Using an imperfect paintbrush can result in incredible art. At least, that’s how I imagine how we ended up with players “back in the day” creating whole new styles and innovating in a way that isn’t seen as much today. Wish I could have been there.
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Not weird at all! But thankfully there are still makers putting out plenty of interesting designs. There’s just more of everything. Maybe too much.
Can I miss when there were fewer yoyos to choose from? 
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I’ll try to buy more so there will be fewer for you to choose from. Always glad to be of assistance! 
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just please don’t buy that one yoyo I’m looking for, though. you know the one, it is roundish and spinny
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Even though YoyoJam closed doors 1 year after I started yoyoing I still miss them.
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my favorite was swapping Proyo 2 halves with other random kids at the mall
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A couple of memories stick out in my mind all these years later.
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I had a Duncan Imperial and I think a Firebird or something, essentially all I could do with them was make them go down and up. My brother’s friend had this awesome wing shaped, purple, rubber yoyo that spun what seemed like forever. I didn’t even know yoyos could sleep at that point lol. I begged my parents to get a new yoyo, and after a fair bit of chores, my parents relented. At the time, there was a kite and hobby store about 40 minutes away that my dad knew about, and he took me on a weekend to pick out a yoyo. The only one they had were the Duncans I already knew about, and a green Yomega SaberWing(I think) and that’s the one I picked. That store has since, unfortunately, closed it’s doors.
Also, if anyone remembers a purple rubber yoyo from the mid to late 90s, I have no idea anymore what brand it was, I’d love to know what it was. -
I wish I could remember who the demonstrator was, but we had someone come to our school in like 1998ish to do an awesome yoyo demonstration and he was selling Yomega fireballs, and dang near every kid in school was into yoyos for a while.
I’d love to get those yoyos again even if they aren’t the ones I actually had, as I have no doubt they have long since been thrown away during one of my moms annual toy purges lol.
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This might be more accurate actually
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Every day is the old days, eventually.
I’ve got great memories of friends and yoyos and contests. But the fact of the matter is that we’ve got to remember to cherish today too. Because it’ll be in the past soon enough and then we’ll long for it.
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that was some deep philosophy. you, sir, are wise beyond your years.
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Along those lines…are we making memories today that will make today part of “the good old days” for us in 20 years? I know in 20 years I will remember learning Brain Twister on September 13, 2018 on my red Sage, on October 16, 2018 recieving a YYF Horizon from @codinghorror as an unexpected gift in the mail (my first high quality metal), other gifts I recieved from Forum members unsolicited or as extras with trades, the person who personally taught me (in 10 minutes) a trick I struggled with for a month. Right now, all my yoyo friends are here but whether or not this Forum exists in 20 years I will remember the people I traded with and the tips I picked up as well as technical information I was taught about and most likely who I got the information from.
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Hmm maybe - I feel like I remember it being all purple, without the silver, but I may be misremembering it
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I truly hope we are currently making memories that will make today “the good old days”. I remember several years ago when Andre taught my youngest daughter Brain Twister, when my kids (and I) were excited to meet Gentry Stein and Augie Fash at NER. Hanging out with the grown ups either at yoyo contests or A2Z yoyo school, throwing with the guys from New York YoYo Club whenever life took me to NYC, and, too many forum friendships to list without fear of leaving people out. Lets face it, the yoyos and the tricks are cool, but, the real prize are the people and friendships.
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I remember way back in fifth grade (dang it feels like no time at all now being in high school) one of my friends brought a yoyo and learned a few basic tricks, after that everyone got yoyos and started to try to learn. After the week or two of that being a thing I found a Magic (M8 I think) on Amazon and got it, learned to bind and from there is how I got into yoyoing.
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I still remember getting my first No Jive, hyperwarp, cherry bomb, cappy spinfaktor, buying a hitman the day it dropped and ordering the yonomicon the day it was published. I remember the excitement of getting each and the things each of those yoyos taught me. That was all about 20 years ago, I still have all those yoyos, they all have fond memories attached. BUT the 90’s yoyo boom was awful in many ways, too many businesses trying to cash in on a fad is never a good thing, it got ugly and cut throat. There was a lot of crap on the market. It wound up driving away many of the more sincere participants. I don’t ever want to see that again.
I’ve never known any other serious yoyoists in real life, so various forums have always been my social group. For years I made the mistake of mostly lurking, I was too shy to really put myself out there. Somehow YYE forums changed that for me. I’ve made friends here.
The last few years have seen its own kind of yoyo boom, not in mass popularity, but in abundance. The opportunity for almost anyone to develop and sell a yoyo or string or accessories is something really special. I’m amazed when look at all the small operations (often just one or two people) bringing cool stuff to our hobby. I really wish I could buy everything and support them all and experience everyone’s vision of a great yoyo. It is almost impossible to buy a bad yoyo today. I remember buying so many hyped things during the 90s boom that just sucked. The vibrant and competitive collectors market is another great thing which I really enjoy, its fun to pick the treasures out of the rubble of the past.
Then there’s organizations like the scales collective, YYE’s club sponsorships and Steve’s new 5A effort doing innovative things to bring yoyo competitions, clubs and other aspects of the hobby to those who have not been able to physically attend a club or competition.
I hope this all lasts forever, but if it doesn’t I will definitely remember these times to be the best of the good old days.
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I miss yoyojam too. When I first started yoyoing when I was a little kid I used to dream of being on team yoyojam. I thought their yoyos must be the highest performance machines in the world.
It’s neat to see how far yoyo performance has come in many ways. I feel very lucky to be able with a company that makes yoyos as high performance as Sengoku.
What I want is today’s yoyos with yesterday’s competitions. 
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I remember releasing the cutting edge DV888 just like it was last week 
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Yesss 