Today we’ll be at Toys R Us in Times Square showing off some yo-yo tricks and giving advice as to what yo-yo gift buyers should purchase this holiday season. And being the busiest shopping day of the year its going to be quite an adventure. As this location is one of the, if not THE busiest location in the country.

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.

What do you do when you’re on the road for 11 hours in one wack? You stop at Willie’s Place. AKA, the place that has the face of the guy who wrote “On The Road Again” on it. Seriously, Willie Nelson knows how to make a place cool with a truck stop type environment. That felt strange to say but, it’s a fact.

Jonesboro, Arkansas! I don’t know if everyone knows this but, it’s an oasis of Duncan love right in the heartland of America. On the Serious, we did a demo at the Toy Castle there and it was mega good times. They have a great supply of gear and the staff can play like nobody’s business. If you find yourself anywhere near there, check it out. you owe it to yourself. Thanks to Brittany, Chelsea, Rachel and Nathan for having us. Keep at it.

I would like to follow that up with a player profile. Carey Mullins and his family are talent wrapped up in the bodies of cool people. Carey works at the Toy Castle and he holds it down better than we rarely see.They are easily the most committed people to Duncan as a movement. The Jonesboro yoyo scene would be nowhere near where it is without them. Carey has done his room up in Duncan memorabilia and throws like a champ. And Carey’s dad, Matt! The guy has a Duncan Throw Monkey Tattoo! If that isn’t commitment, I don’t know what is! They also juggle, spin tops and perform all sorts of side show tricks. They seriously have it going on.

Mr. Mullins taught Seth how to lay on a bed of nails and did some juggling for us. Seth is a beast and as brave as they come. I feel like he hasn’t been getting enough of a shout out here on the blog so here it goes. Seth, you are the best part of this tour. Keep it up! We rocked Arkansas!

Parting is such sweet sorrow. This morning, we had to see Hank off back to Mantua, OH. He’ll be miss like crazy but, Seth and I will carry on and make him proud. He definitely made a lot of things happen out here.

Shifting gears, the next gig was on Halloween! Fancy fun times! We found ourselves in San Marcos, TX at the super good time factory known as Paper Bear. I knew Carol and Kathy(who run the place) were super fun people as soon as we rolled up. They had their costumes on and were already getting the party started. Thanking them in words doesn’t begin to express the gratitude they deserve for what they do in that community. They make it happen and it’s the coolest.


We had the demo up and running and before you knew it, things got REAL! Kyle Weems showed up and did some diaboloing, talked yoyo engineering and yoyoing along with us. The crowd grew. A young player named Sam MArtin shows up and blows the doors off the place with some high level play. The crowd grows more. Tom Cunningham shows up with quite possibly the best quality vintage duncan collection I have seen in years.(outside of lucky’s guiness record collection and the national yoyo museum). The crowd grows and gets ten times cooler. And then it all breaks loose when World Fixed Tip Spin Top Champion: Jorge Alcoz shows up. Nothing is bigger.

These guys really made the demo one of the most educational experiences any of us had seen. We traded ideas. We got to throw tangible history. We saw the work of masters and masters at work. It is the kind of thing that makes even the best/most accomplished players humbled.

After we wrapped the demo, we took as many as people as would come with us to lunch. We kept up with the sharing of tricks, tips and ideas and then we were joined by Austin/San Marcos, TX player Travis Owens. Another next level player that really should be respected by many if not all. It was just cool to be in that environment. I have to imagine that this is what it was like to be an artist during the golden age of paris or a psychedelic rocker during the high times at haight ashbury. I hope everyone everywhere is making the most of the yoyo scene that is bubbling under the surface. It’s way too fantastic not to.

Momentum carries us through this thing and sometimes, we have no idea that it’s on our side. We got up for our second and final day in Houston super pumped from the previous day’s events. Sometimes, lightning strikes twice.

We got out of the hotel and ran off to pick up Marie again and then off to the gulf to show the mid-westerners the ocean. We did some interesting stuff with playground equipment(more on that later), Hank did a backflip from a swing and Marie took pictures of the Atlantic for the folks back home. It’s just so cool to have extended family around. A little bit of a woman’s presence in the van keeps things a little more civil as well. Besides, she is a really cool girl and we had an enlightening conversation about world events and history on the way to lunch and then to the gig. It’s not every day that we get that out of life.



We went on over to our next demo and it was instantly cool. We had been warned that The ladies at the Learning Express in Cypress TX had spirit in spades. The warnings were well deserved. I cannot begin to tell you the energy level that runs through that store. Enthusiasm, heart and excitement are easy to come by. We were welcomed by a reporter from the Houston Chronicle who interviewed us for an upcoming feature and one amped staff. They were soon joined by an equally rambunctious audience of kids and the demo was on fire. The store quickly sold out of their fanciest Duncan yo-yos and had to restock a few times to keep up. The excitement only set up the mood for bigger things and bigger things came for sure!

