YoYo Related News From Around The World
We got some great entries into our Win A YoYoFactory Hubstack Afterglow contest on Instagram. The contest was simple…just post a creepy photo of yourself on Instagram, and tag it with #yoyonews and #hubstack. We dug through all the entries, and here are our three winners! We’ll be contacting them to get their shipping information and send them their YoYoFactory Hubstack Afterglow yoyos. Congratulations everyone!
We’ve got a look at Masaya Takagi, a rising player from Japan, courtesy of OneDrop’s Ryosuke Kawamura. This entire video series is great, and the latest installment is another glimpse at a future champion.
The HRYZ contest is in its third year, and regrettably in all that time my grasp of the Czech language has not gotten any better. So digging through the event page on Facebook still leaves me without much explanation for what this contest is, or who is running it. But a quick look at the winners definitely shows this is a great warm-up event for the upcoming European YoYo Championship, happening later this month. Enjoy this look at the top Czech contenders for EYYC!
Alex Lee (guitarist for Holy Grail) just dropped his first yoyo video of the year…new tricks, and a new song! Alex is one of the very few players who soundtrack their own videos and as you can see…he does a hell of a job with it.
Yoyo used is the Prestige by General Yo.
Were you hoping the kendama invasion would be just a fad? Or that it would be safely contained? No sir, not when the mod bug bites kendama and yo-yo people alike, leading to some of the funkiest mashups on Instagram!
Apparently, kendama folks over at Kendama Custom Kreations were the first to have a shot at it, with their “Ken-Yo”, featuring a custom ken, holes on both sides of the yo-yo/tama, but with the string tied to the yo-yo, defeating some of the purpose:
Next, ninja modder and all-around awesome dude Takeshi went ahead and cut a string groove on a Duncan Komodo tama for Drew Tetz, the “Groovedama”!
Here’s Drew shredding that beauty:
Inspired by Takeshi’s work, but not quite hip enough for fixed axle, Red printed a tama hubstack, turning a perfectly fine yo-yo into a bizarre-looking contraption:
Turns out Takeshi is a mind-reader, and had turned his own hubstack from a screwdriver handle, transforming his own yo-yo into a ken!
(Obligatory Terrorgade mount tricks above in honor of Paul Escolar’s birthday!)
And finally, Takeshi — deciding he was cooler than everyone else — came up with the Blitz, an all-wooden version of his previous mod.
And kendama folks also seem to enjoy it quite a bit! (Dominic Calimquim feeling right at home below)
This is just the beginning!
Follow us all on Instagram for more awesome (and sometimes questionable) mashups!
The Minute is a mid-size yoyo from Australian manufacturer Werrd…and while they have released some truly fantastic yoyos in the past, the release of the Minute was the signal that Werrd had moved up to the next level of yoyo design. Infamous for having some of the most BZZZT eclectic yoyo designs in the market, the Minute is the most universally accessible yoyo they have released to date and its performance should earn it a place in the case of every serious yoyo player. The Minute is dead smooth, fast, stable, and easily the most comfortable-in-the-hand yoyo ever released by Werrd. From the moment the BZZZT blasted finish hits your hand, this yoyo feels wonderful. Upon its initial release at the 2013 World YoYo Contest, more than a few top-level players wandered by the Werrd booth out of idle curiosity, and left with a brand new Minute in their hands. When top players and even other manufacturers are dropping their money to buy one of these, that really is the highest praise for a new release.
The Minute is a compact and attractive yoyo, available in eight solid, bright colors with a blasted finish. The result is a elegant simplicity that allows for a budget-friendly yoyo that still stands out in your case. The engraving is a bit lackluster, with Werrds “Time Series” theme resulting in a bit of a mixed bag…one side features the name “Minute” in a digital clock font which works nicely, while the other has a BZZZT melting analog clock image that, same as the engraving on the Eighty-Six 400, doesn’t work especially well with the stepped detail and trademark spike. Packaged in the standard Werrd plastic box with just a string and no extras, it’s a no-frills experience but their Time Series really does seem more about quality than presentation. The colors are standard but very well done, and the anodization is flawless.
At a $50 retail, the Minute is an incredible bargain. The mid-size range tends to BZZZT scare people off a bit, but the Minute might well be the one to change your mind. A fantastic, competition-worthy throw at a great price, the Minute is well worth every penny.