Steve Brown (yo-yo player)

Last updated

Steve Brown
Born(1976-02-20)February 20, 1976
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s) Yo-yo designer and competition judge
Known forCreating freehand yo-yo play

Steve Brown (born 1976) is an American competitive yo-yo player, competition judge, yo-yo designer, and yoyo blogger currently based out of North Olmsted, Ohio. He is currently the editor for YoYoNews.com and a co-producer of the Triple Crown of YoYo events. [1] In 2001, the National Yo-Yo League named him as one of eight National Yo-Yo masters. [2] He has designed multiple yo-yos, including the "Cherry Bomb" for Team Losi. [3] While employed by Duncan Toys Company as marketing and promotions coordinator, [4] Brown invented and patented freehand yo-yo play where instead of being attached to the finger, the string is actually attached to a counterweight, and designed a line of yo-yos for the new style. [5] He also authored a book called Duncan Yo-Yo Trick Book while employed by the company. [6]

Contents

A regular competitor in the 1990s, he has moved out of competing in most venues and has shifted his focus to judging. [7] His skill with yo-yos also landed him a job as a stuntman on the 2001 movie Zoolander , [8] work as a consultant on "The Lone Ranger (2013 film)" [9] where he developed and taught several of the actors the pocket watch trick that features prominently in the film, and led to an appearance on The Best Damn Sports Show Period . [10]

Biography

Steve Brown was young when he first held a yo-yo, but as a child, took little interest in the few tricks he learned. It was not until his later years and after some instability in his life that he got serious about yo-yoing. Brown was looking for a job at the time when came back to the yo-yo trade. Finding himself in a job of assembling yo-yo's for Lofty Pursuits, he was thrown into retail one day, making a huge impression on his customers and his boss, Greg Cohen. He impressed everyone with not only his ability to yo-yo, but also to juggle, showing his multitude of talents.

After working the next two years with his independent cart, fine-tuning his yo-yo skills through hours of practice, Brown joined with Duncan Toys Company. Working as Duncan's marketing and promotions coordinator, Steve created a following with his creative designs and yo-yo tricks.

Brown worked for Duncan Toys for the start of his career. He worked for Duncan for seven years (1999-2006)[11]. Here is where his unique style and flare created a name for himself. Brown was, and is, known for his punk rocker sense of style that he has brought to the yo-yo world. With his tattoo covered arms and past Mohawk hairstyles, he's keeping the hobby of the yo-yo alive in the youth. At contests early in his career, his unique style and accompanying punk rock music helped him to stand out among the other competitors who were either significantly older or significantly younger.

After leaving Duncan Toys in 2006, and finding less time to spend yo-yoing with age and a newly established family, Brown kept himself active in the yo-yo community by creating his website 365yoyotricks.com, on which he recorded and posted one original yo-yo trick every day for an entire year in 2011. The following year, Steve outsourced some of the tricks from a few of his favorite yo-yoers, but continued to contribute tricks of his own alongside them. [11] He continued this system in 2013 with a different group of players, but this is no longer an active sight, since Brown stopped posts to the site in 2013. Currently, he works as an editor on another website called yoyonews.com. [12] Here he works to keep the yo-yo community alive, and persisting towards creativity. Alongside the creation of his websites, Brown was also sponsored by the Yo-Yo Factory, [13] where they created four specific yo-yo models inspired by / for Brown.

Now, Brown resides in Cleveland, Ohio with his three kids. He currently works on Yoyonews, keeping up on current yo-yo trends and events all over. In addition to this, he works on the Triple Crown of Yo-yo event, which occurs every year, except in 2015, due to the birth of Brown's youngest child. He also works at the Caribou Lodge Yo-yo Works. [14] There he serves as the team and marketing manager, creating yo-yo's with creative, abstract designs. He has obtained a patent for his yo-yo design involving counterweights. Since Steve himself started off using plain wood yo-yo's, he dedicates this site and company to creating a unique image for the yo-yo community while maintaining a signature old school style that Brown has been recognized for throughout his career. Along with hand crafted yo-yo's, they also produce a limited clothing line and offer video tutorials on their website.

