Yoyoing has always been part of my life. You may laugh in disbelief but I started when I was four or five and have had a yoyo on hand ever since. Yoyoing has provided me with many great opportunities, destroyed boredom on a regular basis, and has always been a creative and constructive way to spend free time. However, there is one moment that stands out above all the rest for me, my first trapeze.
I believe I was five and had tried for so long to hit a trapeze, I just didn’t think it would ever happen. One day as usual, I was outdoors running around with my dog and took my yoyo out of my pocket and started throwing it around. Tried for a trapeze and “BAM” there it was! My red Imperial spinning in a trapeze. It was magical. I still remember it, long after I’ve forgotten hitting other more advanced tricks. I just believed anything was possible.
That was my moment. No big deal to anyone else but it’s mine and I remember and love it.
The first time I saw a yo-yo up close was probably my most meaningful. My grandfather had one and showed me how to shoot the moon and walk the dog. It took me a long time to get to the next level of play but it was magical seeing my grandfather who grew up in true Wild West fashion have that much fun with a couple of pieces of plastic attached by a metal post. I now have that yo-yo. It still plays well.
The day I suddenly became consistent with magic drops and landed a full Kamikaze.
Oh wait…that hasn’t happened yet! >.<’ /sigh
Winning the noob novice division at the 2003 Yomega World Competion in Las Vegas. The whole trip and competition was magical. So many amazing throwers from all over the world. And even though I was just in the novice division…I worked dang hard on all the tricks each day leading up to it to make sure I could nail everything on the list.
It’s the first trophy I’ve ever won for anything in my life. And it’s a nice one too!
About 3 years ago, I was flying to CA to start a new job. I had a layover in Charlotte, and, the flight was delayed. I pulled out a yellow wooden Duncan Butterfly (replica of the original wood butterfly) and started playing. A child, maybe 9 or 10 started watching and asked if he could try. I put a new slipknot on the string, and got him going. His adult came to collect the child. I asked adult if it was Ok if I gave the boy that yoyo. The smile on the kid’s face made the delayed flight and 3am arrival in San Francisco all worthwhile.
Freshman year. I was a big class clown my entire life. Shoot the moon or loops in class behind the teachers back was one of my regular shenanigans. I was in English class and the teacher caught me, came over and cut my string, believe it or not strings weren’t all that easy to come by at the time. It had a positive effect on my school work and I screwed around less in class after that. Had it been a teacher I didn’t like or respected I would have put roadkill in her desk, but she was a nice lady and I kind of deserved it and was also embarrassed.
Recently it’s every time my 2yr old asks for his yo-yo. It’s so satisfying as a yo enthusiast.
Learning trapeze on an imperial at 5 years old really is quite a feat! I remember my first yoyo was a fireball and I could not get trapeze down until I got a YYF One. I remember I got it down semi consistently just a few minutes after receiving it so that was pretty cool.
My most meaningful moment though was probably when I was gifted a Markmont Next. I thought my YYF One was good but when I first threw my Next I was like I might’ve quit a few weeks/months after if I never got that yo.
I taught yoyo to a sixth grade class this past spring. This summer I was watching my kids play in a local park when a kid came up to me and asked me if I was the “yoyo guy”. It turns out he was in that class and he told me he’s been throwing everyday. I thought that was pretty cool.
Man too many to name.
Getting a call from Steve to tell me they were giving me the Innovator award… Or getting the Sitton Sportsmanship award at Nats… Or the fixed contest at Worlds in 2012… Being asked to join SPYY (or watching it dissolve)… The 1st throw on the original eH… 1st time I hit Spirit Bomb on a No Jive lol…
But meaningful moments are more the ones that make you aware of the whole thing - not just yourself. So small moments are often more meaningful than the ones that make you feel important. Like seeing my kids get their first sleepers back to the hand. Or just throwing alone in the woods or my classroom before school. Helping shorten kids’ string and knowing all the fluff & self-importance which insulates my throwing is NOTHING to the authenticity and abandon they play with. Honestly every time I go to a contest, have my mind erased by face-wrecking tricks, and realize I get to be friends with my heroes - those moments are pretty meaningful, pretty humbling, pretty staggering.
Probably getting my first actual decent yoyo in the mail and discovering how far throwing has come on YouTube. It was like a whole new world I found. My horizon has a special place in my heart lol
I might’ve quit a few weeks/months after if I never got that yo.
