YoYo Related News From Around The World
One of the biggest hits of the new Basecamp lineup is the Pariah, a collaboration between SF YoYos and CLYW that combines elements of the Akita (CLYW signature model of Mark Mangarin) and Cadence (SF signature model of Kieran Cooper). So what better way to promote it than to smash Mark’s face onto Keiran and vice-versa and make everyone super uncomfortable?
First release of the Pariah was at the 2019 World YoYo Contest, but more will be available soon. Check out full specs below.
March 9th saw the first UNPRLD Exhibition freestyle competition, an event they describe as:
the goal of this exhibition is not to find winners or losers, but rather for freestyle development and criticism. with the prizes in place, we hope to see competitors try their best to perform at their highest capabilities.
It’s great to see alternate contest formats getting some play, and hopefully we’ll see plenty more of this type of contest in the future. UNPRLD had cash prizes for First and Second place, and a prize bag for Third. Check out video of all the winners, and congrats to Mark Mangarin on his win!
Mark Mangarin is one of those yoyo players where after I watch his videos I feel hella stupid because I don’t even know how to describe what I just saw. So I’m sitting here, drinking coffee, watching this over and over, and I have no words.
Yoyo used is the CLYW Akita.
And just barely in time for Christmas delivery, CLYW finally drops the Akita…the long awaited signature model for Mark Mangarin.
The Akita clocks in at about the same width as the Manatee, but with a profile that is classic CLYW organic. Big fat rims for days! The addition of internal steel rim weights that account for 34% of the total weight of the yoyo (22 grams!) mean the Akita is wide, comfy, and has all the power you need to get through anything you can think of.
The Ferdico Fade edition (30 pieces) will be available direct tonight at CLYW.ca, and more colors are coming in January to YoYoExpert. Check out full description and specs from CLYW below!
The Akita is the first signature model for Mark Mangarin, and we knew it had to be amazing.
Mark is your favorite player’s favorite player. His trick construction is always unique and boundary breaking, and his work with the Scales Collective consistently pushes modern technical yoyoing forward in a way that is inspiring and difficult to keep up with. We knew that a signature return top for him had to be incredible, but with his unique style we had to bridge the gap between comfy Caribou-style and raw performance.
So, we did.
The Akita’s fat rims feel amazing in the hand, bringing back memories of the Chief and the Avalanche. They taper sharply enough that they increase the play area tremendously, giving you a full 40 mm of catch zone…perfect for those big body moves and tricky horizontal catches.
The bi-metal rings push a ton of weight to the far outer rim of the return top, and combined with the extreme width of the Akita they make nearly anything possible. Mark is constantly pushing the limits of trick construction, and now he has a return top that can handle anything he can think of.
Each Akita ships with a Fat Kitty String and a limited edition hard enamel pin.
Mark Mangarin never fails to amaze with his creativity and trick construction. His role in SCALES definitely confirms that his knowledge of tech yoyo play runs deep, but it’s one thing to know it and another to execute it. In this quick little video, Mark reminds you that he’s got the chops.
CLYW has been quiet this year, but working on a lot of new designs that we expected wouldn’t be released until 2019…looks like we might get this one a little earlier. The Akita is the new signature model for Mark Mangarin, a bi-metal yoyo that runs a little wider and larger than the Manatee. Specs and release date coming soon.
Yoyo used is the CLYW Akita.
The guys at Scales Live spent an hour of their Monday nights talking about their predictions for 2018, what exactly is “meta”, different styles, and more!
Featuring Andrew Bergen, Andrew Maider, Colin Beckford, Keiran Cooper, Patrick Canny, and Mark Mangarin.
Audio version can be listened to here.
Scales members Mark Mangarin and Colin Beckford recap on the year and discuss each of their top 5 favorite routines.
Links to all freestyles mentioned are in the description of the video.
Thanks to our sponsors YoYoExpert, CLYW, and Recess Intl.
Scales members Andrew Bergen, Colin Beckford, Patrick Canny, and Mark Mangarin recently put their minds together and discussed some of their favorites from the 1A finals at US Nationals this year. Check out the video episode below!
Thank you to the sponsors of Scales – YoYoExpert, CLYW, and Recess Intl.
Mark Mangarin, Alec Campbell, and Aaron Davis just teamed up for one of the coolest looking yoyo videos we’ve seen in a while. Check out “Neon” from a few heavyweights in the yoyo community. Amazing work, you guys.
Yoyo used is the Basecamp Navigator.
The Scales Podcast is quickly shaping up to be a great resource for yoyo players to dig deeper into the intricacies of this glorious little subculture we’ve created for ourselves. Check out two new episodes!
In episode 2 of the Scales Podcast, team members Andrew Bergen and Mark Mangarin interview one of the industry’s most intelligent minds in the realm of social media, team management, and design; Chris Mikulin! Some topics that are mentioned in this feature are future plans for Caribou Lodge, sub-brands of CLYW such as Heaven Sent and Pool Party, Basecamp, and more!
