As a huge fan of 1A, I have to say that I would be willing to defend my opinion that there is a special genre of 1A that I would refer to as “Guy Wright Tricks”. In other words, Guy Wright is a unique and awesome player that has definitely made an impression on modern 1A. Formerly sponsored by SPYY, Guy Wright is the inventor of tons of extremely creative and unique tricks and just as well known for his awesome clip videos. One of my favorite players of all time, Guy agreed to do an interview and I was immediately excited to learn more about one of my favorites.
Guy, thanks for doing this! From inventing great tricks to putting out several instant-classic clip videos, you’ve definitely left a mark on modern yoyoing. How did you get your start?
Well, the main thing that got me into yoyoing was when I first saw the Viking Tour promotional DVD that my buddy (who was/is not a yoyoer) showed me in 2005. He told me about it and I was like, “yoyos are lame” but then he showed me the video and I was like “I bet I would be really good at that!”. So, I went out that day and got a FH2 from Target, and that was it. I have always been into juggling, so yoyos seemed like a reasonable thing to get into. Also, the fact that Steve Brown made it look cool and it wasn’t just some nerdy ass little kids made me think it would be cool even though I was already 21.
I feel that way too about how yoyoing kind of can appeal to a lot of age groups and not just little kids. Did you just start throwing 1A with the FH2? How did you start learning tricks back then?
I didn’t start with 1A at first. I went right into Freehand and learned a lot of the tricks from the Viking Tour DVD (Beestings, E-fans, etc. I did 5A for about 5 months before I got into 1A). The more videos I watched online, the more I wanted to get into slack tricks and it’s kinda hard to do slack stuff while holding the die so I eventually dropped it and started exclusively doing 1A. My next yoyo after a couple Freehands was the Hspin Pyro (I also had a big fascination with grind tricks at the time, so it seemed right.)
Oh yeah, Steve had those “Walking Grinds” in that video too, and 5A definitely has a feel like juggling more so than 1A I think. What were some of your favorite 1A tricks early on?
My favorite 1A tricks when I started where suicides, whips, slack, and grinds.
I loved the idea of the suicide, because it was so simple and obvious. You know exactly what’s going on, and why it’s difficult. Clean, simple and badass.
I loved slacks because they were big, graceful and pretty (when done right).
I was also really into grinds because they had the same feel as skateboard tricks and I was a big skateboarder when I was younger, so those elements were appealing to me.
When did you start making up your own?
It’s hard to say when I started making my own tricks. I feel most of my tricks were/are just variations of other tricks. Then again, isn’t that every trick? How far away from an existing trick does a variation have to be to be considered “new”? How many existing elements do you have to put into a combo before the combo is considered a new trick in itself?
Short answer: I would always try to make my own versions of tricks ever since I started.
I totally know what you mean. For a while, I was confused between the differences of a “trick” and a “combo”. I saw people throw “combos” that looked like entirely new tricks to me and I still sometimes get confused if I’m looking at a trick, or a combo that’s so good that it looks like something entirely new.
My favorite Guy Wright trick/combo/yoyo thing (a lot of other people’s probably too) is definitely Cupcakes. I love both repeaters and chopsticks tricks, so of course it’s perfect. A lot of your tricks are not only technically appealing but extremely visually appealing as well.
Yeah, I have always thought that the way tricks look is way more important than what’s actually being done. It’s like, yoyos are essentially a visual thing, so if it doesn’t look good, why the hell are you doing it? Granted, I have always thought I was extremely sloppy so I don’t know what that means.
Your SPYY signature yoyo was the Punchline which I’ve never thrown but featured a really cool shape that I like. What was the process like in designing your own throw?
As far as the Punchline goes, when we were coming up with it I just told Steve (of Spyy) that I wanted something bubbly, friendly, and…well….floaty. I wanted a yoyo that I would get along with, something that wouldn’t fight me and wasn’t aggressive. Like, I could say “Hey yoyo, how about we go over here now?” and it would say “Ok Guy, that seems fine” then we would hug.
I gave him personality traits and had him work his magic to make something physical out of my vague stoner descriptions. I mean, I did say I wanted it about 66 grams and a little bigger than the Pistolero. but aside from that I just gave descriptions about how I wanted it to “feel” and I have to say Steve nailed it. He sent me some CAD designs of a nice, bubbly, round yoyo with nice rounded-off rims and I was in love.
I like those kind of yoyos too. For me, it’s either that or a heavier yoyo that can also do what I want it to without being extremely heavy on the string and overall being kind of annoying to throw. In watching the “SpyyGuy Comics” clip video, that throw totally fit your yoyoing. Speaking of which, what’s your favorite clip video that you’ve put out?
It’s a tie between The Letter blue, Amplifire, More and Oh, and the first Punchline video.
The Letter Blue because I feel it has the best tricks.
Amplifire because I feel just about everything in there looks the way I wanted it to and it has the best song.
More and Oh because it was the most fun video to make and everything went well. Both me and Elliot hit our tricks within a reasonable amount of time, it was a nice sunny day, the editing was painless, and the song goes really well with it.
Finally, the first Punchline video because I have crazy hair in it.
I agree with you there, some of my favorite Guy Wright tricks appear in The Letter Blue as well as the first Punchline video.
Do you have any advice for any aspiring yoyoer out there?
The best advice I can give is simply, make it look good. That’s the only real important thing. If it doesn’t look good, why would you do it? It doesn’t matter how hard a trick is as long as you can do it with style.
I totally agree, that philosophy definitely shows in all of your tricks. Thanks Guy!
