Tech Creators is hosting some Mobius tutorials from Daniel “Zammy” Ickler on their YouTube channel, for anyone interested in learning this obscure style. For those who don’t know, Mobius is a family of yoyo tricks created by Doctor Popular that involve opening the finger loop in mid-trick and using it as an additional string segment.
Zammy Ickler – Thrown To The Wolves
Daniel “Zammy” Ickler dropped a new video of möbius tricks. As you’d expect from Zammy the music is good, the tricks are burly, and the lighting is…well, the tricks are great. Looks like Zammy is freshly inspired by his new collaboration yoyo.
Yoyo used is the GSquared Wolf.
Zammy X G Squared Presents The Wolf
Daniel “Zammy” Ickler brings Christmas presents early this year. On top of unveiling his signature model, designed by G Squared and dropping next Wednesday, he gifts us this slick new video showcasing his unique style of 1A and Möbius. Great soundtrack, great tricks!
First Look – GSquared x Zammy Wolf

The Wolf has been in the works for almost all of 2016. G2 has been working closely with Zammy to create him a signature yoyo.I have been making some of the highest quality yoyos for almost 5 years now. This time I wanted the challenge of making a yoyo for someone else’s preferences instead of what I wanted. Zammy was the perfect fit for this. Trick Innovator of the Year in 2014, and one of the best known players in the world, it only made sense to set it up as a collaboration.Zammy told me everything he wanted in his perfect yoyo, and I did my best to create a yoyo for that. Slight changes to the first proto, and we have done just that with the Wolf. The Wolf is a big comfortable H shape yoyo.The Wolf is expected to be released on Wednesday, November 23rd.
GSquared Wolf Specs:
Diameter: 56 mm
Width: 44 mm
Weight: 66.4 g
Bearing: Size C (Boss Rage and Boss Wrath)
Suggested Retail: $115 USD
- Warpath
- First Blood
- Andromeda
Daniel Ickler – Letting Go
Daniel Ickler seems to be the lone holdout for the möbius style of 1A play, but he really is pretty damn good at it. Here’s a new video full of what the hell? from the mighty Midwest.
Yoyo used is the CLYW Scout.
Interview – Daniel “Zammy” Ickler
Love him or hate him, Daniel “Zammy” Ickler (2012 Trick Innovator of the Year) has been involved in yoyoing for a long time and is well-known for his unique 1A and his promotion of the Moebius style of play. Moebius is when the slipknot loop is opened and manipulated into tricks, and Zammy has been almost single handedly promoting this style for a considerable amount of time now. Despite going through numerous sponsors over the years, Zammy has continued to push his creative concepts and to remain involved in various interesting projects throughout time. I was excited to interview Zammy, and learn more about everything that he does.
You’ve been a relevant figure in yoyoing for a really long time and have accomplished quite a bit including having an extremely original style of 1A and your promotion of the Moebius style of play. How did you start yoyoing?
I started yoyoing when I was 9 or 10 yrs old. I distinctly remember starting BEFORE the 1999 yoyo boom hit. Just imagine a little chubby Zammy trying to land a Trapeze. Priceless. I was learning from a small book I bought from a now extinct book store.
1999 was the big “yoyo boom”, and that was when I was in 6th grade. Every kid had a yoyo, whether it was a Duncan Butterfly or the extremely popular Yomega X-Brain. I started to throw at school during this time but towards the end of the school year the “fad” had died down and I was the last one. I pretty much got yoyos banned inside the school due to accidentally hitting people.
I think it’s that kind of dedication that really pays off though. With that period of time being around 1999, did you get involved with the internet yoyo scene of the time?
Between when I started, till around 2001, yoyoing actually angered me. It would irritate me so much when I couldn’t land something and that anger kept driving me to accomplish the trick. Yoyoing has personally evolved as to what it means for me now over the course of my “career”.
During ’99 into the new millennium, I would go to my sister’s place and would constantly watch the videos on Sector Y. I personally idolized the Spindox with all their clip videos and innovative material. Then, there were the web boards like yoyoing.com. I interacted on there, and I was such a brat though trying to find identity. I’m still a brat just not as young.
I was able to find a yoyo club semi-close to Wisconsin, the Chicago Crew “String Demons” where I met legends like Tommy Gun of Extreme Spin and my good friend Scott Nesham. I wanted to learn so much and have yoyo friends..gosh time flies by quick!
I’ve heard of/watched some of the String Demon’s old videos. Come to think of it, I was once doing some research for no reason on old Spintastic’s yoyos and I think I remember reading a review you did on the Spintastics Great White Shark from way, way back.
