How did you get into yoyoing, and or what made you start?
I personally started because I had met a kid at my church who was a great yoyo player. I thought it was the best thing I had ever seen. I eventually got into it as well and we would always meet up and show off new tricks and ideas. He introduced me to some awesome yoyos, and I actually got a clyw summit and avalanche from him that I still use almost everyday… that was maybe 5-6 years ago and I’m still happy I found/ was shown real yoyoing.
I ended up watching this One Drop Nationals 2018 Documentary after stumbling into r/throwers one night. Watching that video changed my perception of yoyoing. Before that, it never really occurred to me that a yoyo could be a tool for artistic expression. I liked that they continuously talked about how it’s not about competition, but just chilling out and having fun with your friends and being creative. I wanted to be a part of that culture.
Last April I was just like, “Where’s the yoyo I used to play with when I was a kid? I feel like trying it out again.” Couldn’t find it so I ordered one off of YYE. The end.
I found yoyoing, oddly enough, at the 2019 World Scout Jamboree. Duncan had set up their own booth to promote yoyoing in scouting and it caught my attention. There were a couple of expert throwers at the event and I decided that it was worth a try. I ended up buying my first real modern yoyo (duncan barracuda) and the addiction spiraled onward from there.
First was the late 90’s Elementary school yoyo craze (knock off x-brain from the dollar store) that didn’t last long.
Second time was in 2011-2012 ish. Roommate had a yyf starlite that they couldn’t figure out how to bind. I got it to bind first try and have been throwing ever since. I really should be better, that was over 10 years ago
I was 18 years old in my ceramics class in 2009.
My teacher had a Duncan bumblebee in his office. I thought it was interesting so I googled trying to find a yoyo for myself and discovered the community. Found Andres videos and that’s all she wrote.
I started throwing on the yomega fireball in the 90s yoyo boom. Threw off and on for years. Got into modern yoyoing when I seen a doc about yoyo jam and loved watching Hiroyuki Suzuki. After the doc I got the yoyojam speeder and started to learn 1a. At this time I was mainly skateboarding but learned some tricks in my free time (wish I took it more serious and learned more than I did back then). Took a 5 year break and now I am back trying to see how good I can really get. Have learned more in the past 4 months than since I started back in the 90s This time I’m here to stay. Absolutely love this community
My current foray into yoyoing began in the summer of 2018 after seeing the video of Evan Nagao’s winning 2018 Nationals freestyle that went viral (Freebird baby!).
In 2015 I was speaking to a guest at the resort I work at about childhood toys and yoyos came up. I ordered an Imperial online because I figured Walmart nor any other store would even have them. Within a month I had half a dozen yoyos. I got good at one-handed looping a year later then I just lost “IT” and was on and off until Sept. 13, 2018 when I learned Brain Twister. By November I was full-on unresponsive and deep into the Yoyo Rabbit Hole.
I started messing around last year for the first time since high school. Pick up a yyf arrow. Then MYY Silencer. Saw Shu Takada’s spiderman clip, and was hooked.
In September it will be one year since I started playing again. I started in the mid 80’s and stopped in ‘92. Then last year I was walking through Walmart and saw the Duncan Imperials for $3. My son was six so I bought him one and one for myself. Once I went online and learned what yo-yos were capable of now, I was hooked.
Well I’ve had a lot of yoyos over the years which I regretfully lost or broke, however I have a total of six yoyos at the moment. I took a couple year break and only now got back into it recent! 1. Clyw summit, 2. Clyw avalanche, 3. Clyw bear trap, 4. Mk1 umbra, 5. OD benchmark v, 6, OD x ohyesyo eclipse 2…
Just got a new job recently and I been saving and waiting to get more which I believe I will do very soon
Diabolo, strangely enough. I was looking into diabolos and doing some research online when I ran into a comparison thread between that and offstring yoyo. Before that, the last I knew about yoyos was that the Duncan Butterfly fixed axle was the epitome of yoyos.
I took a deep dive into unresponsive, and the different styles, picked up a First Base, and that was all she wrote.
As a 90s kid who had a fireball during the boom, the hardest thing any of us could do was throw an around the world and that’s where yoyo ended for us. I never thought about yoyos again until /xs/ got added as a board on 4chan and somebody made a post about if yoyoing was considered an extreme sport. They linked the First 50 Tricks list and recommended a sage. After learning everything from that list, I decided it was fun enough that I’d buy a speedaholic XX and a counterweight since 5A seemed interesting. From that point I’ve been completely hooked and have been playing for a few hours every day since. If whoever made that post browses the YYE forums, thanks anon.
I really haven’t spent any time with 1A since learning the first 50 tricks though. I’ve learned some weird stuff since like umihara hook and yoink slack, and learned some tricks that other people mention a lot like white buddha, but 1A just doesn’t hold my attention like 5A has.
This time I’m here to stay. Absolutely love this community