Deepest State

The Deepest State edITION is a celebration of modern responsive play, created in close collaboration with one of its most influential voices,  Ed Haponik. One Drop set out to build this release exactly the way ed prefers it, from the way it feels out of the box to the way it looks in motion. This is modern responsive design through the eyes of a true master.

Here is the story in Ed’s words, and how this special version came to life:

“Way back in 2024, I received a text from my friend David about the idea of a fixed-axle aluminum yo-yo. We chatted idly about the benefits and challenges of the idea, I joked about the idea of a "Deepest" State, and we never discussed anything like it again...

Until this summer, when he shot me a text detailing his plan to release a real, responsive ball-bearing Deepest State in collaboration with Jeff Atwood's "Stay Gold America" initiative. The pics he sent me looked amazing, and the prototypes he sent me were even better. I gave him feedback on the weight and response, but I just couldn't put the thing down - especially after I swapped in a rubber-sealed greased bearing I got from Spencer Berry. It just felt so familiar. (A few days later I realized that probably had something to do with the profile's similarity to my favorite fixie ever - the No Jive!)

After a few weeks of moderate-to-debilitating yo-yo addiction, I texted David tentatively about collaborating on a version of the yo-yo, and thankfully he and Shawn were totally on board. We started talking about it almost as a mod - or like a pro model skateboard with specific hardware/components dialed in to suit my style of play. He didn't shut down any ideas, and as we kept sharing plans for what David started calling the "edITION", our vision for this yo-yo came into clearer focus.

The biggest thing was the bearing. While I loved it with my rubber-sealed one, I found the stock One Drop 10-Ball just too unresponsive for my style of stall tricks, flips, and regenerations. I gave David some suggestions on sourcing other bearings, but he was like "How about we just release our own?" The silicone-sealed 10-ball bearing he sent me was EXACTLY what I felt the yo-yo needed. We agreed on the name "Greasebucket" which describes the viscosity AND refers to a Fender classic tone circuit. (David and I are both bass players!)

Among the other ideas we agreed the yo-yo needed were the following:

1. 2-tone colorway - I have a way easier time tracking tricks like Kickflips and Varials, as well as the yo-yo's spin polarity with some obvious visual characteristic for frame of reference.
2. Spike Side Effects to facilitate pull starts,"Matador" tricks, and the DNA tricks my middle schoolers invariably request.
3. Sight Lines! (Also for VFR, but kinda just because they're SHINY. Plus, they evoke the rims of my first signature yo-yo - the old SPYY Flying V - which was pretty much the first yo-yo designed specifically for "modern responsive" tricks!)
4. The aforementioned Greasebucket bearing.
5. ZipLine Fluff: This has quickly become my favorite string, especially for modern responsive throwing. It's like playing catch with a cloud, lasts forever, and always seems to respond just how I expect. The folks at ZipLine have been amazing to me and I’m so stoked they could collaborate on this.
6. Ensō engraving. Specifically, this ensō is relevant to another connection David and I share - the martial art of aikido. This particular ensō is attributed to the art's founder, Morihei Ueshiba, and has been on the cover of his "Art Of Peace". At the risk of sounding "woo-woo", yo-yoing - especially responsive and fixed axle - is very much a spiritual discipline for me. You can't simultaneously track a multi-loop Kickflip AND think about what you've go going on later that evening. It demands your attention, and really learning how to give yourself to the MOMENT is the real trick and fundamental goal. This is just as true in drawing an ensō, as well as in music and aikido. Don't get hung up on whether what you're doing is "good" or "not good" - just do it fully. Just be present. 

That's the Deepest State.