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New Clip video for the Populist

I’ve made a new clip video to help show off my newest yo-yo, The Populist. The Populist is the first bi-metal yo-yo I’ve produced and was designed in collaboration with my Patreon sponsors.

It’s been really windy in our neighborhood lately, so I ended up shooting this over a few mornings, while the air was a bit calmer. This gives the yo-yo a foggy early morning feel, that I felt went well with this wonderful song by Benjamin Mørk and a classic 4:5 aspect ratio. I feel that ratio helped add to the intimate feeling of the video, like we are just hanging out and yo-yoing together.

I’ve also posted a full PopCast video about the Populist and some behind the scenes of this clip video.

And here’s the Populist on my site:

Populist Yo-Yo

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Slow Streets, a new clip video of responsive counterweight tricks

A man hiding behind a small christmas tree.

“Slow Streets” is a brand new yo-yo video that was shot on Sanchez Street in San Francisco. It was edited by Edition Yo-Yos and features one of my original songs.

Unlike my other clip videos, this one focuses entirely on “responsive counterweight” tricks. This style combines elements of freehand yo-yoing with modern responsive play. For this video, I’m exclusively using a Doc Pop Edition Thing, by Toybania and myself.

“Slow Streets” yo-yo clip video

If you enjoyed Slow Streets, then you should also check out this episode of PopCast Yo-Yo Vlog for behind the scenes footage with Edition Yo-Yos and trick tutorial for Floops.

Behind the scenes episode of PopCast

The Thing is now available on my store too:

The Thing (Doc Pop Edition)

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What Makes Doblé Yo-Yos Special?

A view of the Doble Arial from the side, so you can see the thin axle connecting the two yo-yo halves.

Inspired by #FixedAxleFebruary and some of the questions I got during our last YoIP! Virtual Yo-Yo Club, I put together an episode about the Ariel Yo-Yo by Doblé. This is one of my favorite yo-yos in my collection, up there with the Doblé Titania, which I hope to do an episode about in the future. 

In this video we also have a clip from Nate Martsolf about his Fixed Axle February Contest. 

For the yo-yo history nerds, I’m attaching a few more images of the Ariel, along with website screenshots, archived links, and patent drawings. Enjoy. 

Doblé Arials
A screenshot from Doble's website. It shows a photo of an Arial yo-yo and the text says "The Ariel fixed axle yo-yo features a patented friction system, a .078 inch diameter music wire axle, and a conventional twisted cotton string (tether). This design allows for long sleep times, superb control, and extended tether life. The Ariel weighs approximately 57 grams (depending on wood type and finish), and is balanced to eliminate the cg offsets caused by wood grain density variations. The Ariel has been unofficially slept for 60 seconds, breaking the world record of 52 seconds for fixed axle yo-yos. The unique design and performance features are covered under U.S. Patent Numbers 5,254.027, 5,389,029, and 6,066,024. The Ariel is returned to the hand from the sleep condition the same way as other yo-yos, by a slight jerk of the tether, creating a momentary slackening. There is a transition in frictional drag torque as the tether is lapped into loops spiraled between the brass lapper disks. The tether cross section changes from circular to an oval shape resulting in an increase of pressure between the tether and the lapper disks. This phenomenon allows for very low frictional drag torque during the sleep condition and the transition to high frictional drag torque during the recovery from sleep. All the surfaces interfacing with the tether are smooth, resulting in long tether life. Another innovative feature is the hub, which is a material with high mechanical stability. This material allows for a small diameter axle to be press fit into the hub, with the capability of adjusting the gap between the body halves by rotating the two body halves relative to each other while pushing or pulling. This allows an adjustment of the skimming pressure between the lapper disks and the tether. This gap adjustment allows an optimization of frictional drag torque to either maximize sleep time or increase looping ability. The interior surfaces making contact with the tether are smooth and thus will not grind up the tether as conventional yo-yos having radial ribs to provide friction. It is recommended that, now and then, the tether be removed and paraffin wax applied to the interior tip of the tether. This is best achieved by rubbing the wooden tip of a pencil on a bar of paraffin wax and then inserting the wood portion tip of the pencil into the loop at the end of the tether and rotate the pencil to transfer the wax to the tether. Your Doble yo-yo will perform smoother and the string life will be extended."

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Moon Rock Editions Now Available

A photo of the Moon Rock edition Shawn Exploder on the rocky surface of the moon. The yo-yo appears as if it is floating. Earth can be seen in the background.

Moon Rock White is a unique anodizing that my manufacturer offers. This special finish gives the yo-yo a velvety feel and looks a bit like porcelain. It’s a really unique look and I’m excited to be offering two of my favorite yo-yos, the Icarus and the Shawn Exploder in this Moon Rock White edition.

A photo of a rocky surface, like that of the moon, with 4 white yo-yos laying on the surface. There are two Moon Rock edition Icarus, and two Moon Rock edition Shawn Exploders.

As an extra note, this MRW edition Shawn Exploder is manufactured in 7068 aluminum (instead of 7075) and is a few grams lighter than the standard edition. So this is a special treat for folks who like lighter yo-yos, or if you are just a huge fan of the SE and want to see how different weights can effect its play.

This special edition comes with a special edition yo-yo bag and a ten pack of my PopString in a special all white and gold color. I’ve also restocked other items on my store, including a few gold plated Executive yo-yos, which make an excellent gift for the CEO in your life who also happens to yo-yo.

Moon Rock Icarus
Moon Rock Shawn Exploder

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New Thumbnails

Every now and then, I like to hire an artist to make some thumbnails for my videos. I really got a kick out of this new batch, so I thought I’d share them here. 

These thumbnails are for the following videos:

I sort of like these thumbs, but I always wonder if they clash with the overall style and vibe of the show. What do you think?

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PopCast: Skin The Gerbil

The newest episode of my PopCast yo-yo vlog is all about Skin The Gerbil. Skin The Gerbil is one of my most popular tricks, so I’m really excited to dedicate an entire episode to it. I talk about how the trick got its odd name, what is “alpha style”, and more yo-yo history. I hope you enjoy it!

Huge shout out to Clifton B. for editing this video, Noel von Joo for shooting it, an dall of my Patreon sponsors for making it possible.