Happy Monday everyone!
Today we have Ben Seaberg with Pop Yo-yos!!
What got you into throwing, how did you find the hobby?
I got into the hobby from a mixture of boredom and Terraria. While I didn’t pick up a yoyo immediately after playing the game, it did cause yoyoing to take root as the option for a hobby in my mind.
What is your goal in 2025 for yourself? Yo-yo or not!
I have many yoyo-related goals but I’d say my primary goals are to grow Pop! as into a legitimate, albeit small, business and also to finally develop a playstyle that really speaks to who I am as a person.
If you could only have one yo-yo for the rest of your life what would it be?
There are a lot of good yoyos out there!!! Before creating my own brand the answer definitely would be the C3 Hydrogen Crash but while it’s still my favorite bimetal, the Weasel is sincerely one of my favorite throws at the moment and is a lot better for everyday carry. So, probably the Weasel, but know that I would rather die than live in this dark reality where one can only experience one yoyo.
What trick are you working on currently?
I’m currently working on multiple tricks as I’m trying to learn how to perform various elements on the side that they typically don’t occur on, such as throwhand chopsticks and ninja vanish alongside nth branding!
What’s the trick that gives you the hardest time?
The trick that is currently giving me the hardest time is advanced hooks. I hit the 2.5 hook once and I crave to hit it again but have yet to replicate it.
What’s your favorite trick?
My favorite trick is Titanium Chopsticks! I love how it flows and chopsticks are among my favorite elements.
What’s your favorite yo-yo of all time?
My favorite yoyo of all time is an interesting question as there is kind of a case to be made not just for like “oooh I like how this plays” but also the historical significance of it. I can give you a company-bias answer, a performance-based answer, and an old-school answer.
Pop! Yoyos bias answer: the Weasel (think of it as a massively upgraded roadrunner that plays extremely light for 67.2g)
Raw performance answer: C3 Hydrogen Crash or Plasma Crash
Historically significant answer: YoyoJam Dark Magic II.
What’s the most meaningful throw you have?
The most meaningful throw i have is probably my Yomega Maverick. I got it as my first metallic yoyo and it is by far the most beat up of them as it bears scars from even before I began yoyoing consistently and picked it up as a true hobby.
What’s your worst habit with yo-yos?
My worst habit in yoyoing BY FAR is having a bunch of excessive movement that reduces my trick accuracy.
What’s kind of things are you into outside of yo-yos?
Outside of yoyoing, I like working out, reading, collecting rocks, gaming, and playing Magic: The Gathering. I have a lot of hobbies that I balance.
What song best fits your personality?
There’s a lot of songs out there… I think that a song that describes my personality is a song called Lazy Eye by the Silversun Pickups less from a lyrical standpoint and more from a sonic perspective as I, too, am noisy and happy.
Favorite restaurant and order?
My favorite restaurant is a little hole-in-the-wall called Go! Go! Teriyaki in Everett. Easily the best teriyaki in the city, quite potentially in the state. I yoyo for the owner of the store at times and we know each other on a first name basis. Get the Chicken Katsu there alongside the gyoza.
Favorite movie and or Book?
Favorite book is easy. Lord of the Rings Trilogy, specifically the Two Towers. My favorite movie is probably Pulp Fiction due to the extremely powerful ending. Other books I enjoy are House of Leaves, Master and Margarita, and I’ve also been meaning to read the Finnish Kalevela.
What does yo-yo’ing mean to you?
Yoyoing simply means almost my entire world to me socially. As someone on the autism spectrum socializing has always been a different matter for me than other people might experience, and while I would consider myself charismatic, I wouldn’t say I have had an easy time keeping friends until now.
Yoyoing also helps me build dexterity and creativity in ways that remind me of being a child again. Above all though my world would be a lot darker if I hadn’t met this wonderful community.
What’s your favorite memory from your time in the hobby?
I have 2 favorite memories from yoyoing, both of equal importance. My favorite memory involving me yoyoing is going up against Harrison Lee in the Stargazing tutorial round and beating him despite not considering myself being that good at the hobby.
Outside of my own yoyoing, seeing my yoyo on stage, wielded by my sponsored player Sal Mosley, was truly a surreal moment where I went “Oh crap, I have a company and it’s real!”
What’s your best advice for people to get better at yo-yoing?
The best advice I can give for people getting into the hobby is to be patient. Growth is a journey and that journey should be enjoyed.
Another universal piece of advice i have is to go to competitions and compete in any division you feel comfortable with! Putting your face out there on stage is important and it personally gives me a HUGE motivation boost to get better as soon as I get done competing.
How has the community changed since you started? Where do you want it to go?
It’s interesting seeing how the community has evolved over the past few years, especially being a part of that community. I feel that it is undergoing a healthy growth as events like the Faye Webster Invitational, the PNWR, and other larger competitions draw in new people, but online competitions such as Ante seemed to have become even more popular than when I first started a few years ago.
Something that I feel the community needs to work upon is something that I do very frequently by spreading the “word” of yoyo to as many people as possible. Providing outsiders with access to a new community and skillset is how the hobby grows, and I feel it is our responsibility to help provide others who may not have a community to call home with as welcoming and inclusive an environment as possible. I want to pay it forward and leave our community better than it was when I left it.
If you never picked up a yo-yo - what would things look like now?
Not to go to too dark of a place but if I had never picked up a yoyo it is possible I wouldn’t be here right now. As I alluded to I was actually a somewhat lonely person before all of this, a very different and unhappy person trapped working in a dirt yard and feeling unsure of how to express himself. It’s very likely I would still be that same person without that yomega maverick.
Advice/ words of wisdom to new players?
As I mentioned, patience is key. So is finding your people. Find a club, watch videos, find a community. Growth also doesn’t happen in a vacuum, or if it does, it comes at a severely impeded pace.
Whats you want to tell the world?
Something I want to tell the world is that the world is a dark place. Be a light in that darkness. I feel it’s important to help those that need it, even if it’s as simple as brightening someone’s day by showing them nothing they’ve never seen before, like a sick new combo you’ve been working on or even just a bright shiny piece of metal with a bearing in it.