Today was one of those days that will most likely live on in legend forever. Some passages in life are just made to be memories that last. Check it out.

We started out our day with a serious awesome demo at Brilliant Sky here in Austin. They had it going on in the best ways possible. The Brilliant Sky stores are all new but, they have some of the best vibes anywhere. The event was fire from the moment we rolled up until the time we had to leave. They had a great crowd and some great energy running through the place. What I loved more than anything was seeing people that we taught to play teach others. Some of the people who came out to other demos this week were out there and it’s awesome to see it create ripples. I know for sure that those ripple will be waves in the scene soon enough.

Around dark, we had to wrap up the demo and that is a drag. However, we were treated to an awesome meeting. I had met the artist, Bob Wade, last year when on the 80 Years 1 World tour. He is an amazing artist across so many mediums and as I mentioned then, it turns out he was also a Duncan Junior Instructor in his younger days. Well, he’s still got it and he invited us into his home for a cool visit, an interview and a chance to see some of his art collection and work. It was nothing short of amazing. He is such a cool guy and he really brought the vibe of the day up to levels unimagined. He just knew what to say and the man knows hip better than anyone I have ever met. He is such a great cat and a great player. His memories are the kind that I am so glad to have heard stories of and I can only hope that I stay sharp enough to share those stories with younger generations when the time comes. He’s the best. I hope he doesn’t mind me calling him a friend for life.

Dear Austin,

Thank you for giving me one of the best days of my life. I know I don’t visit you often enough but, you house some of the best people in the world and you are everything I want in a city. Today, Drew and I spent a little time in the south congress neighborhood and had wonderful food served out of the cutest airstream campers. I can honestly say that it is one of my favourite food experiences in the entire world and I can’t thank you enough.

We knew we had already started an amazing day and you only made it better. We headed on over to our gig at Terra Toys and it was everything a person could ever want in a yo-yo show. The store is newly expanded and is staffed by some of my best friends in the world. The crowds were awesome and people learned so much. We had people throwing yo-yos and getting so excited about Duncan Crew that they were getting autographs and learning to throw spin tops! It simply does not get better than that!

It’s no secret that you have a million hidden gems and so, we spent the evening on adventures unknown to common people. We finished up the demo and had dinner at Conan’s Pizza. What can be more awesome than a Conan the Barbarian themed pizzeria? We rocked that and then moved on to Arcade UFO where we played video games that you can play nowhere else but, Japan! We then finished up the night by taking Drew out to his very first heavy metal show! We did all of that with some of my favourite people in the whole world, Samantha Wright & Scott Horne. Best friends, best demos, best arcades, best pizza house decor! Austin, you are the best and I don’t ever want to leave you.

sincerely with sincereness,

Jack Ringca

Nobody can do it like we do! Today was nothing but rad. We started our day out with a little practice and figured we’d get to on the road early, just for the fun of it. We were on our way to our demo at KEYE’s television show, Austin Live and we came across an awesome mini ramp in a local park. We were lucky we got out there early so, we had time to stop in and throw down a little for fun. Duncan has made skate decks a few times and this is why. The crew is full of people creative and active across so many fields beyond yo-yo. Takeshi and Drew put it out there in style. We made fast friends with a few awesome people and it is positive that they will be by to our gigs later this week. Sweet detours turn into chances to spread the word about what we do and it always pays off.

We then got to the KEYE studio and the show was super fun. Everyone is gearing up for Thanksgiving and it was fun to see that reflected in the show. You will see what I mean in the photos and videos. Super goofy fun is some of the best kind of fun. The show was also cool because we got a chance to see an all girl punk band and yo-yo on television. What other job let’s you do that? Probably nothing!

After we finished up the party on the TV, we motored on out to our demo at Toy Joy. Toy Joy is one of my favourite stores in the entire world. They have such a fun atmosphere. Everyone who works there is super into toys and super creative. Which means, they all love the yo-yo and many of them step up to the chance to play and learn. That enthusiasm rubs off on their customers and before you know it, everyone is throwing down. You can’t find that kind of infectious fantastic in too many places. Thank God for Austin, Texas.

