Yoyoing in public

Hey ,I’m writing this because I need to know if you have had this experience before.Im 17 years of age and I really want to be a pro at this skill.The thing Is I’m practicing and practicing at home but when it comes to public it doesn’t feel comfortable.it feels embarrasing becuase I am playing with a yoyo and you know they might think yoyo is for little kid.i want to overcome that and play in public.i don’t have a friend that is into yoyoing.well,there is one because I told him to get into this skill so I am teaching him but it looks like he is not interested in yoyoing.anyways I live in Los Angeles and I don’t really see people yoyoing here.all I see it skateboarding,fixie and other sports and skills except for yo-yoing.so I want to know if you had this experience and if so can you maybe tell what I can do to change this?thanks :slight_smile:

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Just do it (Not a Nike product advertisement). I felt shy about yo-yoing in public too, but then after I actually tried yo-yoing in public, it was no way embarrassing. In fact, people will stop and stare at how cool your yo-yoing is. :slight_smile:

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Just remember, there are some old players like bill deboisblanc or whatever his name is. If somebody shouts out at you, “Yoyoing is for kids” I would be highly shocked. No one will say that. People generally think it’s cool.

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I throw in my office, and I run a marketing dept for a fairly large company, sit on the board etc… so that’s not a “toy” issue. Most people are taken aback by a grown man playing with a yoyo, then you throw Kwijibo or even The Matrix, Plastic Whip, Gyro Flop and they see that you are not a kid with a dollar store throw.

I keep one in my pocket, so I play when I’m waiting for food (take out), in an elevator, sometimes when a meeting starts getting long. You know the meeting I mean, the one that was called to just call a meeting (read: non productive).

Anyway, just throw, anyone doesn’t like it, they don’t have to look. Enjoy it, it’s a great hobby, great for hand/eye coordination and maybe someday you can win worlds and I can say I gave you some advice back in the day.

Happy throwing.

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It’s true!
I am pretty bad at yoyoing, but it’s something I like to do. I have time when I’m waiting to go into a class, (in college here, I don’t suggest trying it in highschool) walking to and from class, waiting for a ride, ect. Every once in a while I like to yoyo during this time to pass the time or pretend I’m doing something productive.

For the most part people ignore me or just sort of look and then go back to whatever they’re doing. The two comments I’ve gotten have been positive. I have a feeling (since your good unlike me) that you will get a lot of positive comments and amaze a lot of people.

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It’s all about confidence!
Mine was built up from doing a type of martial arts which required outside training because of all the flips and twists. Think of all the times I bailed…:((
But I totally understand how you feel, I still do feel timid occassionally. Sometimes I bring a yoyo with me when I go out but I don’t even play with it because I feel like I’ll embarrass myself!

Don’t hit yourself if you can’t yoyo in public, in fact it takes time to do anything at all in public! The first few times are giant hurdles to get over. The thing that helped me was acknowledging I had that ‘fear’, doing it, appreciating it and then repeating the cycle. This is called improving! ^^

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I’m in high school and I yoyo occasionally. It’s pretty well received, I haven’t had any insults at all, just praise. There are many good reasons to throw in public such as:

Meeting new people, people will stop and tell you what they think about yoyoing. It may be a smaller kid who had a duncan imperial, some teenager who has never yoyoed before, one of those older adults who played yoyo in their youth, etc.

Find other yoyoers/skill you players in you area

Convert “Yuggles” into fellow throwers. There are 3 people at my school that have picked up yoyoing after they saw me. It’s always better to play with others.

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Don’t be afraid to do what you love! Usually people will stop to look. I was playing in front of the library earlier on my lunch break and I could see all of the people (college students) looking at me through the window. People don’t generally think that yoyos do anything more than walk the dog, so they are usually amazed at what you can do. Someone told me that I made their childhood feel inadequate, which was kind of sad, lol, but I think she meant it as a compliment to me. YYE is right, we make the simple amazing, and perhaps it will convince more people to start throwing, so you will have some friends (:

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I have only received positive feedback when I yoyo in public. I’m not that skilled,and much older (41) than you. I do every time I’m in line anywhere (Starbucks, Costco, etc). Just have fun! Most people won’t notice your mistakes (who cares if they do). Plus yo-yoing in public exposes more people to the modern world of yo-yoing, and that is a good thing for our amazing hobby.

I yoyo in public all the time. I fly fairly frequently for various reasons and it’s the number 1 thing I do to kill time waiting for flights. People love to watch and someone always comes up to talk to me about throwing. I was upgraded to first class for free outside of a gate because a pilot was so impressed.

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That’s amazing!

I throw in public all. the. time. Constantly. And I’m a 40-year-old man. :wink: I have had ONE negative comment ever, and it was from a really unhappy-looking person. Unhappy people can’t stand seeing other people having fun with something so frivolous, so I didn’t take it to heart at all.

The staggering majority will either quietly enjoy it or will strike up a conversation with you. It doesn’t take long to develop some standard answers to the usual questions. When they ask, “how can you do that?” I usually jokingly reply with something describing how it’s “cheating” because I have an enormous catch zone and a ball bearing, and then relate it back to their own memories of Imperial-style yoyos. Walls crumble very quickly when people can relate.

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Random Person: “HAHA, Why is a person like you playing with a little kids toy??”
Me: Eli hop to face
Random Person: runs away
Crowd: cheering

Ok ok, I’m joking.

Just go out there and throw!

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pfhahaha thatd be so funny

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Yay for the old people! I’m 41 and just spent 2 weeks yo-yoing while on vacation in Disney World where you spend a lot of time waiting, lots of people loved it especially an older gentleman in line at Starbucks who asked lots of questions (I was throwing the Hubstack Afterglow).

The funny thing is the hardest place for me to throw is around other yo-yo players. I never used to yo-yo much at contests, just watch and enjoy. I know my skills don’t match up with players less than half my age, so I don’t even try.

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Act confident and people won’t care. This applies for almost everything in life,

Well, I must admit, you spelled his name correctly. And I am sure that the way you ‘described him’ was not meant to intentionally be disrespectful. You are just sadly, kinda Ignorant.

I have provided a Wiki Link to the Old Guy…whatever his name is; So you know him…

This helpful informative link, was provided by me(63). Another ‘Old Guy’ that throws in Public, now and then, lol…

It’s all about having fun.  I never heard there was an Age limit.

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Like others have said, just be confident and like with anything else, don’t really worry what other people’s judgements are. Just throw and have fun, whether other people like it or not. As long as you enjoy it and are having fun doing it, that’s all that should really matter. :slight_smile:

Since it’s fixed axle Friday, I needed gas…

While my tank filled up, I took the Baldwin out and did some tricks…

People stared, I wrapped up and called got back in my car.

Here is my humble advice get some ear pods and go throw in public, I’m gonna be 23 soon and i still do that in public most people come close and just watch me in silence that’s what i think sometimes people ask me things like how did you learn that how much did this yoyo cost when can i buy it and other stuff like that i try to reply and help but truth to be told it’s still considered a kids toy in my country but hey I’m having fun I’m enjoying myself you should too, you don;t need to care about what strangers think, hope this helps you, Oh and happy throwing.