Posted on Leave a comment

“Do Something Cool” Yo-Yo Shirts on Threadless

I’ve just added a new shirt to my Threadless shop. This awesome design was illustrated by Ben Passmore and is based on my “Do Something Cool” video on TikTok. Ben and I are donating our portion of proceeds of this shirt to The Bail Project.

Shirt available on https://docpop.threadless.com/designs/do-something-cool-yo-yo-shirt

People always ask what my opinion of these Threadless shirts are, so I’ll just say that I love them. I’m a big fan. The prints are high quality and I love their “premium” tees the best. They are twice the cost, but holy crap are they comfortable. I have a lot more yo-yo designs over on my Threadless shop too, so check them out here.

Posted on Leave a comment

PopCast: Simply Mike learns Eeby Deeby

This is a fun episode of PopCast where I hang out with Simply Mike, who does a yo-yo show called The Definitive Yoyo. Mike and talk about a newer trick called Eeby Deeby, which is inspired by my old Gondola trick. We also share some tips on Gondola too. I hope you enjoy!

Like I said, this video is pretty much just the two of us hanging out and chatting. If you’d like a shorter tutorial for Eeby Deeby, check out this video:

Posted on Leave a comment

The origin of “Alpha” and “Beta” style yo-yoing

Connor Scholten, a yo-yo historian, recently asked me about the origin of the term “Alpha Style”, which I used to describe tricks like The Matrix and Skin The Gerbil. Here is my response:

As far as the terms go, I know I really loved the Matrix around that time, so I think Alpha and Beta just sounded techie to me. My trick “The Matrix” was maybe the first time I started thinking of the concept of what elements can be linked together and what can’t, so that kind of goes to prove that whole “this term sounds computery” origin story.

Doctor M. Popular

Alpha Style?

Some elements of yo-yo tricks can be linked together to form a single fluid chain of movement. This means allowing the movements of one element to carry momentum and flow into the next element without any pauses or redirections. This style of yo-yoing is called Alpha style. However, not all elements can be linked together. Some elements may necessitate a pause or a change in direction, which would bring the Alpha flow to an end. Some elements may require a pause or change in direction which would end the Alpha flow. The point between two elements that requires the yo-yo to change direction is called a Beta move.

The Matrix (seen above) can be put together almost entirely in Alpha Style, but Skin The Gerbil (below) is constructed of both Alpha and Beta moves.

Posted on Leave a comment

New Tutorial: PopGun Whip

Here’s a new trick tutorial for one of my favorite tricks of 2021… which was actually inspired by one of Kota’s tricks in the early 2000s. The trick is called the PopGun Whip and I think it’s totally learnable by most players. I’m hearing a lot of great feedback from folks who enjoyed the tutorial. You can watch it here:

Shout out to my Patreon sponsors who helped me find a name for this trick as part of my monthly Name-This-Trick Contest. Congrats to EFF.n YOYO for suggesting the winning name.

Posted on Leave a comment

New yo-yo trick video! The End Part II #thingsthatrepeat

The End Part II #thingsthatrepeat” is my first full length trick video in a long time. I made it to promote the upcoming release of The End Part II yo-yo by Round Spinning Objects and myself. The video features original tricks and music over a minimal background. If you look in the video’s description, you’ll also notice I’ve added “chapters” to the video, to show the name of each trick and more info about that trick when possible.

I’ve also uploaded the song from this video for folks to download

Huge thanks to Shalaco for sharing his studio, lighting, and camera skills with me for this project.

Posted on Leave a comment

Name-This-Möbius-Trick on Patreon

This is one of my oldest and most fleshed out Möbius tricks, but I never named it. So I’m doing a name-this-trick contest on my Patreon page and giving Da Capo yo-yo (seen in the video) to the winning name. Enter here https://www.patreon.com/posts/55758053

The song is “Heavy With Drums 1” by Emily Hopkins

Huge thanks to Thesis for donating the Da Capo for the giveaway. The Da Capo officially goes on sale today (9/4/21) at 5pm PDT on https://www.thesisyoyos.com/

Posted on Leave a comment

PopCast Vlog: Angelo Aguirre is a TikTok Yo-Yo Superstar

This episode of PopCast was a real treat. I got to talk to Angelo Aguirre about his huge following on social media. Angelo is a team member of SF Yo-Yos and has over 1.6 million fans on TikTok. We talked about what it’s like to have so many followers, tips for creating viral videos, how TikTokers make money, and his plans for the future.

