Goodbyes

RIP – Matt Schmidt

March 18, 2019 By Steve Brown

Yoyo player, designer, judge, and all-around great guy Matt Schmidt has left us. He was 35 years old.

Matt was a long-time member of the Midwest yoyo scene, and one of the first yoyo players to just design and make his own yoyo, the Underdog. He even re-designed it and ran a new batch pretty recently. I was really looking forward to picking one up.

Matt was kind, and funny, and creative, and always a joy to hang out with at contests. When people talk about all the things they love about the yoyo scene and community, they’re talking about people like Matt. He gave freely of himself and his time for the betterment of all, he was kind and patient with beginner players, and he was just always really fun to be around. He was loved, more than he knew, and he will be very missed.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations in Matt’s honor to NAMI Minnesota. NAMI Minnesota (National Alliance on Mental Illness) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and adults with mental illnesses and their families. For over 40 years, NAMI Minnesota has worked to promote the development of community mental health programs and services, change public attitudes about mental illnesses, improve access to services and increase opportunities for recovery. You can donate online here: NAMI Minnesota

R.I.P. Robbie Graham

May 12, 2018 By Steve Brown

We are devastated to announce the death of Robbie Graham.

Robbie was a good guy and a good yoyo player and he was one of us. I wasn’t close to him, but I was always happy to run into him at contests and I always walked away with new ideas and a general sense of ease when I saw him. He was just one of those random good people that you meet in this community, the kind of person that makes you a little better for knowing them. He was too young, and our thoughts go out to his family and friends.

His father, Mark Graham, posted this information on Facebook:

To Robbie’s friends… He suffered an adverse reaction to acetaminophen (which he had been taking for chronic back pain). It caused liver and kidney failure that was irreversible. We let him slip back to God shortly after noon yesterday. We are brokenhearted, but we find comfort in knowing that he is with God. Sadly, all of us must go on without his presence. Thanks to you who loved him and enjoyed his talents.

There is no word yet on a service or where donations can be made in his name, but we’ll update this post with any additional information we’re given.

Goodbye, YoYoJam

December 17, 2015 By Steve Brown

We are sad to announce that YoYoJam is officially closing their doors on December 30th, 2015. And while they certainly slowed down tremendously in recent years, I’m still really sad to see them go. I’ve always been a huge fan of the risks they’ve taken on design (even if I’ve never been a fan of their art and packaging, ha ha), and it can truly be said that YoYoJam was one-of-a-kind, in an industry that almost prides itself on recycling ideas. From the SpinFaktor (hybrid metal/plastic) to the MiniJam; from the Ben Jammin’ (rubber bodied loopers!) to the Aquarius (first truly popular offstring yoyo), YoYoJam has always either been at the forefront of yoyo design or failed spectacularly on their way there, and I’ve loved watching every minute of it. YoYoJam owner and founder Dale Bell is truly a tinkerer of the first order, someone who is never more at peace than when he’s chasing a new idea. He’s a good guy, he’s always been terribly kind to me (even when I was unbearable), and I’m damn sad to see him go.

But hey…it was one hell of a run. To Dale, Valerie, and everyone else who helped make YoYoJam the company that it was, I would like to thank you on behalf of the entire yoyo industry and community. You folks sure kept it interesting, and we were better off for your contributions.

Check out the official company press release below, and if you were on the fence about picking up anything from their current product line…now is the time.

For nearly 17 years YoYoJam has provided patents that revolutionized the industry, designs that changed the direction of modern yoyo play, products used by multiple World Champions and National Champions from all across the globe, and a team that has included some of the most incredible players and innovators in the industry.

But on December 31, 2015 YoYoJam® will officially close it doors forever bringing an end to a legendary brand, a legendary team, and perhaps one of the most influential companies in modern yo-yoing.

The decision did not come easily. However, company owner and chief design engineer Dale Bell has suffered from very poor health over the last several years. Doctors have advised him to avoid stress as much as possible. So Dale has made the difficult decision to close the company that he has put his whole heart into building. He is looking forward to just relaxing and enjoying retirement with his dog, Billy.

Dale’s daughter, Valerie Aaron (Vice President of the company) stated “This decision has not come easily – it is truly the end of an era for our family and for the team that has become part of our family. We thank everyone who has been a part the brand – we appreciate you and will miss you all.”

