I’m sure they use input from the thrower because high level competition throwers literally have more expertise than anyone alive and can appreciate subtle differences in design much more than the average person.
That said, the throw has to have a certain level of uniqueness and marketability and they have to find a way to put that in even if it isn’t necessarily at the guidance of the person whose name is on it.
I think the Onslaught is a good example. It’s Iori Yamaki’s new signature but he still competes with the Draupnir. Also, Kengo Kido is a brilliant designer himself so I would guess the conversation with Iori went like “Hey I’ve got some new ideas for an awesome yo-yo that will have a unique design with “wings” and other new features and it will play really fast, the way you like. If I sent you two prototypes will you tell me which you like better and why?”
You can add Kieran Cooper to the list of elite yoyoers who don’t compete with their signature throws (or, at least, didn’t in this year’s top contests). It is pretty evident that having a signature yoyo is as much a business proposition as it is a competition benefit.
It seems to me that if you are “big” enough in the yoyo world to compete at the top levels, be sponsored, and have yoyo companies lining up to make products with your name on them, then I doubt it takes long before the commercial/financial benefits start to become as, if not more, important than just the purely practical (competition) benefits. Unless you already have money to burn, you don’t stand in the way of making income just because you might not compete with a new signature throw.
In effect, smart players compete with whatever will help them win contests, but put their name on whatever will help earn income. When those yoyos can converge and be one and the same, that’s great, but it doesn’t (and won’t) always be that way for every yoyo a player puts his name on.
I picked up a bimetal VK on a whim during the YYF B grade sale. It’s shockingly good. It plays very light and agile with really nice string feel, but still has decent power and stability.
Day 1. 12 hours in Machine shop with Evan and his dad.
Day 2. Back to machine shop.
Day 120ish Edge produced.
Evan is the most hands on with his yoyo design in our experience. He now does his own CAD. His latest YoYo (that he competed with at worlds) has been prototyped 3 times and we just approved production. The file is #22, meaning we have been back and forth at least 21times with changes.
7075 Bimetal made in the USA. That one was one of our last attempts at making premium product in our local machine shops. I was super happy with the results too. The design philosophy was to make a premium VK and potentially recreate other players signature yoyos at a higher level for people who appreciate made in the USA.
If anyone wants a specific story I will happily tell it.
Every player has a certain level of involvement.
At one stage everyone on our team just wanted a yoyo that looked and played like a genesis… that isn’t realistic and its my job to crush dreams.
Some signature yo-yos are an opportunity, some fill a need in the market and give a player the opportunity to generate some income to hopefully continue for them to stay in yoyo longer for the benefit of everyone.
Some people ask for Tri-Metals.
The hard part happens if a signature yoyo doesn’t sell. If you give someone the freedom to create the yoyo they dreamed of… but no-one else wants… what happens then? You let them try again and again, or do they need to come back to playing with a non-signature yoyo? Its a hard situation and one we try to avoid.
Bi-Metal shutter wasn’t designed by Gentry, Or even us. It has its own story and we will have fun telling it between now and release later this year.
Do you trademark your yoyo names/brands? Either way, surely you and Gentry had to approve of the design (and its production) or it would never happen, right?
And why did it take so long to get a bi-metal Shutter to market? It’s not like the Shutter was some obscure model with little marketplace presence and an uncomfortably high risk/reward ratio for going bi-metal.
yeah we register our significant trademarks. We have both approved this design. Its a shutter but neither of us did the cad, merely the concept.
Why no bimetal shutter? dude just won worlds again without it. only 2 people have ever done it with a bimetal. why bother? it needed a point, it needed the story… again, its a story we will enjoy telling, but not today!
I mean, what other reason is there for, say, the Wedge, polycarb Edge, K’Edge, or any of the Edge-branded models that Evan never competed with (and never would have)?
Any chance you’ll give him a sig that isn’t a shutter?
He’s been playing with pretty much the same yoyo for 6 years. Any chance we will see something new for him?
Compared to yoyos 6 years before the shutter, yoyos now havent changed much at all since the shutter came out. Shutter is still a super loved and super viable yoyo to use.
I mean he did win USA nationals on a $16 yoyo lol.
Gentry has a strong connection with the shutter. We deliberately havnt messed with it too much because its very real. He gets everything he needs from the shutter and its very nice to be able to look a kid in the eye and let them know the same yoyo they got for there birthday really is the one he used to win contests with.
That being said, shutter has changed a fair bit over the 6 years, the biggest change was named in wide angle but the subtle changes in shape, weight, finish, pads and bearings all add up.
I was half right. The new shutter colors are a restock. But bi metal shutter is a thing. Guess i gotta pull out the money this fall because its gonna get spicy
