I’ve been yoyoing for kids in school (I’m a substitute teacher) alot lately and one of the most common questions I get is “Are you a professional?”
I’m not sponsored or likely to ever be, I don’t own a store, I don’t make my living off yoyoing and I’ve never really even done well at a contest. So usually I get stuck going through a long explanation of why I’m not actually a professional yoyoer. I got kind of frustrated with that recently and just started answering yes.
It kind of makes me feel guilty though. Does anyone else run into this?
So true about the money, I’m also sometimes afraid that when I tell kids how much it is they will try to steal it. That luckily hasn’t happened yet though.
I lot of kids seem to feel I’m a pro or a “master”. I’m far from that. I have a friend who is much better than I am. There are kids doing this who are either younger than me and/or have been doing this less than I have who are better than me.
I’m also not sponsored, but I don’t want to be. I also don’t own a store or business that specializes in skill toys, nor do I want to. This will most likely never be any source of income for me, which I’m fine with, but I swear, any income I make at this I dump back into it. All the money I earn from doing events for yoyo contests, I turn that money back around into vendors’ hands by buying yoyos.
I have more problems with adults questioning why a “grown man is playing with toys”. I’m not concerned with their opinions.
I just say “no” and feel fine about it. When people ask why I do this, I just tell them that it makes me happy, I am enjoying it and it’s fun for rme.
I get the similar questions from my students. Anything beyond rock the baby or walking the dog mystifies the uninitiated. Frankly, my skills are garbage compared to most folks on the boards. I usually own up to my minimal skill and recommend the rascals YouTube the national or international competitions if they want to see true skill. Take their awe as a compliment and enjoy that occasional “whoa…dude!”
Thing is - I have done a few shows, I’ve done some corporate gigs, been on TV, played at a few kids parties and have made some money busking. I haven’t made a lot of money - but I have made more money playing yoyos than I’ve spent on yoyos (I see it more as a “self-sustaining” hobby than a “profession”).
I haven’t had a gig in ages, so when asked that question, I usually just say, “Not at the moment, but I have played professionally”, or if they are younger, “I used to be a pro.” This way they can kind of make up their own mind and you can feel less guilty about “lying” because you’re “not quite that good”.
My advice: Get some friends together for a BBQ, charge them each $5 admission, put on a small, informal show, enjoy the laughs, the drinks, the food, and afterwards you can also legitimately claim that you “Have played professionally!”
I have gotten paid to perform, so I have said, yeah i’m a professional.
Lately I have been saying I’m a competitive yoyo player. Which means I compete at yoyo contests on my own. No Sponsor, all my own. I buy what I want to use, I pay for my travels, food, room and contest fees (if any).
I’ve never said I was pro, but based on a definition of professionalism. We are all pros. We all have a lot of intelligence in yoyoing, and I’m sure we have all performed for someone or someones (trying to sound smart there).
I often wince a little when I hear someone described as a “professional yoyoer”. “Professional” normally means someone does the activity as a paid job. Although there may be a few exceptions, for most sponsored players yoyoing is still a hobby with a few perks, not an actual job.
^^ Exactly! The people who do actually make money (ie. a living) from yoyoing, are less “yoyoers” and more “performers”. John Higby comes to mind, but yoyoing is only part of his show. He is more of a professional entertainer who merely uses yoyos as part of his show, rather than a “professional yoyoer”.
Lol jk. If they’re young, I tend to tell them that there are people way better than me out there, but if they are older I tell them that its not my profession that I’m just another face in the yoyo community, I explain how to get noticed and how to “go pro” but overall I just tell them I’m in it for the fun, for the competition, and for the joy of giving to the community.