YoYoJam will be liquidating inventory for the remainder of the month. The official last day of business will be December 30, 2015.

R.I.P. AJ Kirk

October 28, 2015 By André Boulay

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of AJ Kirk. A true force of good in the yo-yo community who we will never forget.

AJ’s impact on the yo-yo community and the friendships he made will be forever eternal. His passion for the sport and for enjoying life to its fullest was obvious from the minute you met him. A mentor in so many ways he personally devoted his time to trying to make others happy wherever he was. From teaching new kids their first throw at YoYoJoe’s Yo-Yo Club to his amazing work in hospitals – putting smiles on people’s faces who needed love and hope more than ever. The minute he walked into a yo-yo contest you knew he was there – high energy and so much fun. He touched so many lives and the world is a better place because of him.

A member of Team YoYoJam from the early days he had a long competition career even placing 3rd in 5A at the 2006 World Yo-Yo Contest. Locally he worked hard to support the local scene at Mitchell’s (and later YoYoJoe’s) and co-hosted the YoYoRadio Internet Show with Joe Mitchell. He helped judge contests across the east coast and was always willing to help out wherever & whenever he could. He was also an avid juggler and performer – balancing chairs on his head and pulling off a 5 ball cascade. Most recently he helped create the Tiki Tiki YoYo Club in Delaware and had an amazing following of people. His signature series yo-yo the Ring Master was everything he had hoped for in a design and I can still remember how happy he was the day that became a reality.

His presence in our community will be forever missed. RIP our friend and thank you for the memories.

R.I.P. – Troy Adrian Talbot

January 12, 2015 By Steve Brown

I’m incredibly sad to announce the passing of Troy Adrian Talbot. He was only 26 years old.

Troy was struck by a car on December 22nd, 2014, and has been in what we thought was a “stable” coma since then. There were no broken bones, just swelling from a head injury, but he was unresponsive and couldn’t breathe without aid of a ventilator. The swelling in his brain was beginning to subside and doctors were hopeful, but his lungs simply would not return to functioning on their own. His exact time of death is unknown, but we lost him in the past 24 hours.

Troy was young, hopeful, bright, creative, and a shining example of the sort of people that I hope are rising up to take the place of my generation in the yoyo industry. His fledgling company, Sorry YoYos, was beginning to gain some traction with a collaboration with Paul Escolar, and pre-orders for their yoyo, the Ratchet, hit their goal pretty quickly. At last word, Troy’s roommate Sebastian Brock and Sorry YoYos team captain Tucker Holland are working on getting production finished so that all pre-orders could be honored. We’ll update more on that as information comes in.

This was a tragic accident. It was such a stupid and pointless way for us to lose one of our own. There’s no sense to be made of it, it’s just something horrible that happened and it’s normal for friends and fans to feel a sense of helplessness about something so sudden. Please, please reach out to your family, friends, counselors, etc. and find someone to talk to about this. Grief is a strange and difficult thing to deal with, but we can’t let it drag us down. Troy would have wanted us to face the future just as he did…with a smile and a heart full of hope.

Goodbye, Troy.

R.I.P. – Stuart Crump

January 2, 2015 By Steve Brown

Stuart Crump, Harvey Lowe, Paul Kyprie, and Fast Eddy McDonald

I’ve just received word that Stuart Crump, Jr. lost his battle with Parkinson’s Disease, and passed away on December 31st. The yoyo industry and community has lost a great friend. Below I’ve reprinted Joe Mitchell’s bio of Stu, created when he was honored at the 2003 World YoYo Contest. On a personal note, when I first started playing Stu’s “YoYo Times” newsletter was literally the only form of communication between yoyo players, and I remember it fondly. Receiving those yellow photocopied pages in the mail were a highlight of my early days as a yoyo player, and it was truly a labor of love for Stu.

If anyone has a complete or nearly complete set of the old newsletters, we’d love to create a digital archive of them for historical purposes. Please get in touch if you can help.

Stuart Crump, Jr. is best known in the yo-yo community as “Professor Yo-Yo” the editor of “Yo-Yo Times” the longest running yo-yo periodical. Like many of us, Stu was introduced to yo-yos by a professional demonstrator. But he didn’t meet the yo-yo man at a contest or school demonstration. On a family vacation to Charleston, SC, the Crumps had the good fortune to be staying four doors down from Joe Radovan, owner of the Royal Yo-Yo company. The year was 1954 and every night found Stu and his brother watching in amazement as Radovan worked the yo-yo. Stu bought his first yo-yo at a corner store that summer: a three jewel Royal that cost 20 cents. Radovan carved an island scene on it and encouraged the boys to learn the basic tricks.