The Chicago String Demon’s clip video was the first clip video I wad ever in! This interview is making me so nostalgic!
Yes, I remember reviewing the Great White Shark and I believe it was on yoyovideos.com when it was up. I went through a ton of those throws. Still one of my favorites compared to today’s current modern spinning toys.
I actually own a couple Great White Sharks that I bought just to try, they’re pretty nice! They remind me of a responsive FHZ but a lot lighter and not as grabby at first due to the wide gap.
GWS’s are still so much fun! BEEFCAKE, BABY (Hi Doc Pop)! That was such a big deal back in the day before size C bearings became the standard. Now we got these absolutely huge gaps and crazy bearings. Still, all respect to Konkave bearings.
After learning for a while, at what point did you start coming up with your own stuff?
I think I started to try and do my own material starting in 2003. The year of Johnnie DelValle, grind type tricks and heavy slack use. But even then, I was still trying to learn everyone else’s stuff before I tried to branch off into my own thing.
It wasn’t until roughly 2006-2007 that I decided I truly had enough of learning everyone else’s stuff and to test my creativity.
During those days, I didn’t have a video camera, I didn’t have good internet access and I had zero confidence in my abilities.
That all changed when Alex Berenguel introduced me to Moebius at Madfest 2007..or 2008..can’t remember. But he introduced me to something I never imagined I would get behind and gradually take my world by storm.
I was about to ask how you got into Moebius. So it was through Moebius that you first really got into making tricks up?
Yes, Moebius really had unlocked my trick development and theory because its A) really “out of the box”/original and B) incredibly difficult. It was so new, so fresh, like shooting in the dark when I started. It still feels that way even in this day and age. I love it and always will.
A lot of your 1A kind of reminds me of Moebius style-wise, do you think it helped you develop your own style of 1A?
My 1A style is a direct result of Moebius. People get confused when they see my videos and wonder “Which is he playing?” I apply the same thinking when I play either style, so cross influenced ideas will happen.
So yes, it definitely has. I always label my videos so people know directly what style I’m playing. But then again, Moebius is “classified” under 1A and yet still it’s own style…let’s not open that can of worms.
Back in 2007, you started your “Yoyo Drive”, in which you donate a bunch of yoyos to charity around Christmas time. What inspired that?
The Yoyo Drive idea was something I came up with as a way to make a small difference to spread the love and joy of yoyoing while giving gifts to children in lesser-income homes for Christmas. I wanted to do something charitable at the time, something unselfish. During the Christmas holidays, my family has always struggled when it came to money so I know how tough it is.
When I introduced the idea to the community, there was a backlash. People didn’t think I should do it because “I was not a good representative”. It stung a bit, because I was hoping others would follow and do something similar. I went through with it anyway, contacted Yoyo Jam, and they sold me around 50 ProJams. I donated 25 to the local Social services and 25 to a different donation organization.
In January of 2008 I received a letter stating that all of yoyos donated were given to children. All 50. I’m glad children were given a present for Christmas!
I personally think that’s an awesome idea, hopefully it continues to be successful in the future.
Since 2007 I’ve been able to do some form of a Yoyo Drive, and I am still continuing to do it. The past three years, I have had help from YoYoFactory with the YoYo Drive! Thanks y’all.
Also, back around 2007 you released your “signature” yoyo through Yoyo Jam, The Black Death. I know that is was a modded Yoyo Jam ProJam, but how did that project come about?
It was in 2008 that the “Black Death” was released. This was another Yoyo Drive idea where I was to make a signature mod yoyo, a la Doctor Popular’s “The End”, but the money received from selling would be used to buy more yoyos to donate.
I bought around 40 white ProJams with custom sidecap art. The halves were dyed black by, I believe, a man named “Clifford” (I think). The caps were red-blood splatter painted by “YoyoRobin”. Ricerocket did the custom schmoove rings, grind resurfacing and cleaned the bearings, My grandma made the black velvet bags and G-strings made the custom string.
About half of them sold in 2008 which was disappointing. The money from those sales was used to buy Duncan yoyos that I donated. I gradually sold the rest in 2009, but unfortunately that money was used for a major dental surgery I needed. Overall, l that project was basically a flop but I do not regret it.
That project inspired Ricerocket to make his bootleg “Boltlegs”, and Chris Allen’s versions.
That’s still pretty cool, I’ve never thrown one but from the looks of it, it looked like a pretty cool throw.
They were modded Projams so they had the “plastic vibe”. I had issues getting those sidecaps in, it was quite difficult. The people that got em, loved em!
