Ok, a dedicated topic for a specific yo-yo. Now we’re cooking with gas, people!
I kinda dropped out of the hobby for a bit in 2020-2024, so I missed the Deeper State, and had mixed feelings about the loss of my precious side effects, and didn’t get a chance to try it. However, I had hypothesized that a v3 would be great, if it could incorporate all the feedback from the prior iteration…
… plus the naming would be hilarious (and accurate):
Deep State (2017) → Deeper State (2020) → Deepest State (2025)
That’s the third version, and in software, historically speaking, the third version is where things start to get really good – if, if you are listening to all the feedback users are providing and improving the software like you’re supposed to.
A computer industry adage is that Microsoft does not make a successful product until version 3. Its Windows operating system was not a big success until the third version was introduced in 1990 and, similarly, its Internet Explorer browsing software was lackluster until the third version.
So why not apply that same strategy here? I have the Stay Gold project which is two parts:
- First part: many $1m diverse bet immediate donations for firefighting
- Second part: a much longer term, systemic fix for fire abatement to make fires less common rather than endless firefighting. Our strategy is perform rural poverty county level Guaranteed Minimum Income studies to show that trusting the poorest Americans among us with simple, direct monthly cash transfers so they can build better lives spending that in whatever way works best for them is an important part of how we transform this country. We are starting with 3 counties in WV, NC, and MS, but we eventually hope to reach all 50 states, doing 3 rural poverty county GMI studies every 16 months, improving and iterating as we go – building a playbook that others can follow, and doing solid, repeatable science with open data showing that THIS WORKS.
As a part of the longer term strategy we want to highlight how direct cash transfers can encourage the creation of small American businesses making products entirely in the USA, exactly like @da5id of One Drop has been doing since 2007!
I’ve always admired One Drop a lot and in many ways I thought they were the purest of all the US-based yo-yo companies.
So when I brought this up David contacted me and said they already had some ideas for the third version, Deepest State, and .. we had independently converged on a number of “ideal” responsive design thoughs. We had some conversations, and I was thinking
- After finally spending time with the Deeper State myself, I begrudgingly conceded the Deeper is definitely a much overall better playing yo-yo than Deep, at a slight cost in pocketability and loss of side effects.
- I think we could use the feedback on v1, v2, and make an amazing Deeper (v3) and organic was the way to go, which I think is also closer to the ideal for a responsive based on how much I loved the luftverk highwall SS Ti, but it was too dense, and a bit too small. And that’s what David said too! Magic!
- Obviously I GOTS TO HAVE MY SIDE EFFECTS MAN! They’re awesome!!
So I said “this will fit perfectly into our story with Stay Gold, let’s do this, let me help fund/subsidize it for everyone!” I did. I send funds to cover, and then some. Because I can be generous, and if you can be generous, you should be. I don’t know what the hell is up with these other rich people, man, but to me, what is is the purpose of money if not to help other people and create amazing new things for everyone to enjoy? And I think we could all use a little bit more joy right now, agree?
And then one day, two protos arrived: the 56g proto (pictured) and the 58g proto (you can tell the 58g because it has another line on the outside of the cup.
After some playtime with both protos, we decided (unanimously) that the 58g played significantly better, so went with that. And the theme of the project demands, DEMANDS these colorways:
- Gold, Red and Blue splash. Stay Gold, America, right? Damn right.
- Gold. Nature’s hardest hue to hold.. but I believe we can, if try hard enough and work together.
- Silver, Blue, Red solids (USA, also a bit more affordable as solids)
So David kicked much ■■■, delivering, fast:
And then this amazeballs splash 
We decided energy domes in grey were the best look and weight for default side effects, plus the band Devo was way ahead of their time and had a heck of lot to say about what America should be. Check out the Devo documentary. It’s super relevant to what is going on today… trust me. Even if you don’t know the band.. watch it.
Also, I contacted my old pal at YoYoStringLabs @MattB who did the AMAZING lightsaber themed color strings for the Ti-Vayder, and we brainstormed a hi-viz neon string that evoked gold while still being super playable (Nytro, an awesome nylon poly blend) and a unique combination of colors not quite like any other string out there today!
The Stay Gold run will have that string shipped with it, courtesy me (I covered all costs), and it’s GREAT.
The Deepest State is a thing of great beauty. It is a marvel of refined engineering over three careful iterations and incorporated player feedback. Deepest plays like a dream, and it is a joy to hold. It is EASILY one of the best, if not the best, responsives I have ever played. I don’t know how you could improve on this*, honestly. It is so close to an ideal responsive. Just ask @edhaponik if you don’t believe me!
* one does wonder, however, what might happen if one was to.. change materials for future iterations. Who can say what the future might hold 