Razzmatazz Toys in Livonia, MI is a new location but, they know exactly how to get a party started. From first thing in the morning to last light, we had one heck of a time and an exciting contest with some great people and some great players.

From the get go, it was obvious that all of the players we ran into this week had decided to take this contest super serious and that there would be fierce competition. They definitely did not disappoint. They players all practiced hard and represented their neighborhoods with ferocity and focus rarely seen outside of a good old fashioned rumble. It was awesome.

In the end, the competition was so stiff that we ended with a tie and had to have a loop off to decide who would become champion of the Greater Detroit Area. For the uninitiated, a loop off is where you have two competitors lined up side by side and they each perform as many inside loops as they can. The first person to make a mistake or lose the strength to loop is defeated. It has been a while since any of us had seen a loop off and so, it was dramatic and exciting for all of us.

The final results shook out like this, Chase Baxter rounded out third place with a very respectable score of 39. First and second place players each scored an awesome 46 points but, Nathan Easton ended up in second place with 30 loops(on a dragonfly no less). And Michael Stecz won the entire thing with an awesome 79 loops! The boy put it down with authority! He loves his new Schwinn bicycle and looks great with it. He earned it for sure.

I can’t thank Chris and Laura Mathews enough for hosting us at three different events this week. They definitely went above and beyond and it was more than any of us could have expected. A huge shout out also goes out to Kyle and Patti! They were the energy that kept us excited and we love them for it. I know I’ve said it before but, I seriously hope the rest of the tour holds up to the awesome that we have already been through. The legendary players of Michigan have been and continue to be a huge inspiration for us as well. Rich Machniak, Bud Lutz, and Mike Taylor have kept the home fires burning even when they were only a candle in the window. Thank you for everything.

Duncan Heritage Tour 01

It’s Recess again! This time we visited the store at the Weston/Southpark Central mall (Strongville, OH) and they call it Strongsville for a reason. The place is ten kinds of fancy and twenty kinds of fun and because of that, the demo went very well.

We had some experienced players from Strongsville come out as well as some players representing the Cleveland Yo-Yo Club. It is always nice to meet people and instantly connect over yo-yos and to see other people do the same. Any chance to perpetuate that is a good thing. We even had a little help with our friend, Isaac Sams. If you haven’t checked out his video on the Duncan Toys youtube channel, you should do yourself a favor and see it.

The staff at the store was the best. Danny Fink came into work knowing only how to barely get the yo-yo back to his hand, he left work able to throw a double or nothing with good success. Megan Harpster came in knowing only that she didn’t know how to yoyo, she threw so much that she worked her elbow sore. Last but definitely not least, Bill “Schmo” loves Duncan so much that he came into work on his Birthday of all days! We appreciated Bill so much that we had to sing happy birthday to him twice.

We were having such a successful demo that we extended it a few hours and made the most of it. We had at least three people landing brain twister on their first day. We spent some of that time coming up with tricks that will blow minds. Some of the stuff we came up with even involved two and three players. and and and and and……..POV trick videos. You are not ready.