Linda Sengpiel (1944-2001) was a fantastic performer and is believed to have been the first female yo-yo pro. I saw this video at a Found Footage Festival a while back, but noticed it was missing from their site. So I reached out and they sent me a digital copy, which I’ve uploaded to youtube.
I love the tricks Linda does with a hoop and yo-yo, but I think there’s a lot of other great tricks on here as well.
Oh! Didnt know about this! Very cool.
Has anyone successfully been able to complete the $100K Yo-Yo Combo Challenge she sets forth? Sounds like a great contest Idea @Theycallmecotton @AndreBoulay @DocPop @yomartyo @Myk_Myk @codinghorror @Scales @scales-battle @ColinBecko @remybaskin
That was a delight. Mrs. Sengpiel kicked some butt.
That’s amazing – thanks for helping to digitally curate the internet! All this and you got us the yo-yo emoji too! 
I’m curious, what do you think is the earning potential of a modern “paid” yoyo professional in 2020?
Who do you think are the top wage earners?
Has pay gone up or down historically, I suspect way down?
My guess is…John Higby and Dave Schulte are among some of the top earners. (Owners of yoyo companies don’t count).
Gentry has an Academy, but still I’m skeptical. Does YoyoFActory sponsored players receive royalties from signature yoyos? Does Gentry receive money for scheduled appearances?
How many Shutters do you think have ever been produced?
Is DocPop paid handsomely?
Patreon must have been a game changer. Patreon for YoyoNews.com
I bet that Top China Pro makes BANK.
Wonder how much money Linda made for gigs?
Thanks for sharing yo’r thoughts and this video DocPop, I appreciate yo.
Check Doc’s Cars in this vid
I couldn’t afford to live in SF solely as a yo-yo pro, but my Patreon has made it were I can keep doing my monthly PopCast Vlog. It’s helped me buy better gear and occasionally hire an editor to work on the videos. That’s about all I could ask for.
I have no guesses on what a pro’s salary might look like, but it seems like it would be tough if you don’t also have a line of yo-yos that you make and sell.
Those are my kind of tricks. Absolutely loved it.
My understanding is that there were a TON of wild stipulations. You had to put up the same $ amount in escrow and you lost it if you could t match her challenge, if you DID win then you didn’t get the money but it was donated to the charity of your choice, you only got to see the 10-trick sequence once and you had to immediately recreate it in one try, etc. I think at the time, given the average skill level and the equipment, that money was safe. To my knowledge no one ever claimed it. The modern equivalent would be playing HORSE with Takeshi Matsuura ha ha
That’s so awesome
Great, thanks for bringing this treasure to light. She was a real lady (not a fake one as me), and the hoop thing is sick.