Moving forward in history, after being briefly sponsored by One Drop, and dropping (no pun intended) some great clip videos with them you released “Zype”, your signature string through Toxic Strings. What did you have in mind as far as how you wanted that string to be?
I was sponsored by One Drop between 2011 to 2013 which to me means that I had a good run with them. I wouldn’t call it brief, but that’s just me. I owe so much to them and I really regret leaving them but life was pure insanity for me at that time. I didn’t know which way was up.
2013 yielded some interesting results like the April fools YoYoFactory Soul Doubt and the Toxic Zype string!
The story for that was at U.S. Nats 2012, Evan of Toxic approached me on the idea of making a “Moebius specific string”. I had loved Mack Finley’s prototype signature string so I based it off that right away. Over the course of 6 – 8 months I went through many revisions of the string. Unfortunately, I told Evan he basically developed a string good for Moebius, which is the Metz string, so I convinced him to develop a string that would be useful for my 1a style AND Moebius style.
Evan and I went through 7 different versions of Zype until we decided on a final version. We experimented with two different poly strings put together to create the feeling of “Zype”. Zype is “Zammy” + “Hype” put together. I am a sarcastic person, always making crude jokes about swag, hype..those kinds of things. I think the name fits well, honestly..
The string needed to be long for my tech-arm combos, be able to hold slack well, smooth so I can comfortably open the slipknot, and have the slipknot loop open well for “no-handed” tricks.
It was awesome string, and from what I remember it was pretty well recieved too!
It definitely was! When the string was handed out at PNWR 2013 people were raving about it, and Andre and Johnnie DelValle were really excited to sell it! I’m glad it was a hit, hoping more will be available soon.
So, moving onto your tricks and clip videos, what’s your process like in creating a trick?
It’s not anything special, not really different from any of the other top players out there! I made a dedicated video specifically stating how to develop tricks and combos to help those out there and shows how I go about doing it.
First it does start with influence. Many yoyoers will see an element/concept that someone else does and mutates it to their own desirable outcome. This happens in everything. The thing is though, I generally DO NOT get influenced. Many of my ideas come from out of nowhere and or while sitting down doing critical thinking. I write down every idea I come up with, sometimes in bits and pieces. Some ideas are left to the side and I come back to expand on them. This happened specifically in 2012 where I did A LOT of videos..because so many ideas were left to the side in order to be re-explored. Experimentation/mutating, critical thinking, re-checking over and finalization are the usual steps I take.
What’s your process like in making a clip video?
It’s the same thing with my videos. The first thing about my videos is what kind of feeling I want to give for it, then I decide if my tricks are worth putting in there. Themes and feelings are always present in my videos even if people can’t see it. I go through multiple songs to pick which fits right for the combos, the angles of the tricks, which spots I should highlight in the video with slowmo (usually for slack type tricks), which order the tricks should go in…there is quite a bit going on for my videos. It doesn’t take me long as I always pre-plan on paper what I want.
All of that totally makes sense, it’s easy to see how all of that pre-planning pays off. Your style may be unorthodox, but it’s pretty well developed and really fun to watch.
Pre-planning is always important as a stepping stone. I can always track back ideas on paper, or even take previously completed ideas to develop something new, like sequel tricks. All in all, that’s just me.
If you had to pick, what would be your favorite 1A trick that you’ve invented?
For 1A, there is my neck based rolling green triangle I call “The Ballista”. It’s a real flashy type of trick that is kind of dangerous due to fear of hitting the face. I always get a good reaction when I do it.
Favorite Moebius trick?
For Moebius, I pick my signature trick “Moebicide” which is kinda hard to explain. I get into a specific hold and do a “slack pinwheel” with my left hand and immediately let go, causing the slipknot loop to be in the air along with the yoyo. The yoyo stays inside the loop while it flies. No hands are holding the loop, it’s all in the air. I then catch the loop with my right hand, and the yoyo captures inside the slipknot loop.
I’d say both the Ballista and Moebicide are trademark tricks of mine that if someone saw they’d be reminded of me.
I know both of those tricks and I would totally agree!
So, what would your advice be for an aspiring yoyoer? Particularly, an aspiring yoyoer trying that is trying to develop their own style?
Well, for new yoyoers that are developing their own style, they need to realize one major thing: everyone is different. Even if one person does one trick and the other person does the same trick..it will be different. Some people go fast, some go slow, some have different posture and stance..things like that. The reason I say that is because there will be fellow throwers that will say “Oh he throws just like so and so” or “Well he copied so and so tricks”. People need to stop worrying about that and just play yoyo.
