Excited today for Michelle Dauer also known as “Yo-yo Mom”!! Michelle’s Instagram an amazingly talented individual, and a true inspiration in the hobby with some great stories here! Hope you enjoy!!
What got you into throwing, how did you find the hobby?
So, my son Justin started yoyo’ing about ten years ago. In the beginning, we spent almost all of our time watching contest vids and talking about yoyos and yoyo players. A few years into it he started competing and we spent entire weekends at contests. One day I got tired of sitting around watching all these cool tricks and decided to challenge myself…Could I do this? Why not? I had done so much in my life already and knew I wanted to add a new, fun hobby into my life…So instead of knitting or painting, like most middle aged ladies, I decided to start yoyo’ing! It has been a slow, but fun process learning! I’m proud of myself for working to get where I am.
If you could only have one yo-yo for the rest of your life what would it be?
Hmmmm…I wonder….haha! No, honestly, I have been wanting to yoyo so much more with Justin’s new signature, the Duncan EVOLVE. There’s something different about it that just makes me yoyo better…It has a wide gap and feels floatier than any other yoyo I’ve used. It honestly is making me want to yoyo more cause I love the way it feels. He did a great job on the design according to lots of people who got it at Worlds!
What trick are you working on currently and what is your all time favorite trick?
Not working on anything in particular but when I’m in the mood I go to Rewind tutorials cause I can always find something that looks super cool and is fairly easy. It’s super hard to find just the right tutorial… I get stuck so much! I’m thinking about continuing the Skill Addicts causeI’ve heard it covers a lot of the basics I skipped right over wanting to do just cool looking stuff. Haha! Favorite trick is Eli Hops cause it looks flashy to non yoyo’ers and I can do it anytime, anywhere!
What’s the most meaningful yoyo you have in your collection?
I would have to say my Andrei Conag YoyoFactory Hyperrr Edge. In 2018 there was a player named Andrei Conag who was a great player who had a bright future in yoyo. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with Leukemia and passed away in 2018. Justin and I attended Andrei’s funeral, representing the yoyo community, and became friends with his parents. His mom, Jessica, takes pictures with the Hyperr Edge yoyo on all her trips still keeps up with and supports the yoyo community even thought her beloved son isn’t with us. To keep the memory of Andrei alive you can find a few videos on YouTube that will make you smile. If You could drop a comment for his mom, I’m sure she would really appreciate it.
What’s kind of things are you into outside of yo-yos?
I’ve been riding dirtbikes in the California desert with Justin and my hubby for over 15 years now! I absolutely love the freedom of being out in the open desert enjoying trails and using the skills I’ve learned. There have been many times where we were in the middle of nowhere, or on super sketchy mountain trails with a sheer cliff on one side…It has definitely strengthened me mentally as well as my riding skills, having no choice but to get out of these situations! I also LOVE to vacuum and buy shoes 
What’s your favorite restaurants and order?
I actually don’teat out much as my hubby loves cooking and whips up some of the most amazing dishes you have ever tasted. Lemon Chicken, Shrimp Scampi, Smoke Tri Tip, Teriyaki Chicken with Kim Chi Fried Rice….I could go on and on!! I’m super lucky I can yoyo while he cooks dinner! haha
Favorite movie or TV show?
Not a huge movie or tv watcher but I gotta say my favorites movies are Daddy’s Home 1 & 2! It’s got the family aspect, Will Ferrell is so hilarious and Mark Walberg is not hard to watch so it has everything for me! I love watching either documentaries or shows like Married at First Sight or Love is Blind…I prefer reality shows oppose to scripted where I know it’s something that actually happened in real lifeand you can learn from it rather than something that was scripted.
If there was one song that you say fits your mood and personality perfectly, what it be?
First song that popped into my head was You Should Be Dancing by the Bee Gees so I’m going with it.
What’s your best yo-yo memory?
Oh my goshhh…most definitely the moment Justin won Nationals this past June. I posted a video on my channel “ 2024 U.S. National Yoyo Contest Justin Dauer- 1A Champion Announcement” that pretty much sums up how I felt. I’m having an out of body experience, literally, making unidentifiable noises, shrieking and who knows what else cause I cannot believe after 10 years of competing that he actually won. It was so unexpected…I still can’t believe it.
What’s your yoyo bad habit?
Well, I don’t know if I yoyo enough to have bad habits but I can tell you that once I learn a trick and post it, I will forget how to do it by the next day most of the time. It’s crazy. But the middle-aged foggy brain in women is REAL. I have to relearn everything ( much easier the second time though 
)
If you could wake up tomorrow and have any skill set from another player what would it be?
I’d love to yoyo like Tyler Vinneau or Justin. Those are my two favorite players
How do you want to inspire others?
One of the reasons I yoyo is because I want to show people that there are no boundaries in sex, age or skill level. You CAN do anything if you want it bad enough and set your mind to it. There are seriously not enough female yoyo’ers, so that really inspires me to keep going andhopefully inspire more women and even mom’s to start. I want people to experience the joy of pushing through something hard and coming out the other side having something beautiful to show for it.
If you never found yo-yo what would you be doing instead?
When I first read this question, I’m not gonna lie…it made me cry. To imagine my life, to imagine Justins’ life, our lives without yoyo, makes me feel so completely empty. It hurts to even think about how much fun, friends and love we would be missing out on.
How has the community changed from what it used to be, and where do you think it will end up?
I love the way Brandon Vu, Angelo Aguirre ( Angel2Up) and Gentry have inspired the next generation of yoyo’ers through social media. Some may think it’s cringy, but they truly have put in the work to bring our hobby to the mainstream. Because of them we have new kids coming every month to DXL Crew meetup in Los Angeles. From there I guide the parents to all the yoyo resources and how to learn tricks, find contests and become part of the community. If it weren’t for these pioneers we might not have a next generation of yoyo’ers…We might not even have contests anymore. I think our community and future is VERY bright and we have them ( Brandon, Angelo, Gentry) to thank for it.
Advice/ words of wisdom to new players?
Yes!! Get connected to other players at your age or skill level. Just reach out! Yoyo’ing is fun alone, but wayyyy more fun with others. In person or get together on Discord or Zoom! Justin’s on every night with friends…makes me happy to see all the guys together yo-braining and getting better.
What you want to tell the world?
If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all…( it will be screenshotted haha) !!Life is short…Have fun!! Push yourself to do hard things! Encourage and try to understand others…you never know what they are going through. What you put in, you get out… Try meeting people different than you…you will learn and grow. I could go on and on….haha! You’re still here??? You guys are real ones!! <3 Thanks for having me here!