Now, not only does the Houston, TX area have one up and coming club, it has two. We discussed with the owners of the Cypress, TX Learning Express and the Cypress Yo-Yo Club was born. The ladies that run that shop have SERIOUS spirit and hopefully they will keep the home fires burning for yo-yos for years to come. So, yo-yo players, stop by this shop any time you can. They are all up for supporting the scene and they could easily become a destination for players from all around. DuncanCrew.org club finder is your friend.

Knowing that you’ve set some hearts ablaze with a love for Duncan and Yo-yos is the best send off a city could ever provide. We can’t thank the Houston area enough. Thank you thank you thank you.

Power up! We are big stars and now the entire greater Houston, TX area knows it. We started out our first full day there on the biggest morning show around there. Being on Great Day Houston! is an experience! KHOU knows how to throw a party.

It is often said that you can be judged by the company that you keep. If this is true, we are the cream of the crop. The episode of Great Day Houston that we were on started out with R&B singer, Eric Benet. For those that don’t know, he’s a huge deal and one of the biggest R&B/soul singers on the scene these days. After him, they led into a sequence with Tori Halbert, who was a finalist on the TV show Design Star. There were a few more pieces and then they led into us. Nothing proves that we are the baddest(bad meaning good) tour on the road like being the icing on that cake. Debbie Duncan(that’s right, just like the yoyo) was a gracious host and she conducted the interview like a champ. I can’t thank her enough although, we did our best by managing to provide the entire studio audience with yoyos. I know, I know, I know….you wish you were there. We wish you were too.

We had another super interesting and unexpected surprise right after our morning spot on KHOU, We got a phone call that looked like it was coming from the Czech Republic. Amazingly, it was coming from right there in Houston! As it turns out, Marie Kordovsky, sister of Duncan Crew Member Jan “korda” Kordovsky, just happened to be in Houston as a part of her foreign exchange program. Do the surprises ever stop? We got together with her and had lunch. It was cool to talk to her and find out a little about what was going down in the czech yoyo scene and how the family abroad is doing. We just couldn’t let her dine and dash so, we took her along to our demo at Toys R Us.

And what a great demo it turned out to be. We had a heap of old school(late 90’s) players come out as well as some great new young players. On the old school front, we had John and Patty McCann out there. The world hadn’t seen a glimpse of them playing yoyo in a good 5-7 years but, man oh man it was way too cool to see them getting their sea legs back and killing it with style. They reminded us of why it was that the late ’90s provided the world with such a passion for yoyos. They play was cool and their tricks are among the best. Too fancy for words. John’s wife, Jessica, also got in on it for the first time. She learned 5 tricks and all was right with the world.

From the old to the new, we then met some really cool new blood. Alvin Simon! that kid has it going on. He claims to be Hank Freeman’s biggest fan. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I am in fact Hank’s biggest fan but, I did teach him some new tricks and he sucked them up like a sponge. I love it when that happens.


Jameson Larkins also came out and proved once and for all that all it takes is a spark to start a fire. We traded tricks with all the kids and started talking about what it takes to build a scene. The unthinkable happened next.

Houston is well on its way to getting a new yoyo club! Jameson, Alvin, John and Patty are hype on the idea and they decided that it’s time to make big moves. At our demo they even made some. They’ll be getting together soon and everyone in the Houston area absolutely must be a part of it. Keep an eye on DuncanCrew.org and the club locater to see when it’s going down. You’ll want to be there to build the scene and to be one of the pioneers looking back.

And it bears repeating, Korda’s sister was there for it all!

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!

Today was Paul and Brandon’s last day. These guys are some of the funniest, most intelligent people I’ve had the privilege of working with.

Paul is an incredibly creative individual. Very rarely do I work with someone that bounces so many amazing ideas to me that is overwhelming.

Brandon is one of the hardest workers I know and I swear he doesn’t sleep.

Our last meal of the tour was at this great breakfast place called Matt’s. Local and organic, just how I like it. As we walked up to Matt’s we noticed KEZ 99.9’s on location van out front. Sitting there was Marty Manning, one of the radio personalities. When he saw our “Duncan Yo-Yo Professional” shirts he pulled out the camera and did a cool segment about our stay in Phoenix. Watch it below!

Alot of hanging tough out in the Los Angeles area.

Duncan Love from many local yo-yo players.
Some highlights:

- Five Guys Burgers with the DXL crew.
- David Ung Loves Freehand Zeros!
- Going through Bride’s Duncan Yo-Yo Treasures.
- Ash shows us the real way to “Spin”.

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