Competitive Record

Steve Brown has won many awards throughout his career in competitive yo-yoing. He has participated in many different contests and championships, and currently holds various titles and placed in several yo-yo competitions. To current date, Steve Brown's competitive records include:

Steve Brown has now retired from being a competitive yo-yo player, but has continued on to be a judge in numerous different competitions around the world.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snowboarding</span> Snow sport involving a single board

Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yo-yo</span> Toy

A yo-yo is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 440 BC. The yo-yo was also called a bandalore in the 17th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">X Games</span> Extreme sports tournament

The X Games are a series of action sports events founded by ESPN Inc. which air on the ESPN family of networks including ABC. The events are mainly held in the United States, with disciplines such as skateboarding, BMX, motocross, skiing and snowboarding. Participants compete to win bronze, silver, and gold medals, as well as prize money. Concurrent with competition is the "X Fest" sports and music festival, which offers live music, athlete autograph sessions, and interactive elements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diabolo</span> Spinning circus prop

The diabolo is a juggling or circus prop consisting of an axle and two cups or discs derived from the Chinese yo-yo. This object is spun using a string attached to two hand sticks. A large variety of tricks are possible with the diabolo, including tosses, and various types of interaction with the sticks, string, and various parts of the user's body. Multiple diabolos can be spun on a single string.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kendama</span> Japanese cup and ball game

The kendama is a traditional Japanese skill toy. It consists of a handle (ken), a pair of cups (sarado), and a ball (tama) that are all connected together by a string. On one end of the ken is a cup, while the other end of ken is narrowed down, forming a spike (kensaki) that fits into the hole (ana) of the tama. The kendama is the Japanese version of the classic cup-and-ball game, and is also a variant of the French cup-and-ball game bilboquet. Kendama can be held in different grips, and many tricks and combinations can be performed. The game is played by tossing the ball into the air and attempting to catch it on the stick point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freestyle football</span> Football juggling and tricks

Freestyle football is the art of juggling a football using any part of the body, excluding the elbows to the hands. It combines football tricks, dance, acrobatics and music to entertain onlookers and compete with opponents. The official governing body for this sport is known as the World Freestyle Football Association (WFFA).

<i>Cup-and-ball</i> Traditional childrens toy

Cup-and-ball or ring and pin is a traditional children's toy. It is generally a wooden handle to which a small ball is attached by a string and that has one or two cups, or a spike, upon which the player tries to catch the ball. It is popular in Spanish-speaking countries, where it is called by a wide number of names, and was historically popular in France as the bilboquet. A similar toy with three cups and a spike called kendama is very popular in Japan and has spread globally in popularity.

The World Yo-Yo Contest is the culminating yo-yo competition of the worldwide competitive circuit and is considered the most prestigious yo-yo competition in the world. The winner of this competition in any of the six championship divisions is deemed the World Yo-Yo Champion; the World Yo-Yo Contest is the only event to award such a title. The contest attracts competitors from all over the world and an increasingly large number of spectators. The annual competition is currently run by the International Yo-Yo Federation (IYYF) and the national organization of each year's host nation. As of 2015, 33 countries have sent competitors to the World Yo-Yo Contest from their respective national yo-yo contests. The World Yo-Yo Contest is also known as YoYoCon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duncan Toys Company</span> American Toy Company

The Duncan Toys Company is an American toy manufacturer based in Middlefield, Ohio. The company was founded in 1929 by Donald F. Duncan Sr. and purchased the Flores Yo-Yo Company from Pedro Flores, who brought the yo-yo to the United States from the Philippines. Duncan popularized the yo-yo through competitions that spread throughout the country, promoted in publications by William Randolph Hearst in exchange for a requirement that contestants had to sell subscriptions to Hearst newspapers as a condition of entry. In 1965, a federal court ruled that Duncan did not have exclusive rights to the word "yo-yo" because the word had become a part of common speech. In 1968, Duncan Toys became a division of Flambeau.