After returning home, Stu was pleased to find that girls noticed his new yo-yo skill, but gradually the toy moved to the back burner until 1960. That year a Duncan professional came to town and inspired a mini-craze. Then Stu put his yo-yo back in the drawer until 1972, when he received a silver Gorham yo-yo as a wedding present from his brother.

In 1980, the Crump brothers started an important newsletter “Cellular Radio News,” serving the fledging cell phone industry. Stu was promoting the highly successful newsletter at an electronics show in Las Vegas in 1985, when he saw the Smothers Brothers perform. Tom Smothers had just incorporated the Yo-Yo Man routine into his act and Stu’s interest was aroused again. In 1987, he was given a newly-released Tom Kuhn Silver Bullet as a gift. A call to Tom Kuhn resulted in a discussion of the need for communication among yo-yo enthusiasts. Thus the idea for the “Yo-Yo Times” newsletter was born.

In 1988 the first issue appeared. Its yellow pages contained new tricks, interviews with yo-yo players and manufacturers, new product announcements, contest news, ads for videos and string. In other words, it was everything a player needed to know and the newsletter rapidly became the glue binding together a newly-active yo-yo community. Yo-Yo times was critical to bringing together the people and publicizing the events that have built yo-yo into the worldwide sport and activity it is today. Now in its 15th year, the newsletter is still going strong, although it has moved from the yellow papers of yesterday to being published electronically on the interenet and Stu now shares the editing with his daughter Jodi.

Beyond his newsletter, Stuart Crump, Jr. has promoted yo-yoing through writing several books including It’s Yo-Yo Time and the Official Yomega Trick Book. He has competed in many contests, even winning the Advanced Senior Division at World’s in 1995. And most personally, he has performed as a yo-yo entertainer to groups across the country. He is particularly keen to introduce the toy to young people, saying, “I didn’t realize the impact the yo-yo had on me as a child until I was an adult.”

Any yoyo players in Sacramento are invited to meet up at 11 AM PST at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium tomorrow, January 3rd, for a short gathering to commemorate Stu’s life.

R.I.P. Robert Tamayo

March 30, 2014 By Steve Brown

We’re very upset to report that 2011 Philippine National YoYo Champion Robert Tamayo has passed away. He was admitted to the hospital approximately one month ago, and on Friday, March 28th he died from complications related to meningitis. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family.

Robert was really a silent guy and shy person. But when he played yoyo, you saw a totally different Robert. Speed, technique and style; his performances really got the attention of the crowd. I wish he had more time to live and represent our country by joining contest outside the Philippines.

– Hiro Koba (Kitty String)

I met him briefly a couple of times…he was a very serious player. Really “in it to win it”. I remember him competing at the 2011 Philippine National Contest, and he was really focused on that win. It was nice to see him win…he really deserved it.

He was a really good kid. I know he had many friends within the Flipspin community, and I was lucky to have the pleasure of knowing him. He truly loved everyone and especially yoyoing.

– Ernest Kahn (CLYW)

Dammit, Danny

December 23, 2013 By Steve Brown

It’s been a few days now since we got the news about Danny Severance taking his own life. Since then, there have been a lot of public and private conversations as we all try our best to support Tyler and his family (and each other) through this difficult time.

It’s impossibly hard to put any of this into words. Danny was a lot of things to a lot of people; a brother, a player, a legend, a rumor, a troublemaker, a good time, a bad time, a mess, a laugh, a friend…all of this, and so very much more. He was a unique and complicated human being, with a lot of talent and too much darkness and in the end he chose to let it swallow him up.

I’ve always felt that it’s important to acknowledge the whole of someone’s life when they’re gone. It’s important for everyone left behind that a person is celebrated not just for the good things about their life but the bad things as well; that we celebrate their entirety and that we allow them the dignity of being remembered as they truly were – a unique and complicated human being. Every person is made of the good, the bad, and everything in between.