As an awesome bonus, it turns out that it is also one of Toy Joy’s employee’s birthday! Happy Birthday Adam! You mom is the coolest for throwing you a pizza party at work! It’s almost like you weren’t at work at all!

Thanks to how great our week had gone, we knew for sure that today’s contest was going to be one of the best. So, we booked a morning demo to warm up for the day along with the contest.

Our morning gig was at the Learning Express in Garland, Texas. It was the perfect warm up demo. We eased into the day with some awesome chances to teach and show off our skills. Everyone there was super into it. We made great friends with a young gal named Kelsy and her grandfather. They both learned a few things and shared cookies with us. We never keep things boring and so, we met a six foot cat with a dress on and taught her to yo-yo and throw tops as well. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun and pleasant.

It was a great thing that we had a chance to warm ourselves up. Because, the contest ended up being super high gear. Our contest ended up being a part of the University Park Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony. It seemed the entire oh University Park came out, as did tons of people we met in the surrounding area this week. The Learning Express store in University Park helped us put the event on and they did an amazing job. Even with so many people in attendance, they made sure that we had plenty of room and everything we needed. It developed into an amazing event. The contest results came out like so: Lawson Porter got third place. Cade Gober got second. And Alan Presburger was the lucky winner taking home the Schwinn bike this week.

As we are all know, throwing Duncan has its advantages. Being a part of a Heritage Tour contest is one of them. I can not express well enough how great these contests have all been. I really have always wanted to be a part of what the demonstrators of yesterday were building and I can say without a doubt that I have now experienced it. There is nothing like our tours anywhere. We are the original and it is more and more clear daily that we and Duncan are eternal!

Sometimes we serve it up right..one time, two times, THREE TIMES!!! Today was exactly that. The ultra powerful have no need for rest. There is entirely too much rocking to do.

We started the whole shabang out with a great stop at the Learning Express in Southlake, Texas. It was great. Their store is super high traffic so, we ended up having so many people to teach that we broke up into three squads just to get time with them all. That is nothing but, the coolest. The best part is that everyone was super committed to the event and we ended up with some people learning a whole lot in a very short time. Speaking of commitment, we even had a few guys come all the way down from southern Arkansas with their father. It was more than a five hour drive and they wanted to be at tour stops that bad! That is so very humbling. It definitely made us feel extra special to know that they put in that much effort and love Duncan Crew that much. They have our love and support for sure!

Of course, they didn’t make the drive just to kick it with us at one demo. We met up with them again at our next stop at the Puzzle Zoo in Dallas. This was another super busy stop and everyone took to throwing Duncan like fish to water. It is getting obvious that people are getting to their holiday shopping and it is equally obvious that the gift of always is a Duncan yo-yo. What could be cooler? Nothing! People were so into what we were doing that we saw people picking up yo-yos across almost the entire range. Some people got Freehands. Some people got Butterflies. Some people even got Metal Zeros. Everyone got something timeless. I love touring this time of year.

Unfortunately, our friends from Arkansas had to make the long drive home so, they couldn’t meet us at the next show but, that did not stop us from putting it on in style. Froggie’s 5&10 in Highland Park has proven to be great to us time and time again. The folks there dig our work so much that they have even been learning tricks off of their video store display while we’re not around. They know all the songs on it and they can recite the instructions to super hard tricks like double trapeze as if they are the alphabet. That sort of thing makes you know that you’ve been doing something right. The customers at Froggie’s are also top notch. We had quite a few people stop by and dig on what we do. Some of the people dug our work so much that they stopped by multiple times and even brought friends when they came back. If I could hang out there and jam daily, I would. Highland Park is just a cool area to be in and the people definitely make it that much cooler.

What a day. I just know that tomorrow’s contest is going to be amazing.

Wish you were here. The tour is getting better and better and better!

We do not have bad days. Duncan Crews with the best times in the best places. That is all there is to it.

