All - apologies for delays here. I was impacted by not 1, but 2 of the Florida hurricanes that just made landfall.
That being said I’m excited to have one of my favorite players Eric Tran-Ton!!
What got you into throwing, how did you find the hobby?
I think it was during the winter of 04, when a couple of my friends picked up a couple YYF F.A.S.T 201’s after their tour came through Chicago. After playing with one of their’s at recess, I went home and asked my parents to take me to a KB toys to pick up one of my own. I’ve pretty much been yoyoing ever since.
What is your goal in the next year for yourself personal or professional?
I’d really like to make it out more yoyo contests this year. I’ve been pretty disconnected from the wider yoyo community for quite a while now, and I’d like to meet all the new players that have gotten into this community since I’ve been gone.
If you could only have one yo-yo for the rest of your life what would it be?
This is a tough question to answer, it changes all the time. If I had to pick one right now it’d be the mowl Infiltrate Ti. We haven’t released this one yet, but it’s been the yoyo that I pick up every time I want to play for the past year or so.
What trick are you working on currently?
I’m mostly just revisiting older tricks I never finished and figuring out ways to make them feel a bit more modern. That and all the Corocoro tangler variations.
What’s the trick that gives you the hardest time?
Corocoro tangler. I cannot get this trick consistent.
What’s your favorite trick of all time?
All of Daniel Kim’s tricks.
What’s the most meaningful throw you have?
There are 2. The first one would be my Pink Werrd Irony. It was the yoyo I used to make my first worlds finals back in 2011. The second one would be the Unknown x Unparalleled Ignition. Bryan Figueroa is one of my closest friends, and it was super cool finally being able to do a collab with him.
What’s your worst habit with yo-yos?
Not taking out my knots and just changing yoyos.
What’s kind of things are you into outside of yo-yos?
I’m really big into movies. I watch an embarrassing amount of them every year.
What fictional character best fits who you are?
Uhh, I have no idea… Maybe like Uncle Chan from Jackie Chan Adventures.
Favorite restaurant and order?
Ghareeb Nawaz. Chicken Qurma w/ Garlic Naan & side order of Basmati Rice.
Favorite movie and or book?
Favorite movie of all time has to be Reservoir Dogs by Tarantino. I could give a Ted Talk on that movie.
Favorite book is Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton
If you could wake up tomorrow and magically have the skills from one player who and what would it be?
Daniel Kim. He is the best yoyoer in the world, and it’s not particularly close. His flow is incredible.
What’s your favorite memory from your time in the hobby ?
I’ve been in this hobby for so long that It’s quite hard to pick just one. If I really had to it’d be going to my first 44Clash in 2014. That is a contest I wish every player had the chance to experience.
How has the community changed since you started? Where do you want it to go?
How has the community changed since you started? Where do you want it to go?
It would take forever for me to go into how the community has changed over the past 2 decades, and it would make me sound like a crochety old man. So I’ll just focus on where i’d like the community to grow from here.
I think that there has been a really large influx of younger players in the past couple of years thanks to TikTok/Social Media, and I would really like for our community to focus on helping those kids transition into becoming competitors or more “serious” yoyoers. We always want to see/need newer faces in our competitive scene, otherwise our hobby is going to fade away.
If you never picked up a yo-yo - what would life look like now?
If I never picked up yoyoing, I think my life would be much more boring. I wouldn’t have met some of my closest friends, and would have never gotten the chance to travel all over the world. I probably would have spent all the time grinding away at yoyoing playing League of Legends.
Advice/ words of wisdom to new players?
Learn the fundamentals. It’s boring and looks kinda lame, but learning the basics of yoyoing before you move into more advanced tricks will make learning advanced tricks much easier. It’ll also make your presentation look 1000x better.
*Whats you want to tell the world?
Thanks for being a part of my life for the past 20 years. It’s been an amazing experience being a part of this community and I’m grateful for being accepted by it, but more importantly Daniel Kim is the best yoyoer in the world.