Secondly, another tip for yoyoers is to try and grasp as many concepts/elements as possible. This will help you to expand your creativity. Having a greater understanding of the connection between the spinning object and the string will help the yoyoer overall. If you are able to grasp these ideas, this can yield greater results in developing new concepts, maybe even something revolutionary.
I believe the other thing worth mentioning is not to force yourself to be creative unless you’re ready. For example, my yoyo style is very raw and aggressive. It doesn’t always work for everyone. Sometimes if you just ease back and yoyo without thinking, you may yield even better results. Everyone is different, so everyone will evolve their style at different paces.
Be sure to also understand what your favorite elements are. Its good to be a solid overall yoyoer but it’s sometimes better if you are a specialist at something. Janos seems to be heavily always using slacks with rejection-like concepts.
It’s all up to the yoyoer to decide their path.
Very true, that’s all such good advice.
Lastly, what can we expect to see from you in the future?
The future is something I don’t know, yoyo-wise. I’m a wild-card type person so at first I could go full force at something and then the next…stop.
Right now, I intend to get back into the Moebius 101 project sponsored by Yoyoexpert. More people need to learn it. I’ve taken a very long break from the style. It’s time to take it above the next level and show what I am capable of.
I intend on exploring other styles of yoyo, I’ll still be making clip videos/trickcircles..I’ll still be doing my thing vs. what everyone else is doing, and I plan on doing a GoPro-style tutorial series on beginner, intermediate and master level tricks like what Yoyoexpert has done.
Don’t expect me to ever be sponsored again or another signature yoyo. I seriously doubt any company will give me another chance, but that’s okay. I can’t “pump out” videos like I used to since my creativity has slowed down. But it’s still there.
Awesome, I wish you luck in whatever you decide to do. Thanks Zammy!
Daniel Ickler – Gifted (NSFW)
Daniel Ickler, 2012 Trick Innovator of the year, released a new video ‘Gifted’ showing off some of his crazy new 1A Tricks.
As usual some really interesting mounts and elements in his presentation of tricks.
Music is NSFW.
Updated: YoYoFactory Soul Doubt and new Video from Daniel Ickler
The yo-yo internet world is a buzz after YoYoFactory released a statement this morning via Facebook and Instagram:
Apparently releasing tonight at 6:00 PM EST via YoYoExpert is the ‘Soul Doubt‘ – signature yo-yo of Daniel ‘Zammy’ Ickler? April Fools or the real thing? Time will tell.
UPDATE:
The yo-yo is revealed and is for a great cause too!
Why you might ask? Is this yo-yo just an elaborate April Fools Joke?! Absolutely not! The idea here is a simple one. Zammy is an amazing player with a big heart. In the past he has run the Yoyodrive raising money during the holiday season. YoYoFactory and Zammy decided what better then produce a limited yo-yo in his honor and help support a good cause.
Only TEN Soul Doubt have been made available for sale at $50 (each are individually numbered) and ALL proceeds (that is $500 total) are being donated to a charity that is close to Zammy’s heart. The Children’s Miracle Network. Zammy plans to personally hand deliver the check himself at a hospital in his area!
http://shop.yoyoexpert.com/product/948/YYF-Soul-Doubt—Zammy-Signature
Zammy also released a new video today showing new tricks and his entrance back into the world of yo-yoing after a recent break.
Zammy presents: Daniel Ickler-2013
So, Its April of 2013 ( I uploaded this early and had it on private) and its been about two months since I left my sponsor of Onedrop. After that, some bad things went down that caused me to take a break from the internet (try to). Well, I’m back now. and I am here to begin rebuilding allover again.
For starters, I did a few things differently for this video. First I self titled to my real name, something that most yoyoers generally do not know. Secondly, when you are watching you may notice no trick titles. I decided against putting them in this since I hear it distracts people. I still name my tricks, as I have uploaded them all singly on my alt youtube for people to preview.
Also featured within the video is the new Toxic Strings “Zype” which is my signature yoyo string developed for 1a and Moebius in mind. Will be available in the near future!
Top 10 YoYo Players on Twitter
Everyone loves a Top Ten list, right? The kids go crazy for the Twitter these days, so I thought it was about time someone ranked the best yoyo players on Twitter. Because, you know, if it’s not ranked, does it really exist? And besides, all the cool blogs have Top Ten lists, so here’s ours!
10 – Ann Connolly – @annmayy
Best Recent Tweet: I woke up to bloody toes with bruises and remnants
of neon paint all over my body. I just @ Coral Bungalows
http://instagr.am/p/Te94izG3Tj/
Ann’s arguably the world’s best known female yoyoer. She’s been traveling quite a bit recently and her Twitter feed has taken a bit of a travelog feel about it.