It was a mean and stupid thing for Danny to end his life. It was foolish and short-sighted and if I could reach beyond and snatch him back I would punch him right in the mouth and then I would hold him so tight and say “You stupid, stupid little boy don’t you know you are loved?” What he did, no matter how much pain he was in, what he did was wrong and it was stupid and it has lessened us all. In a life that was filled with him always striving to give as much of himself as he could to lift up everyone around him, his final act was one of pure selfishness. And maybe that’s what hurts the most…it’s not that he’s gone, it’s that he finally disappointed us. We can, and will, live with his absence. But what really hurts is that in his final moments, he was not the loving Danny that we all adored…he was just a selfish little boy who couldn’t think of anyone but himself.

It’s hard to write that. Even harder to think it. But I’m angry, as a lot of us are. And I can’t talk about how much we loved him if I can’t also mention how angry we are that he didn’t take better care of himself and that he chose to end his life instead of doing what the rest of us have done; muscling through the pain and fighting through it and just dealing with it because that’s just how it is sometimes. Sometimes it just hurts. It hurts horribly and you think you just can’t take it any more but you do, because you just have to hope that it will get better.

And that’s the stupid thing about life…no matter how bad it treats you, it really does always get better. Sometimes it’s a waiting game and sometimes it’s a fight but you just have to get through because it really does…it gets better.

Dammit, Danny. You just didn’t have to do it. You just didn’t.

Danny Severance (1992 – 2013)

December 20, 2013 By Steve Brown

I’m incredibly sad to announce that on Thursday, December 19th, yoyo player Danny Severance took his own life. Danny was only 21 years old, and the brother of Tyler Severance

Danny was a kind soul, and a brilliant troublemaker. He had more creativity than he ever knew what to do with, and when he chose to channel it into his yoyoing the results were stunning. With little more than a shrug, Danny would throw off tricks that put World Champions to shame. He was always quick to share whatever he had, and I never met anyone who didn’t love him. Hugs flowed freely when he was around. No matter what his state of mind, if he saw that someone needed…he gave. He was a natural giver, and in the end he gave us all so much that he didn’t keep enough for himself. Killing yourself was a stupid thing to do, Danny, and we’d hate you for it if we didn’t all love you so damn much.

“I got to know Danny Severance through the East Coast contest scene in the mid 00’s, and though we were too far apart in age to be really close, we got along well. I got to pretend to be his guardian one year when he was too young to sign up for the Peanut Fest contest. I signed his name Daniel K. Worthington Severance III, esq. or something and referred to him that way thereafter. He borrowed one of my No Jives for most of ECC in 2008, and it was insane to see what he could do with it. Danny was one of the most naturally gifted yo-yoers of his era, and the closest thing I’ve ever seen to a true yo-yo prodigy. His style was at once completely natural and completely inimitable, and he was at ease on a stock Freehand as he was on an unresponsive metal. Watching him play was like what I assume it was like to hear Robert Johnson play the blues in person – NO ONE else could do it the same.

He never seemed to care much about the direction yo-yoing took, but he definitely helped to influence it. Danny had a casual and direct personality that could make some feel uncomfortable, but which also cut straight through bullshit. He gave long hugs hello and goodbye, had a memorable laugh and an omnipresent smirk. Danny was a character, but also just a good, genuine dude, and in him we have lost one of the players who helped to define his generation. Much love to all who traded tricks or shared a laugh with him.”

– Ed Haponik (Werrd)

“Yoyo club at Mitchell’s was every Friday from 4:00 to 5. Which meant, of course, that Danny and Tyler wouldn’t leave until 9 pm, when the store closed. They would be dropped off by their mom with their backpacks and weekend bags to be picked up by their dad. They would yo-yo, of course, but they’d also sit on the floor and eat pizza or 5 guys and make a mess on our sales floor. They drove me nuts, and I loved every minute of it. Hanging with those boys was like being with your family. And, now it feels like they are family. And I miss those times. And I miss those boys. Danny is gone, and Tyler is in Arizona, but both Danny and Tyler will always be in my heart.”

– Joe Mitchell (YoYoRadio)

“Danny was an incredibly fun and charismatic person. I have many great memories hanging out with him. Thanks for the many laughs and inspiration from your yoyoing Danny. I hope you’re in a better place.”

– Yuuki Spencer

“Danny was an incredible human being. I wish that I had been as close with him in the last couple of years as I was growing up. He was such a strong influence on me, and I admired him for so many of his traits, and I will never forget him as he will continue to influence me for the rest of my own life.

I am honored to have known Danny.”

