted(a YYJ throw) because I think YYJ was also selling some stuff at their table, but that’s fine. No offense implied, but JD just secured himself a sale so it’s all good as I’ll get those two items when they drop.
Weather was amazing. The atmosphere was fantastic. Yoyo love + sound love = LOVE LOVE. Bring together people with PASSION over what they do and you guarantee an amazing event. The lack of sleep and the sunburn and back pain are SO worth it. I guess it doesn’t hurt I got it on both ends of that simple math equation!