If TikTok yo-yo videos aren’t your thing, check out some of Angelo’s longer clip videos on Youtube, like “a Soothing yoyo video” or “10 YEARS of Yoyoing.. 💕

During the interview, I asked Angelo for a critic of one of my recent yo-yo videos. I took his advice and shared it on TikTok this morning. Has it gone viral yet? You can find out here.

Posted on Leave a comment

Restock alert: Weekenders available in new colors

If you’ve been on the hunt for a Weekender, I have some great news… I now have Weekenders available in orange or light blue. I’ve been out of stock all year, so don’t miss out on these yo-yos. I think Weekenders set the bar for metal modern responsive yo-yos. They are light, snappy, and easy to stall.

I have 11 available in classic orange and 11 more available in a new light blue color that I think looks fantastic. These colors remind me of the classic Bolt colorways.

Posted on Leave a comment

PopCast Yo-Yo Vlog: An interview with André Boulay from YoYoExpert

This episode of PopCast is an in depth conversation with André Boulay from YoYoExpert.com. I asked André about how he got into yo-yoing, how the pandemic has affected the hobby, what it’s like switching from being a yo-yo pro to being a yo-yo store, and if we’ll ever see another Dark Magic.

PopCast is a crowd sponsored yo-yo show. Huge thanks to Taka, John Anderson, and the rest of my sponsors on Patreon.com/docpop Just a note, André is one of the sponsors of this show, but he had no say in any of the questions I asked or how it was edited. I just thought he’s a cool person with a rad yo-yo story.

I’m giving away The Dark Magic bootleg yo-yo that we show during the episode. This has been a coveted part of my collection for a while, but it seems like the perfect giveaway. Find out how to win it on my https://www.patreon.com/posts/54347772

Bootleg Dark Magic

Posted on Leave a comment

The Shawn Exploder Yo-Yo – Coming August 2nd, 2021

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m pleased to announce The Shawn Exploder, a new yo-yo coming on August 2nd at 5pm PDT to DoctorPopular.com and YoYoExpert.com.

The Shawn Exploder is Shawn Garcia‘s first signature yo-yo. Shawn is a yo-yoer and photographer known for taking beautiful photos of yo-yos floating in air. This “exploded” photography is what first drew me to Shawn and was the inspiration for the name. The Shawn Exploder is a wedge shaped competitive yo-yo that was designed to look great in photos. I’ll say that again…

The Shawn Exploder yo-yo was designed to look great in photos.

All photos by Shawn Garcia (obviously)

When I asked Shawn to design “a yo-yo that photographers would love” he sent me a sketch of a wide v-shape design with stepped edges. These hard contours created distinct areas of light and dark on the yo-yo. In stark contrast, and because I’m a huge fan of organic throws, I added a smooth contoured bowl to the outer walls of the yo-yo. These work great for fingerspins and claw grinds, but also distribute weight in an interesting way. I think the end result is a competition style yo-yo that feels fun and floaty.

The Shawn Exploder will be available in blue or yellow on DoctorPopular.com, with a small batch of red fades going on YoYoExpert.com. Additionally, a run of “Superblack” Shawn Exploders are now available exclusively to my sponsors on Patreon.com/docpop. Each Shawn Exploder comes with a silkscreened micro fibber cloth (for wiping your camera lenses) and an acrylic yo-yo stand featuring art by Rob Armin and Doc Pop.

I’m excited about this yo-yo because it represents many firsts. It’s the first signature yo-yo I’ve released for another player. The first wedge shape design I’ve released. The first yo-yo released with “yotography” in mind.The first 7075 aluminum yo-yo I’ve released. And it’s the first time I’ve released a designer yo-yo stand.

Specs:

  • Weight: 63.25grams
  • Bearings: Size C
  • Size: 53mm by 45mm
  • Gap size: 4.4mm
  • Response: 19x14x1.15mm
  • Material: 7075 aluminum
  • 3″ x 3″ acrylic yo-yo stand
Shawn’s self portrait