9 – Drew Tetz – @drewtetz
Best Recent Tweet: clippers died halfway through my haircut. i look
like two-face, or an urban outfitters employee. please charge faster.
Drew’s one of the good guys of yoyoing. He tweets about yoyoing, art, design, and his many creations including lasercut yoyos and kendamas.
8 – Paul Escolar – @paulescolar
Best Recent Tweet: My recycled plastic/wood composite desk chair just
cracked. Sh*t just got real. going #GREEN is not for #FATTIES .
Runner Up: WOW, That was a Good Belch! I don’t remember the last time
i had one that was more than a mere Burp. #BOOGERWOULDBEPROUD
Fabulously funny Paul really rarely tweets about yoyos, but his tweets are funny and, yes, fabulous. And for good measure, follow him on Instagram for peeks at his sketchbook.
7 – Ed Haponik – @kinopah
Best Recent Tweet: more and more, i find the overall quality of my
original tricks to be inversely proportional to their length.
http://vimeo.com/56491225
A school teacher by trade, Ed is almost poetic in his writing. OK, strike the ‘almost’, he IS poetic. He even avoids capital letters in a nod to poet e.e. cummings. Smart, thoughtful feed from a good guy. If you’re looking for a role model in yoyoing, you could do worse than Ed Haponik. For example, Steve Brown. See? Definitely worse than Ed Haponik.
6 – Hiroyuki Suzuki – @HSJPN
Best Recent Tweet: Christopher Chia met Ludacris when he was shooting
ANGLAM Ver.CC Video! pic.twitter.com/uyp5B86s
Multi-time world 1A champion posits on his store, his yo-yos, mainly in Japanese, but sometimes in English.
5 – Takahiko Hasegawa @Taka_yoyo
From what I could find, Taka is the world’s most followed yoyoer on
Twitter. (Keep in mind my study consisted of a bored Sunday afternoon
on the internet). That’s the good news. The bad news is Take tweets
solely in Japanese. Still, there’s lots of pics of cool yoyos!
4 – Daniel Ickler – @ZammyIckler
Best Recent Tweet: I wish they made pizza on a stick, like how a
corndog is like.
Runner Up: Merry Z-Mas and Zammy New Year to all! Sorry if as Zammy
Clause is delievering yoyos that he breaks a door..or chimney.
Endlessly entertaining feed, some of which was actually intended to be funny! The personable Zammy will tweet about anything and everything.. .be forewarned, he’s liable to put a ‘z’ in just about any word. In the immortal words of Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids – “And if you’re not careful, you may learn something before it’s done!”
3 – Chris Mikulin – @clyw_canada
Best Recent Tweet: Oh ya FYI we’re making a plastic return top!!! Lol … Soooo stoked 🙂
Chris has proven time and time again to be one of the sweetest guys in the industry, and his Twitter feed shows the results of that….a nearly endless stream of love and support from CLYW fans, peppered with news about CLYW releases and videos.
2- YoYoFactory – @yoyofactory
Best Recent Tweet: Just saw the @yoyoskills award list. Lol. Not sure
who is kidding who. #undeniable
Ben McPhee’s in charge of the Twitter feed at YoYoFactory and he’s quite a personality. The guy that everyone loves to hate weighs in on style, life and (occasionally) yoyoing.
1 – Steve Brown – @unklesteve
Best Recent Tweet: I’d love to write a sequel to The Vagina Monologues
made of stories from male audience members who didn’t know what they
were going to see.
The never-shy Steve Brown is always entertaining and often polarizing. He’s been around long enough to know just about everyone in yoyoing and at some point has pissed off all of them.
Steve also maintains @365YoYoTricks (one new yoyo trick every day), @sbgallery (his online art gallery), @triplecrownyoyo (official Twitter account for the Triple Crown of YoYo contest), and @shinbonetweet (his company that handles digital sculpting and prototyping).
Honorable Mention:
YoYoRadio – @YoYo_Radio
Shameless self promotion. The world’s first internet radio show about
yoyoing called yoyoradio.net. Yes, there is a second internet radio
show about yoyoing called yoyoradio.net. We were first. We are best.
TAKE THAT, copycat Japanese yo-yo radio!
Dishonorable Mention:
World Yo-Yo Contest – @wyyc
Best Recent Tweet: Testing the WYYC twitter feed.
Runner-Up: No, that’s it. It’s the biggest yo-yo contest in the world
, and their Twitter feed amounts to one tweet that’s over two years
old. And they wonder why people want the contest to move out of
Orlando…
That’s all, folks! And don’t forget to follow @YoYoNewsBlog on Twitter for the latest updates on stories just like this one. How incredibly meta!