Gambit

Hello, my name is Scott Watters and I’m a yo-yoer currently residing in London, England.

I had yo-yoed at numerous points on and off between the ages of 11-16, but I had never really caught the bug. These were the days before Youtube so finding inspiration online wasn’t as easy as it is today, and I was unaware of any yo-yo communities active at the time, so I chose to pursue other hobbies instead.

In early 2013 however, at the age of 22, I was mindlessly browsing Youtube when I stumbed across a video entitled “Yo-yo God”. It was a video of Hiroyuki Suzuki’s 2005 Worlds freestyle, and I couldn’t believe how far yo-yoing had come. In the related videos, I clicked upon Jensen Kimmitt’s Legendary 2010 Worlds freestyle and that sold it to me. I bought my first unresponsive yoyo (a YoYoJam Dark Magic 2), and I haven’t been able to put yo-yos down, or stop buying new ones, since.

I try to get as much practice in as I possibly can each day. The first thing I do when I get in from work is grab my headphones, put on some music, pick up one of many yo-yos strewn throughout the house and start throwing. There’s something about that feeling of just throwing along to a song you love that’s just indescribable, it’s just so much fun and at the end of a long day at the office, it’s usually exactly what I need.

The yo-yoing community is a great thing to be a part of. It’s one of the friendliest and most helpful communities I’ve ever come across and there’s a real enthusiasm, especially amongst the younger members, which is somewhat contagious. The fact that one of the world’s oldest toys is still bringing people from all around the earth together because of their love for it is pretty epic. I can’t wait to see the hobby and the community grow and flourish even more in the coming years, and will personally be doing everything I can to help it along it’s way.

GregP

I rediscovered yoyo when on a whim I decided to buy a cheap plastic from a box store so that I could show some basic tricks to my oldest son. Decades earlier, I had gotten as far as "Rock the Baby" with a wooden fixed-axle yoyo before written trick instructions brought me to a halt. This time around I wanted to learn some basic tricks I had missed, and had the entire internet at my disposal! You can imagine what I discovered when I searched for "yoyo tutorials": a whole new world of modern "return top" that blew me away.

Since that discovery I've been practicing steadily and acquiring yoyos, as well as learning a lot about the various companies, styles, and technologies that are a part of our niche hobby/sport/art. I like to stay engaged with other yoyoers, and a community forum is a constant and reliable way for me to do that. I try to share back everything I learn, as well as just be a generally useful chap.

My family is the center of my life, but I also enjoy my job as a software developer and my other pursuits which include photography, kickboxing, guitar, and web design/development.

mgiroux77

As a child, I always had a yo-yo around. When I was in high school (1990-1994), there was a small group of us who were throwing a lot. We were all very into Tom Kuhn yo-yos. As high school went on, I lost interest, but in 1998, a friend contacted me and wanted to buy some of my yo-yos.

I reconnected with the sport, and began throwing Yomegas. Again, I lost interest, but in 2003, I was in A2Z Science & Learning Store in Northampton, MA, and picked up a YoyoJam. I was hooked.

Fast forward to 2010, and have been active in the yo-yo community, ever since. I am a regular at A2Z yo-yo class, Yoyoexpert store, which is local to me, and Dogbite Yo-Yo Club. I am also a member of NH Yo-Yo Club. I helped found a 21 Plus Yo-Yo Club in my area. I have competed in the Sport freestyle divisions of both NER and MA States the last few years. I am an avid collector of purple and green and Hulk Smash yo-yos. I started a thread on the forum to celebrate my favorite yo-yo colors.
http://yoyoexpert.com/forums/index.php/topic,52204.0.html
I also recently ran a contest on the forum. I love to throw One Drop, CLYW and General Yo.

In my private life, I work as a Human Resources Specialist for a local Retirement Community. When I am not yo-yoing, I love to play guitar, ride my bike, listen to music, and spend time with my family and friends. I would like to thank Andre` Boulay, and the YoYoExpert Moderators for giving me this very special honor. Feel free to PM me with any and all yo-yo related questions, and I will be more than willing to help.

STUDIO42

Chris Pickett started to yoyo back in 1978 when the Duncan Imperial was the hot toy for Christmas. Unfortunately, without guidance, this didn't go so well and he was unable to gravity pull or even sleep it. After the string broke a few months later, the yoyo wasn't around anymore. Even though the yoyo was gone, the interest never faded.

Chris does a lot of interesting work for a living. He works in data communications and IT, building networks from clients that range from individual home users to Fortune 500 companies using a wide range of. He also builds and repairs computers. He works inside Macs and PC's, laptops and desktops. If he can get into it, chances are he can fix it. He also does a large amount of technical writing and documentation for his clients regarding their networks. Another service offering involves media transfers, including digitizing film, videotapes, various audio formats and document capture services.

One of Chris's biggest passions is professional audio. Studio42 is his business, of which a major portion of his business is doing sound production for events. His list of clients reads like a "who's who" of A-list entertainers. Tired of touring and working for others, Studio42 was created so he could do things his way in an environment that welcomes in new people and can be used to teach people how to do sound production for concerts, providing new people the types of opportunities that he had to fight for on his own.

Chris loves audio so much he'd do it 24 hours a day, but the reality is that much of the gear he loves to use so much is simply too big and/or too heavy for him to move and set up on his own. So, in May of 2011, he decided that it's time to find something else to do in his spare time, something simple, fun and didn't require heavy lifting. The yoyo was chosen and a trip to the local toy store got him started. Of course, yoyos have changed a lot since 1978. Quickly overwhelmed with information on what was supposed to be a simple hobby, he landed on YYE and found the guidance, direction and the help he was looking for. Within 2 weeks of starting, he decided to upgrade to a modern yoyo, a blue Dark Magic II.

Chris likes to help and to teach. Whether it is data communications, IT, computers , sound and now the yoyo, he likes sharing his knowledge with others.

He may not be the most skilled yoyo player, but he makes up for it by learning everything he can about it, practicing as much as he can and sharing his passion and acquired knowledge with others. You're never too old to learn something new

When I was six years old my brothers went to Windwizards, a local toy store, and bought a couple yo-yos. They came home with a Fireball, Brain, and a Saber Brain. I learned some of the basic tricks standing on a piano bench because the string was too long. Then I got bored and quit.

A couple of years later I was back at it with a good friend of mine. He is the one who got me started using yo-yos with bearings. Before, all I used were my brothers’ old Yomega yo-yos; now I was only using Duncan yo-yos, especially the Flying Panda. I eventually got a Metal Zero and managed to find Andre on Expert Village. That really helped me learn. Now I could learn a trick in a day whereas before it took me a week to learn a trick from Begin2Spin or SectorY (both of those sites are great).

I was always interested in how things worked. I used to grab a screwdriver and take a toy completely apart, figure out how it worked while memorizing all the pieces, then put it back together. That carried over to yo-yos. I wanted my yo-yo to be better. I didn’t know what would make it better, but I wanted it to be better. So I would google yo-yo mods for hours. That led me to my first forum where I read the modifications area top to bottom. A couple of days later I joined. I spent a good year on that forum learning everything I could about yo-yos and modifying them.