– Andrew Bergen

“One night when we were hanging out at Mitchell’s he said “how cool would it be to make stickers? If I could make stickers I’d just make them all day, just make the sh!t out if some stickers.” He was right, he put that idea in my head and it’s all I do now. I don’t know if I would have gone down that road if I wasn’t there that night. I love you brother and I’ll miss you.”

– Tom Uleau

“Danny was great friend. Some of my greatest memories were shared with him. He inspired me as a player and and as an artist. I am forever grateful for the time I got to share with him and deeply saddened that there wasn’t more. Love you dude.”

– Luke Hildebrand

“The last time we spoke was through text message on October 27th. I hadn’t seen or talked to Danny in over a year; I was watching old Studio Session videos and was (still) amazed at his natural ability with a yoyo. Every move was fluid and complex. Danny and I hung out a lot during those Sessions, so sitting at my desk in Texas watching these videos was also nostalgic. I sent him a quick text out of the blue telling him how “absolutely insane” his yo-yoing was and that I hoped he was doing well. He replied, “Aww man, thanks hella. Dude you’ve always been that to me. So hearing that from you is crazy.” I’m grateful I was able to tell him that and completely humbled he held my own works to such high regard. Those Sessions with Danny will always be highlights of a period in my life and it hurts so much we’ll never have new memories to reflect on when we’re old. ”

– Miguel Correa

Danny’s viewing will be at:

Hicks Funeral Home
103 West Stockton St
Elkton, MD 21921
Saturday, Dec 28th at 10 AM

Several people are coordinating crash space for any players who wish to attend…please email us and we’ll put you in touch with them.

We wish you had known how much you were loved. So long, Danny.

No matter what your problems, please know that suicide is not the answer. If you, or anyone you know, are contemplating suicide please seek professional help immediately. You can contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255, any time, day or night. Please.

R.I.P. Bob Bowden

August 13, 2013 By Steve Brown

In the earliest days of yoyo players running their mouths on the internet, Bob Bowden was always a voice of experience and reason. He was a good man, a good friend, and I’m damn sad to see him go. He’s spent several years now fighting cancer, and I don’t think it ever slowed him down. The picture above is just a few months old, and he looks old and tired (don’t we all) but content. Through all the treatments, I remember him posting about how much they sucked, but I never once heard him even come close to giving up.

I wanted to link you to some of Bob’s posts on the old yoyoing.com/news board, but that whole forum has long since crashed and burned. I wanted to call up specific bits of how funny he could be…Bob had an amazingly dry sense of humor that he shared often, but all those posts are gone.

I can talk about how he wrote a yoyo book, or how he ran a website that compiled links and resources because at the time no one else was doing it, and he though it would be useful. He did school shows with yoyos and he was on the Board of Directors of the AYYA and and and. But right now, none of that matters because he was my friend and now he’s gone. And I just miss him. I miss knowing that he occupied a small part of the world. A star went out, and everything is a little darker for it.

Goodbye, Bob.

——-

Robert BOWDEN / August 5, 1954 – August 6, 2013 / Bob passed away peacefully at the North Shore Hospice with family at his side after a lengthy battle with cancer. He is survived by his son Dominic of North Vancouver, his sister Sharon Calder along with her husband and Bob’s friend Roy Calder of White Rock, his niece Andrea McVey with her husband Iain and children James and Emily of Coquitlam and his friend Luzia (Dominic’s mother) from North Vancouver. He will also be sadly missed by the many musicians in his life and his coworkers at Save on Foods. Bob was born in Vancouver, BC to Robert and Charlotte Bowden.

His life-long love for music started at an early age and his family and friends will always remember the drum set and guitars set up in his parent’s basement and the frequent jam sessions. He was also an active DJ and musician, bringing his music to many venues and events. There will be no funeral service as Bob’s wish was that a benefit concert for the North Shore Hospice be held in remembrance of his name. It will take place Tuesday, August 13th at 7 p.m. Musicians and friends from across the Lower Mainland will gather at the Valley Church, 1160 East 29th street North Vancouver to help make his wish come true. Let the music play on…..for Bob. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the North Shore Hospice Society

Published in Vancouver Sun and/or The Province on August 10, 2013

Goodbye, SPYY

July 20, 2013 By Steve Brown

We woke up to some bad, bad news this morning. SPYY, makers of some of the most underrated but consistently awesome performance yoyos, is closing up shop.

