http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9poLkFXzn9g this video
Hard to say, really. Grabbed a yoyo on a whim as a kid in the 80s (there wasn’t a particular fad or anything) and learned some of ye olde basics. Loved it. Eventually wrecked all my axles from trying to pick knots and threw in the towel. I custom painted three or four with some pretty tasteful spatters that would hold up well today!
A bit less than a year ago, just happened to see a yoyo at a big box store (Brain Wing XP or something… wing-shaped but with the Brain clutch; transaxle). I have a kid and I thought it might be cool to learn a skill toy that we could eventually play together. However, after all these years, I STILL couldn’t make heads nor tails of the printed Trick Book. “HOW DO I DO A UFO??? I DON’T GET IT STILL!”… but this time I thought… “I have the internet!”
You can imagine what I found when I Googled “Yoyo Trick tutorial”. Holy smokes. Saw Jensen’s 2010 WC routine pretty much right away, and was hooked.
I STILL didn’t realize what a modern-shaped wide-gapped unresponsive yoyo was, but I knew I needed a bearing. Went back to the box store and got a Raider and started learning Trapeze ‘n’ stuff. Before long, I found YYE and realized I needed a different yoyo. Got a Velocity and learned my first real string tricks. DM2 next. Kyo DNS fell into my hands by some luck, and then it snowballed.
Now I still feel like a total rookie compared to most of you and also (naturally) the competitive players or pro players who share their stuff via video. Like, green as green can be. That’s how I feel. But if I step back and say “I have a convincing Kwyjibo, Ninja Vanishes, Brent Stoles, a smooth as silk Zipper, some Spirit Bomb (still working on consistency), Eli Hops, etc etc…” I suppose I’m doing OK. Not in any rush, but I do like to feel I’m progressing. 
It’s all fun.
Had a thought earlier today after seeing a “I quit yoyoing” BST. In several years, somebody will come back to a yoyo forum like this one and introduce themselves, saying, “I used to yoyo back in the early 2010s and then sort of got out of it. 10 years later and I’ve started my collection again!”
I hope to not ever leave it… don’t really anticipate doing so because I invest what I can into it and expect nothing except diversion and challenge in return. But if I do, you can bet that’ll be me in 10 years. An even older fart trying the skill toy game for a 3rd time.
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A buddy from my ps3 gaming clan flew into town last year (Orlando) and really wouldn’t say why he was here other than he had some things to do during the day but afterwards we can hang out. Upon my arrival to his hotel (The Rosen) it was obvious why he was here and my first reaction was ok, my buddy is a bigger nerd than I am…Awesome! Now I get why he wouldn’t tell me. He mentioned to me something about yoyo but I wasn’t expecting him to be serious. I walked in the hotel and my Mind Was Blown! Here I am surrounded, by what seems like, hundreds of people slinging string. It was awesome. He bought a trigger that night and the next day after showing interest in learning he gave that to me and directed me to “the best yoyo site ever.”
(also i bought a whip there for $5 and a shit ton of string) I was slow to figure out how to bind but once I was able to get that yoyo back up it was game over. Fast forward to today, i never leave home without a yoyo hanging from my waste. Thank The Lord For Worlds!
My friend brought a Duncan Imperial to school, and then a Butterfly. Then I started using my Butterfly. I tried to learn tricks, but I couldn’t, even trapeze was hard. Then he got a Duncan Echo. Then I used his Echo to learn tricks, and that is when I started.
I saw somebody at school doing Double or Nothing and it blew my mind. Needless to say, I’m better than him at yoyoing now 
Ann Connolly’s Smile…
Zach Gormley 2012 nationals
I started my last year of grad school (Guitar Performance) by taking more hours than ever and working a part time job teaching guitar privately. I found my old Losi Da Bomb from fifth grade and started throwing Forward Pass just to have a repetitive motion for stress relief. After viewing a few YouTube videos, I got hooked on the hobby and got a Yomega Maverick, Fireball, and Raider for Christmas. I kept throwing as a stress relief activity. I’m still having the time of my life though. So glad I found that Losi.
I started toying during the playmaxx/yoyoboom days. Competed and did quite well. Ended up falling out if it, occasionally picking it back up every other year or so. Then saw a video of John ando winning worlds 08. Bought an xyo xcalibur and tried to yoyo. Say in a drawer for a little over a year. Decided I wasn’t gonna keep quitting hobbies so picked it up. And once I found YYE and started learning I was hooked.
I had a dream that I was on a rooftop with some stranger… He was playing with a yoyo and I was just standing there watching him. I jolted awake, went to my computer, google searched “yoyo store”, and ordered a Yomega Maverick.
Well my friend joined yoyo club at school and i went to his house one day after school and he was doing all these cool tricks (unresponsive) so i thought it looked soooooo cool so i bought a Yomega Xodus II (industructable by the way) and got pretty good. I then found out about freehand and bought the Duncan FreeHand Zero and then i decided to take a break but then just got back into it with my Yomega Dash and am saving up for the Protostar (friend has it and i love it) and am also getting interested in trying looping yoyoing.
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Deep dude, never really thought of it that way but like very throw holds potential, for anything, you make it, the art the passion on a string.
when I was about 5 my grandpa bought me a red duncan imperial. I busted my knuckles and played that responsive thing having no idea… when I was 30 I’d blink one day and say to my 6 year old… Lets get you a yo-yo.
I got her a imperial she can’t throw for beans… and a cheap duncan metal drifter I’ve busted my knuckles on until the friction pads tore off in chunks. Next wednesday I get my C3 Capless and friction disks for my cheap drifter. It’s like… freestyle on a musical instument… but I’m tone deft, can’t read sheet music and can only play my … car stereo.
Matt you still fly that sweet Virus?
[Edit - I thought you were talking about the Synthesis. No, I have my original Virus, but prefer flying the Synthesis and Muse. We pulled a couple of the Viruses out for a birthday party last year.]
Would you believe that I only have the panelled UL version, not a web one (besides a minature one above my desk at work)? I always wanted to build one for myself, but didn’t get around to it or needed to save up for the carbon.
On topic, I am just curious about stuff and had to try out the modern bearing yoyos.
Ned came and I got into it. I kept playing and at Christmas my parents got me a zombie. I played that for a while I had known about yoyoexpert but did nothing on the forum. About a year later I found my zombie again and I really got into it and I’m where I am now.
Cool!, Same here I got to see fellow Flyers doing modern YOYO and I was hooked and needed to get some for myself, new hobby and loving it, there is so much to learn. It is just amazing!
By the way I love the Stringlab ammo, I got one of your samples at Sac without knowing much about yoyo yet, but you can really tell the difference in quality, your string is great. I just order more from YYE.