Ya I remember sitting in my school auditorium when I was like seven. We were watching Ned. Everybody was so amazed when he was doing the simplest tricks. He is actually the man I bought my first yoyo from. I respect and admire him a lot 
ahhh I remember those good elementary yoyo times :
He actually gave me a Cosmic Spin for free. Heās a nice guy(s) and does deserve respect but he shouldnāt be passing himself as a professional. I actually taught him how to do a GT combo(looks cool, but not to complex that his responsive yoyo wonāt be able to handle it).
Sorry, but he is a professional by definition. He gets paid for what he does.
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Competing != professional. Advanced tricks also do not a professional make.
Sounds like despite the tone of the original story, you were probably pretty nice to Ned. Good on ya!
To answer the original question, Yoyoing hasnāt had a huge impact on my life, but it has been one of the most fun obsessions Iāve ever had. I tend to go at something (be it guitar, home studio recording, watercolor painting, learning a language) with full focus for a long while until I burn myself out on it; but then at the end of it, I fall into the āslow improvementsā rhythm and itās forever a part of my life. Right now that obsession is yoyo and Iām not really sure when itās going to slow down.
In terms of direct impact, a few colleagues have joined me in the obsession, and itās creating the sort of comraderie and friendship that I value. That may not seem like a lot to some people, but Iāve made myself so busy with my family that I have forgotten how to make new friends. 
It also gives my oldest son and I something to share. Sure, he doesnāt yoyo yet (heās only 3) but he can name a lot of tricks, and brought his Brain to pre-school for show and tell. With any luck, heāll continue to be interested in it and it can be a shared hobby. Iām not counting on it (kids are fickle!) but at least the opportunity is there.
Also, it gives me something fun to do with spare moments (I always have a yoyo with me) which actually affects the people around me in a positive way. It starts up lots of conversations with strangers and puts a smile on many faces. Good luck doing that with your nose buried in a game on your smartphone (which is what I would have been doing otherwise). So, I think itās creating general positive vibes around me, which canāt be a bad thing!
He says heās a professional yoyoist. (According to my teacher, I didnāt see it, Iām in Jr.High)
Sorry if any of you guys thought I was rude to Ned. I was very polite and nice. Does my story have a rude tone (I canāt believe Iām in honors L.A, my teacher would be ashamed. Considering we are working on tone)?
The guy was nice, really. Generous too(as he gave me a free Cosmic Spin[which I donated to a little kid that was crying cause his mom did not want to buy him one]). I just donāt feel that itās fair for him to be calling himself a professional yoyo player(yoyoist as he would say. Is it me or does āyoyoistā sound like a name you would give a āyoyo doctorā 
, lol sorry random thought). Real professional yoyo players practice extremely hard to do the tricks they can do at competitions, so it kinda upsets me that he calls himself that (I donāt know why it does, especially due to the fact that Iām not a professional).
He puts on an educational program incorporating yoyos similar to the Science of Spin program, run by another professional yoyoist by the name of Dale Oliver, You might recognize him as being the owner of Spintastics, but then again maybe you donāt. A bunch of nonames like Steve Brown, Dave Bazan and Johnny Delvalle were once associated with that company (spintastics).
JD was in association with that company?
Just to reiterate (and continue the derailment), practicing and competing are not what makes you a professional yoyo player.
In fact, you could be the best in the world, place 1st at Worlds, be sponsored, and still NOT be a professional yoyo player! A sponsorship can come in many different forms (in some cases, complimentary gear and marketing assistance to help you) and doesnāt alone make you a pro. Competing may carry financial benefits if you win, but competing alone doesnāt make you a professional, it makes you a competitor.
Trying to think of another way to put itā¦
āProfessionalā has nothing to do with your skill level. It has to do with whether you make money doing a thing or not. I am a professional software developer not because of a degree (I have a BA and B.Ed!) or because Iām the best in the world (hey, Iām skilled with JavaScript and other web technologies, but a ātrueā developer in the Computer Science sense of the word I am not)ā¦ but because I get paid to develop software every day.
Kept me occupied, saved me some money(not really XD) made alot of new friends, met ALOT of professionals through the process, and got me my first job as well too.
Oh I see. I misread that, really. I thought āNedā was just a 4th grader [assuming 'cause 4th grade teacher] who loved to yoyo.
I sounded hella stupid.
yopro158 talking about professional yoyoers? Man, thatās extremely meta.
I stopped smoking and use my throws to relax me now. it saves me money and keeps me having fun when iām in a stress full environment.
Yes - spintastics. He was sponsored by them before he went to YYJ, and he also designed the caps for the eclipse, and I believe the maelstrom.
What does that mean?
I read this story and thought it was cool. I didnāt think the original poster was rude in any way just sounded like a nice story. Why does jhb need to comment and completely bring down the mood of the thread. If you have a negative comment keep it to yourself. Every thread I see lately has the same outcome.
Jhb is a moderator, he deserves respect. I agree, it was rather rude to tell me what to do, but it is helpful. Most yoyo players are afraid of negative comments, but the reality is that negative comments help you. Whether its on a trick, or in life.
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Because it sounded rude and misinformed to me. yopro158 later clarified his intent and I see now that wasnāt the case at all. My apologies.
I really need to work on tone 
A moderators job is to uphold the rules of the forum not tell people how to live their lives.
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