SPYY came on the scene in 2003 with the Saturn Experiment, an attempt to produce a high-end yo-yo that can handle multiple string layers (bind-style) around the axle without stopping or returning to the hand. In 2005 the first high-end consumer yo-yo was produced, the Saturn Radian and it went on sale on eBay in early 2006. The first run sold out quickly, with a huge interest from the market. For the time, the yoyo was one of the smoothest competition throws available and players quickly became obsessed with what would be next from this small Canadian company.

From there they produced the Addict, a more rounded profile throw, that expanded their fan base considerably. As their following grew, they began acquiring a team that would eventually include Guy Wright, Ed Haponik, Alexis JV, Nate Sutter, Sebastian Brock, Gary Longoria, Lilia Markham, Joey Fleshman, and Devon Jackson. Recently produced models include the excellent TMBR x SPYY EH, Dynamo, and Amplifier.

SPYY’s remaining stock has been shipped off to YoYoExpert, and if you were ever on the fence about picking one of their models up we recommend you grab one now. Below is an excerpt from the email that SPYY sent out to their team and a few friends…and we’d like to personally thank Steve Buffel and his wife Suzanne for everything they’ve done for the industry and the community. You couldn’t possibly imagine a pair of more wonderful people, and while we’re sad to see SPYY go away it’s reassuring to know that at least we’re just losing some yoyos, and not some friends. Thanks for everything, SPYY!

—–

Thanks for taking a chance on us and our little yoyo company. Suzanne and I tried to push it to a full time carrier a while back, but I melted my soul in the process.

I think it’s time to call it a day. 10,000 yoyos sold to date. I guess we can all be proud of that. It’s been a fun ride with crazy ups and downs, just like this hobby of ours 🙂

I wish you all the best and you have our blessings and full support to pursue yoyoing however you feel it suits you best.

Thanks and please stay in touch. We’ll see you around.

Hugs and tears,
Steve & Suzanne
SPYY

YoYoJoe’s Toys & Fun Closing In August

July 10, 2013 By Steve Brown

We’re really bummed to announce that YoYoJoe’s Toys & Fun, one of the few brick-and-mortar retailers in the country that really specializes in and supports the yoyo scene, is closing in August. All inventory and fixtures are for sale right now at 20% off, with additional discounts to come as they draw nearer to their closing date.

The Mitchell family has been running a toy store in Delaware since the original Mitchell’s opened in 1953, where Joe’s grandfather hosted demonstrations by original Duncan yoyo men in the heyday of the first nationwide yoyo craze.

Joe also runs YoYoRadio and the Mid-Atlantic Regionals, which we hope will continue.

Article excerpt below. A huge thanks to Joe and the entire Mitchell family for their long-running love and support of the yoyo industry, and the best of luck to Joe and his family as they move on to their next endeavour!

The well-respected Mitchell family is closing the doors on its latest independent toy haven – YoYo Joe’s – after years of fulfilling children’s wish lists with that certain something the big-box stores simply didn’t have.

Yet it was more than that one thing that brought the Concord Pike store’s loyal patrons back for more.

There is something undeniably charming about a family-owned toyshop, much like an independent bookstore. Employees know your name and owners are on deck, making sure visits are memorable and customers are more than satisfied.

Joe Mitchell Jr., his wife, Emily, and son Ethan continued the family legacy of toy-selling in Delaware by opening the shop at 3654 Concord Pike in Talleyville in 2008. It was just weeks after the closing of Mitchell’s Trains, Toys & Hobbies in the Fairfax Shopping Center, which had served Delawareans since 1953 and over the years transitioned from a department store to specialty inventory.

It also was more than one thing that drove the decision to close YoYo Joe’s come the end of August, when the property lease expires.

Click here for the full article at DelawareOnline.com.

RIP – Jason Parrish (J-)

January 8, 2013 By Steve Brown

Jason Parrish – August 2, 1969 – December 31, 2012

On December 31, 2012 we all lost a friend. That friend was Jason Parrish. You may have never met Jason, or even heard his name, but if you owned a yo-yo he was your friend.
When it came to helping people learn to yo-yo, for Jason, there was never a task too tedious. Creating something like an online yo-yoing glossary or an FAQ was something he genuinely enjoyed. His love for yo-yoing drove him to teach others, and he dedicated time to creating one of the most helpful sites for beginning yo-yo players. I can only imagine the number of people that found Jason’s website after getting their first yo-yo.

