What's your YoYo story? How did you get to where you are?

General Yo-Yo
1

How did you start yoyoing?
Did you ever think you’d get this far?
What’s your story?

I guess where it first started was when I was 6… There was a “YoYo Guy” that came to my school, and afterwards there were a couple of older kids that would teach tricks to us. I’d yoyo, mostly throw sleepers, walk the dog, rock the cradle, on my swirly light-up cheap-yo and after a string broke I’d simply buy a new one. I lost interest because Summer came and I didn’t have anyone else to teach me tricks.

Fast forwards 9 years later, and I was walking down the isle of Walgreens and a Duncan Imperial catches my eye. I got all nostalgic, remembering how much I loved yoyo’s when I was a kid and decided to buy it. I spent the next two days just goofing off until I reached the same plateau I had when I was younger, but this being the modern age, I thought that “Maybe” there’d be someone on the internet teaching yoyo stuff. Thus I did a google search for “YoYo” and happened upon Hiroyuki Suzukis 2005 WYYC freestyle, followed by Andre’s tutorials… Lets just say my mind was absolutely blown.

I’d had many hobbies in the past so I googled “YoYo” forum, and happened upon -thatothersite" and started to ask questions about the hobby. What YoYo to get, how to learn new tricks, etc. etc. until I eventually got my hands on a YYJ Lyn Fury. Afterwards things just kind of took their own course, I played with that Lyn Fury so much that the axle actually SNAPPED inside the yoyo. I proceeded to trade/buy stuff from others, got a couple of metals way too early like most people, and went through on/off stages of throwing tons and not throwing at all.

And here I am now, after one of my not-throwing periods. I honestly feel like I’ll stick with it this time since I actually have people to throw with now! I also have a job, and my own money, so things like bearings/strings/broken YoYo’s aren’t that much of an issue anymore.

What about you?

2

it was a warm sunny day… lol no!

   i was 9(i think) and my uncle had an old yomega fireball lying around. i asked if i could try it out. he said i could keep it, he never used it. i was playing with it, and could get it to come back up. i figured out how to throw the toyo right, and BAM im hooked. i the  bought an imperial and a pulse. i practiced with those. i saw a dvd titled "yomega mania" so i watched it! i learned all the basics from that. i practiced the basics, and bought a couple other cheaper throws (Freehand, zombie [ i thought it was "broken" i didnt know bout unresponsive play] and peterfish yoyos from walgreens) 

   i was showing off around the world and stuff. i then got bored of it. then when i was 12 (lol about 6 months ago) my friend from school brought his reflex. i remembered "WOW yoyoing is FUN" so i got out my zombie and learned about unresponsive play. the next day my friend comes to school with a DV888, and another friend with a POPstar. i was like "why how is a yoyo $50!" i then learned how to bind. then i got a maverick and learned about this site! i made an account (duh). soon after i ordered a grind machine and jwil425 generously gave me his yyf skyline. i then realized how awesome being part of the yoyoing is, and now here i am, doing some advanced string tricks and meeting awesome new people on this site! im gonna pursue this hobby/sport and hope to be a pro someday! who knows, by next year yyf will have a new protege ;) !
3

A long time ago(33 years) in a place far, far away(San Francisco)…
Cue Star Wars music…

Got a wood Duncan Imperial. 1978. Most likely a Christmas present. I’d seen it on TV and was amazed. I saw big kids doing it in the park and wanted to do it too. So, now I had one. Results? Utter fail. Yoyo was the “hot toy” and my parents teased me by showing me they could use it but refused to show me. I’d work at it(I was throwing palm down). I was called lots of names for being apparently the only kid in the world who couldn’t yoyo. Anyhow, the string would wear out and I’d tie it at the bottom and try again. After a few months of this, I was caught trying to fix the string again and it was taken away. Most likely ended up tossed in the trash. Then again, in their day, I think it was a short term toy.

The yoyo was gone, but the interest never went away.

Fast forward to 2011. Doing live audio is what I enjoy, but the gear is too darn big and heavy for me to move on my own(my console is over 6 feet wide, 5 feet deep and in the case with cabling weighs close to 400 pounds, I cannot move it, much less remove the lid on my own). So, I had to find something else to do.

What shall I do? Hmmm. Yoyo sounds cheap and fun. Well, I got the fun part right. But, a trip to Toys R Us, I get a Reflex and an Imperial and with the help of the instructions in the package and internet videos, I can gravity pull and sleep. I’m ready for more. I find YYN first, but liked YYE better(seemed more comprehensive and bigger selection). I ordered a DM2 2 weeks in to this. The rest is me moving forward with tricks and enjoying this way more than I originally though as well as spending way more than I ever expected.

I’m not afraid of a challenge or pushing myself. This has been a great choice. My brain feels more alive again. I’m having fun again. I got 2 of my kids into it, and even my wife.(the other two kids are too small at the moment, but that’s another story and they do have yoyos). It’s re-ignited my drive and I’ve pushed and won at getting the contracts for CalStates and BAC for sound production. I’ve met amazing people and great young players and older players. I’ve seen a load of the best players up close and personal. In general, yoyo is fun, positive, promotes good values and is a good family activity if you want it to. I’ve also branched out to learn diabolo and spin tops and I want to learn juggling and maybe master a few coin tricks and other sleight of hand tricks so I can entertain people at my wife’s boring work functions I get dragged to.