We had two demos today and they were awesome. The first was at Brilliant Sky in Highland Village, Texas and it was….well….Brilliant! The store is cool and has some of the fanciest decor ever. It’s like a walk through a fable forest with a toy store in it. How could that be bad? It even gets better when you realize that everyone there is also as cool as they come. They have an excited helpful staff and the people who came out to be a part of the demo were equally awesome. Great times all around. It was a bitter pill to swallow but, we had to cut out of there to make it to the next demo.

Fortunately, the next demo at Constructive Playthings(Plano, TX) was as sweet as it could possibly be. Jack and the crew out there are right on time! They did everything they could to make sure that we had an awesome time. They definitely did not fail. We had a great crew of players come out. Some familiar faces and tons of people eager to get in there and learn some tricks or dust the old skills off. And let me tell you, that cliche’ about old dogs and new tricks, whoever said that has never been to Dallas.  They know how to pick up a yo-yo and make it fresh no matter how long it has been since they’ve played. There is a reason why so many world level players come from here. I am out to find out what that reason is.

Today was fantastic! We started our day off with a nutritious meal but, were lured in by some fantastic cupcakes to ruin how good we’d been. We stopped into the newly opened Meringue Bakery and it was awesome! Out here on the road we’ve had a few things as constants in our stomachs. We’ve had a lot of pizza and a lot of cupcakes. As it turns out these were some of the best cupcakes we’ve had anywhere and they happen to love Duncan yo-yos. It’s awesome to have someone say, “I was checking out your van and I had no idea that Duncan had an entire crew but, I love it!” Tack on the fact that we also got cupcakes out of the deal and it was a great day to be a professional yo-yo player and it was just starting!

We finished up feeding our sweet teeth and and headed on out to our demo. Toy Maven is such a great store. Dallas is lucky to have them for sure. It had been a solid year since I had been in to visit them and they have kept the home fires burning for us. They still have one of the best yo-yo selections anywhere and they have expanded their store in the last year to make it bigger and more of what we love to see in a toy store. There is now more space and more toys and more fun crammed into the room. Who could ask for more?! We had players of all levels come out and swap tricks with us and learn a bunch. It blew our minds to see how much people can learn in the short time we have to demonstrate for them. It really is amazing to see kids learn what took me months in the matter of two hours. I can’t say enough how much I love it. I love being a Duncan player and knowing that we have a shot and being nearly as important to future generations of players as the Legends we’ve met have been to us. It’s the best thing ever.

Earlier this week Hank had to leave the tour for a little while. We are super sad to see him go but, we are super excited for him because he is on his way to Tokyo, Japan to represent in international competition. Hank is competing in the 44 Clash and we wish him the best along with all of the other Duncan Crew members that are going to be there. It is a prestigious contest and only the best are invited. Extra love to you guys. We know you will do wonderful!

mad love to: Hank Freeman, Brandon Jackson, Fajar Siddiq, Chris Makita, Mimi Makita, Sean Perez, Bu-ko, Kohta Watanabe, Hidemasa Semba, Marron, Terry, and Kazuaki Sugimura!!!!!

Today was right on with the good times. We spent a good chunk of the day chatting with our dear friend, Dale Oliver, and discussing the days of Duncan yo-yos past and the events that have gotten us to Duncan yo-yos present. Dale and his wife, Valerie Oliver, are some of the coolest people I know and they have some of the best perspective on the modern history of yo-yo. They have both been players for decades and they have witnessed the transformation from basic ten tricks with a wood axle to five styles and off plain tricks with unresponsive ball bearing yo-yos. Needless to say, the times have change and they have embraced evolution and adapted to be a part of it. I thank them both massively for allowing us in their home and spending the time to talk to us. It was enlightening, to say the least.

As much as we could have gabbed along with Dale and Valerie all night, we also love doing demos so, we wrapped up and headed out. Our demo was at the Learning Express store in Frisco, Texas this evening. What a great time it was. We had some friends old and new show up and throw down with us. The best part is that some of them even brought along even newer friends to learn to play and get involved with throwing. You have to dig it when people you meet bring their friends along simply because they are so very excited about what you do. Word of mouth is the greatest medium for growth and the Dallas area is already showing that it is a great place to grow and with stores like Learning Express, Dallas will have plenty of help.