I first met Jason in the late 90s on the early web forums dedicated to yo-yoing. He was sharp, not afraid to speak his mind, and always ready to lend a hand. We almost immediately became friends.

Several years later I served with Jason on Board of Directors for the AYYA. I don’t think there was ever a project that Jason turned down, but his primary focus was the AYYA Hall of Fame. I know that my term with the AYYA was better because of Jason. I don’t think I was alone. Jason was a negotiator and facilitator – a calm and thoughtful leader. Jason was a voice of reason. I’m convinced that our hobby not only benefitted, but was forever changed by Jason’s efforts.

Three months ago Jason was diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma of Unknown Primary Origin. In other words, the doctors didn’t know where the cancer started. The very nature of this particular cancer made it very difficult to treat, and his life ended much too soon.

Details of a memorial service are still pending.

Safe home friend, safe home.

– Jim Pankey

Memorial services details have been sent to us, but they were listed as “private” so we won’t be sharing them here. However, Jason’s family has requested that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be sent to:

The National Cancer Institute

in Jason Parrish’s honor for research of cancer of unknown primary origin (CUP)

http://obf.cancer.gov/contribute/giftfund.htm.

R.I.P. – Nathan Dewitt

December 27, 2012 By Augie Fash

[EDITORS NOTE: On December 25th 2012, we lost yoyo player Nathan Dewitt. The exact nature of his death is still under investigation, but Nathan suffered gunshot wounds and crashed his car while presumably fleeing his attacker(s), just before midnight on Christmas Day. All information we have has come from the video above. I asked around for a friend of Nathan’s to reflect on his life, and Augie Fash came forward and asked to say a few things. I didn’t know Nate at all, but it’s always a shame when we lose someone so young. Rest in peace, Nate. – Steve]

——

Over the years, Nathan and I would meet off-and-on at yo-yo contests.

The first memory I have of Nathan will always be one of my favorites, though. We first met at the Y3A Yo-yo Contest in last Vegas, nearly ten years ago. Back then both of us were relatively unknown players but we both shared a similar enthusiasm and love for yoyo.

Late at night, after the contest, all the yo-yo players gathered for a yo-yo battle. Everyone packed into an empty room and took turns going head-to-head, throwing down their best trick.

I remember Nathan getting on stage in front of everyone and effortlessly doing this crazy eli hop. He would launch the yo-yo, whip his body in a 360, and then the yoyo would land on the string in this completely impossible way, where I could barely even see what was going on.

I screamed like crazy for that trick.

I came up to Nathan after the yo-yo battle and asked him to show it to me again. He gave me a HUGE smile and then proceeded to try to teach me. Being big and uncoordinated, I knew I couldn’t spin in a 360. Not without months of practice at least.

Nathan wouldn’t be deterred though.

Every time I would give a half-hearted attempt, every time I told him no, every time I told him there’s no way I could spin a 360…
He would just stand there, flash this huge, ridiculous smile, and then tell me that of course I could. He would not be deterred. One hundred percent of me thought that I could never do that trick. One hundred percent of him though, knew that I could.

He would just smile again and say to just keep trying.

It’s kind of funny, because nearly 10 years later, I still remember seeing that trick. I’ve been going to yoyo contests for 14 years. I’ve seen world champions and trick innovators. I’ve traveled. I’ve demoed. I have seen a lot in the yo-yo world.

That trick though, I still remember it. And that’s kind of a weird thing. Because with as long as I have been involved in yoyo, very few tricks stick with you like that.

At first, I wasn’t sure why I remembered that trick, but now, I think I realize. In many ways, for me, that trick represents Nathan. A few things always stuck out to me about Nathan, and a few things stuck out to me about that trick.

Both Nathan and that trick had an incredible energy. No matter what, every time you saw Nathan, he was always so upbeat. He had this awesome, youthful enthusiasm that was at once both passionate and hopeful. Not many people are able to carry those kinds qualities into the difficulties faced with adulthood, but Nathan definitely did.

Looking back, that memory may have been a small part of both of our lives, but it is one that will always stick with me. I took a lot away from that chance encounter. Our paths may have never gotten the opportunity to cross very often, but I am very happy for the few times that they did.

Thank you for the inspiration Nathan.

Rest in peace, my friend.

Augie Fash