For new players, sponsorship can be seen as one of the most daunting and confusing aspects of yo-yo. Scales team members Andrew Bergen and Mark Mangarin reflect upon their experiences as sponsored players, talk about what they feel as though the true definition of being sponsored is, as well as even give prime examples of great representatives of this generation. Give Episode 3 of the podcast a listen in order to enhance your perspective of what being sponsored really means! Thank you to our sponsors: YoYoExpert, Caribou Lodge, and Recess International!
The Scales Collective bring us a new yoyo-related podcast called Scales, and it’s off to a solid start. The Scales Collective is made up of Andrew Bergen, Andrew Maider, Colin Beckford, Dennis Cinquegrani, Ethan Cheung, Keiran Cooper, Mark Mangarin, Patrick Canny, and Zafran Aqil.
If you’ve ever spent even a few minutes talking to Bergy or Mark or any of the rest of the Scales crew about yoyoing then you know those guys are some of the most thoughtful yoyo players in the scene, with perspective beyond their years and a desire to move the scene forward.
Episode 1 finds Bergy sitting down with Nehemiah Peterson, a self-described “tech innovator” who is passionate about the more technical aspects of modern yoyoing.
CLYW player Mark Mangarin put together a great video, shot in Colorado on the way to the 2016 World YoYo Contest. Featuring Mark Mangarin, Zach Gormley, Keiran Cooper, and Patrick Canny.
The CLYW team tore it up at the 2016 US National YoYo Contest this year with a half-dozen players making finals in two divisions, and now we get to see what they were up to when they weren’t on stage. Check out some great tricks from Anthony Rojas, Tessa Piccillo, Ernest Kahn, Michael Kurti, Andrew Maider, Zach Gormley, Harrison Lee, Alec Campbell, Mark Mangarin, Grayson Johnson, and Isaac Nozick.
Every year (well, nearly) at the World YoYo Contest, a handful of players carve out a spot for themselves to hold an anti-competition. It’s not that they are against yoyo contests, it’s that there are a lot of players who just aren’t built for them, but do some legitimately amazing stuff nonetheless. Yoyo play is vast, and while we’ve done a fairly good job at figuring out how to quantify and score it, there will always be players who’s style and aesthetic just doesn’t work inside of that system. And that’s why the Alternative Freestyles exist: to give a platform to people who need a different place to showcase their skills.
This year’s Alternative Freestyles were supposed to be held on the main stage as the focus of the third after-party, but communication and scheduling issues moved it to a conference room after finals were over. Check out the three “Judge’s Pick” freestyles below (and a bonus pick from me, because it’s my site and I’ll do what I want), and then head over to the full playlist on YouTube to see everyone who entered.
“It was really difficult to choose one person with the plethora of amazing names, but Chris was the first person to go up and boy did he throw down something special. His performance was just beautiful to watch, the music was happy and elegant as he threw down some gorgeous and innovative tricks that unified everyone at the start of the event and made everyone feel as though they were watching something special. The bangers didn’t just make me clap but they made people excited and happy that someone could do something so fun and exciting. It made me feel legitimately emotional to watch and I could not be happier to have been able to witness that performance.” – Sebastian Brock
“There is something really special going on when you watch someone else yoyo. I feel as though Alternative Freestyles this year was incredibly educational and fun, so my choice based on that is Isaac Sams. His yoyoing is extremely refreshing to watch, and the direction he chooses to take with his tricks is not only unique, but fundamental as well. On top of all that, he seems to be really enjoying himself which in turn really lends to how he sells his tricks.” – Stephen Fuentes
“I really enjoyed watching all of the freestyles, but my favorite routines were: Chris Rodrigues, Isaac Sams, Ivan Maslin, Riccardo Fraolini, Mark Mangarin, Yuuki Spencer, Shane Lubecker and Sebastian Brock. If I had to pick only one favorite freestyle, it would be Sebastian Brock’s freestyle, because in addition to his crazy and unique tricks his presentation and his tricks together with the music were very inspiring, peaceful and relaxing to watch, so I really felt like it had a story to tell.” – Janos Karancz
“I love watching through the Alternative Freestyles. So much talent in there, and I love watching players just *play* without the pressure of a contest or judges. I’ll argue to the death that Hiroyuki Suzuki is 1000% better when he’s not on stage, because the tricks he chooses are so much cooler. Mark Mangarin occupies this strange and wonderful grey area for me: I think if he took it more seriously he could legitimately start destroying contests, but at the same time it’s his cynicism about modern yoyoing that pushes and informs his trick creation and his tricks are just stupidly fun and amazing. I love hearing people complain about his Cabin Tutorials being hard to learn because Mark is left-handed….no dude, they’re hard to learn because his tricks are awesome, ha ha! The way he builds and paces his tricks, the geometry that he uses in his body moves, the fact that you never quite know what direction the yoyo is headed next…he’s the visual equivalent of Fugazi to me, and I absolutely love watching him play.” -Steve Brown