The End
In 2010, I had the idea that I wanted to push myself to be a more active yoyo player. Back when I first started playing, and all through my days working for Duncan Toys and then briefly as a tour demonstrator for YoYoFactory, I threw constantly. It was not at all uncommon for me to put in at least 5 – 6 hours a day, and if I was on tour or handling a trade show then it easily became 8 – 10 hours a day. But having kids and starting a business take a lot out of you, and in 2010 I was coming off several years of barely touching a yoyo at all. I needed something to kickstart my creativity, and nothing does that like a public declaration so I announced that I was going to start 365yoyotricks.com, a website where I created, filmed, and uploaded one yoyo trick every single day for a year.
It turned out to be a lot harder than I thought, but in 2011 I did it. One original trick, every day. I dipped into a well of older tricks for days when whatever I was working on wasn’t ready yet, but I published video of 364 original yoyo tricks in 2011. (Halloween was a treat instead of a trick, with a coupon code for YoYoExpert.) In 2012 I decided to bring in some people who I personally wanted to see more play from, and put together a roster of players that are some of my personal favorites: David Ung, Nate Sutter, Ed Haponik, Drew Tetz, and Guy Wright. They contributed about a trick a week each, and I filled in the gaps. For 2013 I did the same thing with a new roster of players: Jacob Jensen, Spencer Berry, Darnell Hairston, Jake Bullock, and Rafael Matsunaga. As always, there were plenty of guest spots, but the formula remained; one new, original yoyo trick every day.
I even started a spin-off site, 365cooltricks.com, that is run by my friend Mark Hayward, featuring all kinds of tricks…juggling, kendama, magic, sleight of hand, bar tricks, and other object manipulation. It’s awesome, by the way, and Mark Hayward now has a much stronger understand of what I’ve done for the past 3 years in keeping 365yoyotricks.com going. Ha. Hi, Mark!
Today is the last trick of 365yoyotricks.com, “Denouement” by Hank Freeman.
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My time is filled with fatherhood and husbandhood and running YoYoNews.com and organizing contests and generally doing a lot of behind-the-scenes work to better the yoyo industry and community. So in the interest of making sure that I put all my energy in the best places possible, I’m closing the doors on 365yoyotricks.com. The site will remain up indefinitely, and thanks to the tireless work of Greg Pettit it’s a LOT more searchable than it was before so it’s now a much more functional archive of amazing tricks from a lot of fantastic yoyo players. (And me. Ha.)
A huge thanks to André Boulay and YoYoExpert.com for his help in keeping 365 going, helping me move the site from Tumblr to WordPress, and sponsoring the project with kickbacks for the players. Much love to everyone who ever contributed a trick, to everyone who ever watched a trick, and to everyone who slapped one of our stickers somewhere inappropriate. A huge thank you to Tressley Cahill for designing the logos for both 365yoyotricks.com and 365cooltricks.com.
It’s been a great three year run! The theoretical successor to 365 is the #trickcircle series that Drew Tetz has been curating from Instagram clips…so follow that hashtag on Instagram, and keep an eye on YoYoNews.com for weekly roundups and discussion.
Happy New Year, and thanks so much for supporting this project! It really did wonders for me as a player, and I hope you got as much inspiration from it as I did.
– Steve
Denouement – Hank Freeman
12/31/13
“And that’s it. We end the year with Hank Freeman, and we also end the project. Three years of one new, original yoyo trick every day and I have to admit…I’m exhausted. It’s been a great project, and I’m really excited to have so much modern yoyo play archived for future players to dig through. Thanks to all the players who have contributed, thanks to André at YoYoExpert for his support, and thanks to everyone who watched!” – Steve
Song is “Sleeping Weather” by Small Brown Bike.
Rabbit of Caerbannog – Ed Haponik
12/29/13
“Cute little Cheese-Whip to Bunny-Mount to Rejection to Unfold to Sky-Bind to Lunar Landing.
Named (obviously) after the killer bunny in Monty Python & the Holy Grail, which is the most foul, cruel, and bad tempered beast you ever set your eyes on (with a vicious streak a mile wide).” – Ed
Yoyo used is the Minute by Werrd.
Song is “Other Days” by Violins Is Not The Answer.
Robosuicide – John W. Robot
12/28/13
“An amazing original yoyo trick by John W. Robot, courtesy of CLYW.” – Steve
Song is “Share The Music” by Bouwakanja.
Yoyo used is the Peak by CLYW.
The Oh Fudge Jeezus, Uh, I Don’t Know – Abe Da Gravedigga
12/27/13
“An old repeater from Abe. No less awesome for its age.” – Steve
Yoyo used is the Avalanche by CLYW.
Song is “Sad Vacation” by Johnny Thunders.
Ollie Grind – Steve Brown
12/26/13
“An old favorite bit of silliness.” -Steve
Song is “One City” by Westy Reflector.
YoYo used is the Catalyst by YoYoFactory.
yoyoexpert.com
yoyofactory.com
Shepherd – Spencer Berry
12/25/13
“This is my string rejection trick – a sort of proof of concept. From 2007, as seen in Debt in Knowledge.” – Spencer
Song is “18 Years” by The Black Angels.
Yoyo used is the Dri-YWET by Anti-yo.
yoyoexpert.com
anti-yo.com
spencerberry.com
Stage Filler – Steve Brown
12/24/13
“Performing isn’t about the hardest tricks you can do, it’s about the biggest. Here’s one I’ve always enjoyed filling stage space with.” – Steve
YoYo used is the Catalyst by YoYoFactory.
Song is “Grey Skies Undertow” by Westy Reflector.
yoyoexpert.com
yoyofactory.com