The short version. Happy?

4

*Not the connor on this forum.

5 
  When i was in second grade i had a yoyo guy come to my school too. he had a little skit he did where he told a story and did UFO's and rock the baby and some simple tricks that we were all blown away by. my stepdad bought me a duncan imperial (it was glow-in-the-dark!)  and i learned how to do the up-and-down thing (but it wouldnt sleep, so i got bored pretty quickly) then that xmas, i got a Yomega Fireball, and i fell in love. man, i could do around the worlds, and the elevator! i felt like hot stuff, doing all these cool tricks. i had the little trick booklet that came with the fireball, and it told you how to do stuff like atomic bomb! I didn't learn atomic bomb, but i tried. aventually i lost my Yomega Fireball (i think my parents took it because i would play until my fingers turned blue) and didn't play with a yoyo again for another few years.

a few years later, McDonalds was giving away yomega knockoffs in happy meals. my sister got a neon orange brain, and i was reunited with a blue Fireball. i never learned any new tricks, but i did learn a lot about physics and fixing stuff, because i broke it twice a day. (not really broke, i just had to take it apart a lot to get stuck strings out)

fast forward to july 2012. i'm in the barracks, walking down the ladderwell when this one guy (whom everyone in the barracks detests, he's like a troll) is playing with a yomega that's like a cross between a butterfly and a fireball (saber raider) and my brain kicked into overtime nostalgia mode. 

Later that week, a buddy of mine was going to HobbyTown to get replacement parts for his RC truck, and needed someone to come along (to go off base here, we have to use the buddy system) so i came with. i bought a yomega raider for 12.99 and a five pack of cotton strings for 2.49. after 20 minutes with the raider, i was having a blast, rocking the baby, going around the world, failing miserably at doing the 4-leaf-clover... so i went online and looked up how to do yoyo tricks. i saw the video of the german yoyo competition with the kid in the blue shirt and when i finally picked my jaw up off the floor, i instantly ordered myself a duncan metal drifter and a KK bearing for it. since then, i've advanced pretty quickly through all the tricks up to the middle of the "advanced 1" section here, and continue to hone skills and gain muscle memory. it's been fun, and i hope i don't get bored anytime soon!
6

I started when I met my parents friend who was from San Fran, and a big fan of Kuhn. I picked up a yoyo, learned gravity pull, and forgot all about it. I picked it up again when I was 11, and started all over, using the yomega mania DVD and hen andres tuts. This year, the man who started me yoyoing gave me his No Jive!

7

started with russell brand looping yo-yos when i was like 8 or 9 and just learned loops.

Then started again when I was in 7th grade and yomega brain and firedog was popular, I learned some picture tricks.

After that probably 10 plus years later around october of 09 I am at a random party city store and I see a yoyo and I pick it up and start looping. I was bored and my gf (my wife now) was shopping around for halloween stuff, so i searched “yoyo” on my iPhone maps to see if a store would pop up or something else. You would never believe that on my iPhone an Address and phone number popped up for That yoyo guy : http://yoyoexpert.com/forums/index.php/topic,16391.0.html My wife lived in the same city as him which is probably why it popped up. Anyways, I was bored so I called him and told him I wanted to buy some yo-yos. He said he normally just sells online but since I am so close, he wouldn’t mind me stopping by. So I get there and my jaw drops (check out the link if you haven’t) and I am like wow what is this? Unfortunately he was only selling spintastics version of a firedog bearing yoyo (i forget the name) it was only $10 so I was in. And then I just happen to run across André’s tuts on expert village and then find yoyoexpert

I have been throwing on and off since … a lot of things happened in life… got married … got really sick last year and was in the hospital for a week … couldn’t move my left arm for about a month due to surgery… just got a new job so no time to throw … but … i am still throwing! … and now we have a small lil club … slowly growing in the DC/MD/VA area … (thanks to yoyoexpert forums because that is how we all found each other)

check us out if you can and join us if you are ever in the area!!!

Happy throwing everyone!!! and can’t wait to read more stories.

8

Last spring break, I was on video chat with my friend, and we were playing Minecraft. My friend kept getting up and throwing this dollar store yoyo, looking up videos, trying to learn the basics and saying “Look, watch this” and then messing up. I started to get very annoyed and frustrated with his bragging, and became fiercely determined to become better than him. I pulled out my Duncan Imperial and decided to learn tricks you could do with a dead yoyo, and waited to work on my throw when I got a better yoyo. After shopping around, I decided on a Yomega Raider (unfortunately, I hadn’t found this site yet). And the rest is history… Haha just kidding!

9

kinda wanted the long version ;D

10

my grandfather let me keep a plastic imperial from a seniors center and i researched yo-yoing and learned with that.

11

My internet connection is bad. I could embellish but for the sake of trying to sneak a post in, I cut it down.