This morning we met up with Mark Hayward, and Bob Rule for breakfast in New York City. Then we were off to CBS  for our appearance on the Early Show.  After the segment Harry Smith told us about when he was a child he was a yo-yo player and even entered a local Duncan Yo-Yo Contest! To his dismay he admitted he lost, and said if he had landed that one trick, then maybe he would be on tour with us today!

Set those dvrs folks! The great Bob Rule along with Seth Peterson, Mark Hayward, Nate Sutter, and myself will be on the CBS Early Show on Monday morning! We’ll be talking about the 80 years of Duncan Toys and our favorite toy, the Duncan yo-yo.  Should be a good segment so make sure to tune in!

Dayton was a highlight in more than way. First, the demo spot was one of the most unique venues we’ve done so far. Crafty Hands is a “booth” at a local “farmer’s market”. Now, when we heard “booth” and “farmer’s market” we imagined organic apples and walking around outside doing demos. When we showed up we found ourselves in a large building at a storefront with a huge crowd. A lot of interest in yo-yos and a lot of interesting people hanging out, ready to learn how to throw.

The other highlight was being able to spend time with one of my closest friends, Joey Fleshman. I’ve known Joey since 2004 and he’s been present at some of the most poignant times of my life. He’s now at Virgina Military Institute on his way to being a nuclear engineer. As always, I cherished the time i got to spend with him, and wished it could have been longer.

While in Atlanta Seth Peterson, Jack Ringca, and I had the opportunity to spend some time with Bob “Mr. Yo-Yo” Rule.

This week has been such an inspiration as he shared his priceless collection, knowledge, and friendship with us. After showing us his
collection he shared something with us that blew our minds with sheer awesomeness.

Thanks to Bob Rule, and the Brown family..we present to you long lost footage from the Duncan 1962 National Yo-Yo Contest.

Nothing propels a yoyo tour like the addition of a world champion to the roster! Felix Avellana just joined us and he is a beast! Not only is he a great 1A, 2A, 3A, 5A player. He is also the World Spin Top Champion(bearing tip). Here’s a quick introductory trick video to the majesty that is his freehand play. Don’t be afraid, he is a benevolent king.

We found ourself with a little downtime and in close proximity to the golf coast so Marie, Hank, jack and I hopped in the van and headed to see the Golf.

We didn’t have much time, and when we got to the “beach” we soon realized it was be renovated. Bummer. So instead we hung out at a little playground right by where the beach would be. Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but it seems that once you get a yo-yoer on a playground the start doing apparatus on stuff. This time was no different. Sit back, relax and watch Jack throw some freehand while Hank does backflips off the swing set.

VIVA AUSTIN! Every place on the planet earth should be this cool(to be fair, some of them are). We started out our first full day here with a morning show appearance on KTBC channel 7. Of course, being on TV is always pretty cool but, this one had a little extra cool to it. When we got there, the first thing that hit me was that they have a really interesting green room. The entire room was set up with Japanese horror movie posters and post cards. I super love Japanese horror films and so, it was more like what I want my bedroom to look like than being in a green room for a TV studio. As for on air, the post shows all the details. Definitely check it out. Joe and Katherine were awesome.

After that, me and the boys went over to Toy Joy and it is everything I imagine a toy store is as an adult child. This is a must see place here in Austin. The outside of the store alone, is a sight to behold. The place is covered in really cool paint and murals and has a stock of some of the quirkiest import toys from around the world. They also have a fantastic staff and a sull service vegan ice cream and soda shop. So hip it hurts and it hurts SO GOOD! Some great kids and adults alike, came out to see the demo and learn a few tricks. On top of all of that Seth fell in love and I got a new best friend. Unfortunately, we had to hustle on out of there to the next demo. I would have liked to spend more time with the staff and store. I intend to make it out there again just to hang out.


Then it was off to a suburb of Austin with perhaps the coolest name I have ever heard: Bee Cave, Texas. The name alone makes me want to move there. It sounds so fancy and dangerous. Holy cow! I had no idea that there were this many kids around that are committed to the idea of learning to play yoyo. The demo was super crowded and we had so many players that wanted to learn that we were short a few yoyos. A big thanks goes out to everyone that had the patience to share and learn together. This is definitely what the spirit of yoyo play is all about and what we want to see in a community. What a successful demo and what an inspiring crowd of young kids. So much fun to be had. It really was over too soon. Thanks goes to Mike and Lisa Schlageter.

This morning we had a great news spot on KTBC Fox 7. Check out the video!