All I am happy to present today @GTDropKnot! Henry was kind enough to agree to do a profile for us, and I’m excited for everyone to get to know him better!!
What got you into throwing, how did you find the hobby?
It’s pretty serendipitous! My wife and I watched the season of America’s Got Talent where Shu Takada performed. Soon after, I was looking for Christmas gifts at Target. I saw the Butterfly XTs and decided to buy one on a whim. It was only 5$ and that Shu performance was fresh in my mind. I’ve played everyday since then hah! I very nearly didn’t find yoyo to be honest. It seems very lucky to me now…for things to line up how they did. We haven’t watched AGT since then and if it wasn’t nearly Christmas time, I wouldn’t have walked down that aisle. I was also in dire need of a new hobby so things just fell into place at the right moment. I’m incredibly grateful that things did unfold the way they did!
If you could only have one yo-yo for the rest of your life what would it be?
Easily Hades. It has specs completely outside of the norm and I love it. It just feels really good to play to me and fits my hands perfectly. I love that it forces me to play 1A with intention, because if I don’t, the yoyo is so heavy I slow way down. I like almost all other yoyos also, but Hades is the one that always ends up in my hand.
What trick are you working on currently and what is your all time favorite trick?
Not really a specific trick, but right now I’m focusing on getting together a clean two minutes of 3A for the Ante Yoyo Cup online competition in November! I participated in the 1A sport division last year and it was hard, but I improved a ton from that experience. I’m using this as a way to help me focus on 3A and a tool to help me improve. Putting together a full performance is also just fun! Trying not to stray too far from prepping for that right now because two minute of 3A is hard! Hah! I’m a bit nervous!
Ooof…all time favorite trick is difficult…I think I have to go with Coro Coro! It’s just such a cool looking and satisfying trick with so much room to explore fun transitions in and out.
What’s the most meaningful yoyo you have in your collection?
I’m not too sentimental about yoyos themselves, but the pair of Hades I use for 3A means a lot to me. I love that all the scuffs, scrapes, and dings on them remind me of the effort and time I’ve put in to learning the style.
What’s kind of things are you into outside of yo-yos?
I am very much a “one hobby to obsess over” type of person but I also love spending time with my wife our wonderful puppy—Millie!
What’s your “day” job?
I’m a graphic designer! Graphic design is pretty broad, I’ll add that I’m less of a design and illustrate a logo designer and more of a layout all the information on pages for a book type of designer.
What’s your favorite restaurants and order?
Hmmm this is hard hah! Coalfire Pizza in Chicago has fantastic pizzas baked in a wood fire brick oven. I especially like the pepperoni ricotta—sauce, mozzarella, exceptionally good pepperoni, and big dollops of ricotta cheese on top. Any pizza is good for me, but thin crust baked in a wood fired oven is hard to beat.
Favorite movie or TV show?
Without a doubt—Gladiator.
If there was one song that you say fits your mood and personality perfectly, what would it be?
Very hard to pick one, but I think I will have to go with KILL DEM by Jamie XX it has good vibes and a yapping vocal line hah! Just a feel good song that embodies the vibes I try to embody.
What’s your best yo-yo memory?
I think it has to be worlds 2024! It was the first contest I attended and it was just really nice to be there to witness the performances and meet so many of the friends I’ve made online, in person!
What’s your yoyo bad habit?
I loooooove learning new tricks but I don’t always spend enough time with them to really smooth them out and make them look the way I would like. I don’t mind too much because I have a lot of fun playing the way I do, but sometimes I’ll post a trick on instagram, do it again the next day, and kick myself for not sleeping on it and getting a better take.
If you could wake up tomorrow and have any skill set from another player what would it be?
I think it would have to be Hajime Miura’s 3A skills! He’s the best! I have so many theoretical tricks that I don’t yet have the skills to execute. With his skills, I could make them a reality!
What’s the most expensive or rare yoyo you have?
ASTer is the most expensive yoyo I have. I’m not too much of a collector and I’m relatively new compared to the other players you have interviewed, so nothing in my collection is all that rare really.
If you never found yo-yo what would you be doing instead?
I really don’t know! I’m certain I would have found another hobby to obsess over, because that’s just something I have always done…but none of them have felt as perfect for me as yoyo!
How has the community changed from what it used to be, and where do you think it will end up?
This one is a little hard for me to answer because I started playing at the end of 2022 and didn’t find the community until a bit after that. The one thing I’ve noticed is more and more players deciding to try 3A! 3A is a style I think looks amazing and is super fun. For where yoyo will end up…I’m not sure but I hope that the X divisions will grow, especially in the US, and I think we can get them there!
Advice/ words of wisdom to new players?
Have fun yo! Try to focus on enjoying the journey. As a new player, or any player, it can be hard to avoid comparing yourself to people that have been playing yoyo forever and that can be disheartening. In my experience, if you just keep playing, you’ll definitely see improvement. The main thing I want yoyo to be for people is fun! Yoyo is a “skill toy” though so it makes sense for people to want to improve. Improving is fun! If someone’s goal is to improve, I do have some advice.
Learn a lot of tricks! They don’t all need to get to perfectly smooth and beautiful, it is good to get some tricks you like the best to that point, but learning tricks itself is a skill and doing it a lot, will make the act of learning easier. It’s just nice to expand the yocabulary. You’ll find new ways to interact with the yoyo and string and that can inspire new ideas and things to try. There is also a cool snowballing effect where things become familiar and elements are recognize from trick to trick.
Finding the Trick-a-Week thread last year and starting to participate was my gateway to the yoyo community and following along absolutely helped me improve and push out of my comfort zone. Everyone should check it out!
I also think that if people want to improve and playing everyday is a way to make that happen, it’s very important to avoid burn out. Yoyo can be hard and getting too frustrated isn’t good for motivation. Some things that have helped me stay excited to play and motivated are to avoid always trying to push yourself. Sometimes it’s nice to step back and learn something easier because it’s simply fun to learn new tricks. Often, there is still a lot of good yocabulary to pick up too. Also switch up styles! 1a is definitely fun but trying out 5A, 0A etc. can be a great way to stay excited while keeping things light and fun. Learning other styles will help people progress in all the other styles as well. I cannot overstate how much playing 3a has helped my plane control.
What do you want to tell the world?
Play yoyo! Hah! I just really love it for a million reasons and I think many people that don’t yet play would also really enjoy it. If anyone wants to follow me on my yoyo journey, you can find my tricks on instagram @gtdkhenry .