The Deepest State edITION is a celebration of modern responsive play, created in close collaboration with one of its most influential voices, Ed Haponik. One Drop set out to build this release exactly the way ed prefers it, from the way it feels out of the box to the way it looks in motion. This is modern responsive design through the eyes of a true master.
Here is the story in Ed’s words, and how this special version came to life:
“Way back in 2024, I received a text from my friend David about the idea of a fixed-axle aluminum yo-yo. We chatted idly about the benefits and challenges of the idea, I joked about the idea of a “Deepest” State, and we never discussed anything like it again…
Until this summer, when he shot me a text detailing his plan to release a real, responsive ball-bearing Deepest State in collaboration with Jeff Atwood’s “Stay Gold America” initiative. The pics he sent me looked amazing, and the prototypes he sent me were even better. I gave him feedback on the weight and response, but I just couldn’t put the thing down - especially after I swapped in a rubber-sealed greased bearing I got from Spencer Berry. It just felt so familiar. (A few days later I realized that probably had something to do with the profile’s similarity to my favorite fixie ever - the No Jive!)
After a few weeks of moderate-to-debilitating yo-yo addiction, I texted David tentatively about collaborating on a version of the yo-yo, and thankfully he and Shawn were totally on board. We started talking about it almost as a mod - or like a pro model skateboard with specific hardware/components dialed in to suit my style of play. He didn’t shut down any ideas, and as we kept sharing plans for what David started calling the “edITION”, our vision for this yo-yo came into clearer focus.
The biggest thing was the bearing. While I loved it with my rubber-sealed one, I found the stock One Drop 10-Ball just too unresponsive for my style of stall tricks, flips, and regenerations. I gave David some suggestions on sourcing other bearings, but he was like “How about we just release our own?” The silicone-sealed 10-ball bearing he sent me was EXACTLY what I felt the yo-yo needed. We agreed on the name “Greasebucket” which describes the viscosity AND refers to a Fender classic tone circuit. (David and I are both bass players!)
