Shai, you’ve got to remember that this likely started because you pretty much openly called him greedy and you don’t even personally know him. He didn’t like it and he responded. That, more than difference of opinion, is the root of all of this.
Let’s get back on topic. Any further posts making remarks at specific individuals will be removed. A lot of what was said here towards each other definitely hurt feelings and that is opposite the goal of the forum.
Please keep in mind when you write - if you ‘think’ something about something - it is very different the ‘stating it as fact’.
Thank you.
- André
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I feel accomplished having Steve Brown, dirty birdy AND Andre in my thread! ;D
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^^^ (One of these things is not like the others) Not quite sure how I fit into this group ^^^ :
That being said, getting back to the original question as posed by MiniBuddha…As far as a brand being “a” or “the” symbol of American yoyoing I would have to profer Andre and YoYoExpert as one outstanding example. Not willing to sit on his abilities, recognitions, and competition laurels, Andre started YoYoExpert as a place for modern yoyoers to hang out, then expanded into broad marketing of all things yoyo, and, becoming a prime move, shaker, and sponsor of yoyo events worldwide. Not bad, for a nice “kid”!
db
P.S. I haven’t actually seen him doing his “shaking” as above, but I suspect it may be along the lines of Steve’s pink tutu routine…I’m just sayin’
P.P.S. Whoops I just messed up, making “remarks at specific individuals”!!! Sorry, Andre!
I don’t believe intelligence can be measured with one number, it’s lime the Power level in DBZ, it simplifies it too much.
Don’t confuse intelligence with knowledge.
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You are in excellent company my friend
Also, agree YYE is awesome!
Soo…
What do you specifically mean by “American yoyoing”? Do you mean the best representation in yoyoing of what is generally considered “the American Dream” or do you mean the best representation of the current, modern American scene?
I think the best representations of the American Dream as represented by a manufacturer would be pre-bankruptcy Duncan, which was the very model of American entrepreneurship. An immigrant came to this country, started his own company, and cashed out for more than $250,000 during the Great Depression. He sold it to another entrepreneur, who built it into a global brand before its bankruptcy in the late 60s and eventual sale to Flambeau.
A close second would be YoYoFactory, a company started by an out-of-work yoyo demonstrator based on one model that he financed the development and manufacturing of by quite literally selling everything he owned and living close to poverty while he and his partner hand-assembled every single piece from the early production runs. In the past ten years they’ve grown it to be one of the largest yoyo companies in the world and arguably one of the most recognizable and respected brands. Going from your one-room apartment to selling millions of yoyos worldwide seems to pretty well embody the American Dream to me.
If you’re looking for a modern avatar of the current American scene, I’d say that’s a tougher order. The scene is fractured, unprofessional, incohesive, and still ultimately very, very young. It’s got a lot of people working hard but with little to no resources and almost no outside money coming in. There is some movement with the NYYL starting to get organized and Duncan’s Disney Alliance partnership, but by and large it’s still very much a “hobbyist” scene and not especially professional in any noticeable way.
Equating that to a manufacturer might not be the most flattering thing to do. 
The YoYoFactory story really is a great one, I remember being at…I want to say Nats 2005 when the FAST 201 was out and Hans had a prototype 401k that he was showing to select people. I saw that yo-yo with it’s adjustable response and honestly thought “this yo-yo will change the world”. As it turns out people moved away from responsive play far more quickly than anticipated and the 401k didn’t have the impact I expected - that being said, the Velocity is still a great yo-yo for beginners and YYF didn’t do too badly for themselves in the long term
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I said it before, I guess I should expand on it. There are two companies that I would say epitomize American yoyoing both for very similar reason.
One Drop
They started life as a machine shop doing fabrication work for many different fields from medical to gun accessories and anything in between. David and Shawn were just two reggae loving dudes from Eugene with a strong grasp of metal fabrication. They had their eureka moment when a thrower came into the shop and asked them to build a yoyo. They released their first design to positive reviews from the community and built it up from there. From there they changed their shops focus to yoyo manufacturing while innovating the hobby with new technology and rock solid design. Their quality has become so well known that they have expanded their shop to accommodate more machines so that they could manufacture for other companies… including THE two biggest names in the hobby.
General Yo
Ernie started his business truly by accident. He was walking around one day and happened upon some throwers doing their thing. He enjoyed the spectacle of it, researched and asked questions about what makes a good throw, pulled from his own experiences in aerospace engineering, and created one of the biggest sleeper hits in the yoyo industry. It may have taken a little time for his first throw, the Torrent, to gain its monumental reputation, and become the gold standard for yoyo smoothness, but it has been nothing but up from there and has allowed him to turn one of his many passions into a lucrative business.
Both of these companies are the American Dream of turning what they love into a rewarding business that they can call their own. Not only that, these two companies use their businesses for incredibly inspiring purposes such as raising money for fellow throwers in need, raising money and awareness for charities, and to honor current soldiers and soldiers who have put their lives on the line for others.
CoughCough* cooough*
Wups, must have dropped this in my coughing fit…
One drop and Genyo are too small to be “the” american brand.
The age old axiom holds just as true here as it does in other areas… it isn’t the size that matters but how you use it.
General Yo may be small but they have developed a huge, and justified, reputation.
As for One Drop, do you realize how many yoyos were thrown in the past couple of years that were machined by One Drop whether it had their name on it or not? When the big two have you machining for them, I the you can consider yourself big enough.
Still smaller than yyf’s production numbers.
And not a single one made is China… hence Symbol of America.
General Yo.
If anything made in China makes them more American.
Who are you referring to as “the big two”? Duncan and Yomega? Yoyojam?
I think he’s going for CLYW and something else. Duncan and Yomega both manufacture in China as far as I know.
While CLYW are popular, with the relatively small volume they put out I’d hardly call them big. Huge following, great company but not big.