Pedro Edralin Flores was a Filipino businessman and yo-yo maker who has been credited with popularizing yo-yos in the United States. He patented an innovation to yo-yos that used a loop instead of a knot around the axle, allowing for new tricks such as the ability to "sleep."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucky Meisenheimer</span> American actor

Lucky Meisenheimer is an American physician, athlete, author, and actor. He is best known for his novel, The Immune, his Guinness world record collection of yo-yos, and his guides, Lucky's Collectors Guide to 20th Century Yo-Yos and The Zombie Cause Dictionary.

<i>Blazing Teens</i> Chinese TV series or program

Blazing Teens is a Chinese television series created by Alpha Group Co., Ltd. and Auldey Toys in 2006. It is the television adaptation of Auldey's yo-yo line of the same name.

The European Yo-Yo Championship (EYYC) is the European competition of yo-yo organized and sanctioned by the International Yo-Yo Federation (IYYF), and is one of 4 annual multi-national yo-yo competitions from which winners receive seeds to compete in the semi-finals of the annual World Yo-Yo Contest.

Asia Pacific Yo-Yo Championships (AP) is Asia's most renowned and premier yo-yo competition organized by Spinworkx, a company based in Singapore since 2003. The competition has grown steadily since its inception in 2003. Spinners from around the region get to compete with current world champions, trade tips and tricks with the best in the scene, raising the standard of spinning.

Hiroyuki Suzuki is a Japanese yo-yo competitor and performer. He is a four-time world champion. He has two world records in "The Most Eli Hops in 30 seconds" and “The fastest time to knock off a coin from the ears of 15 participants with a loop-the-loop yoyo trick.”.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pan dulce</span> General name for a wide variety of Hispanic pastries

Pan dulce, literally meaning "sweet bread", is the general name for a variety of Mexican pastries. They are inexpensive treats and are consumed at breakfast, merienda, or dinner.

The 2013 World Yo-Yo Contest was the culminating yo-yo competition of the worldwide competitive circuit. The winners from this competition in any of the six championship divisions were deemed the current World Yo-Yo Champion until the 2014 World Champions were crowned. The competition was run by Gregory Cohen with the International Yo-Yo Federation (IYYF). The competition took place at the Rozen Plaza Hotel in Orlando, Florida, USA from August 8–10, 2013.

Evan Nagao is a musician and competitive yo-yo player. He is known for being the 2018 World Yo-Yo Champion and 5 time US National Yoyo Champion.

Reginald Barnes Jr., aka Reggie Barnes is a retired American professional freestyle skateboarder and the founder/CEO of Eastern Skateboard Supply, the largest skateboard wholesale company in North America. Known as a "virtuoso" teen amateur, Barnes skated professionally from 1980 to 1991, with the Pepsi-Cola Pro Skateboard Team, Walker Skateboards, and Dogtown Skateboards. By 1986, Barnes was one of the top five American freestyle skateboarders in the United States and was featured demonstrator at Expo 86, the world's fair held in Vancouver, Canada. He placed third in freestyle at the World Cup in 1987.

References

  1. ↑ "Steve Brown biography". stevebrownismyhero.com. Steve Brown. Archived from the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
  2. ↑ "2001 National YoYo Contest: Welcome". nationalyoyo.org. National Yo-Yo League. Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
  3. ↑ Kahlenberg, Richard (December 4, 1998). "A New Spin on Yo-Yos". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved September 23, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Company Profile". The Museum of Yo-Yo History. The Yo-Yo Museum/SkillToys.com. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
  5. ↑ "Duncan Unveils new style of play with Freehand Yo-Yo". www.yo-yo.com. Duncan Toys Company. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
  6. ↑ Brown, Steve (1999). Duncan Yo-Yo Trick Book. Duncan Toys Company. ASIN   B000R4EHL2.
  7. ↑ Rankin, Sinclair (May 1, 2001). "The Kings of String". The Village Voice. Village Voice Media Holdings, LLC. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
  8. ↑ "Zoolander (2001)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2009. Archived from the original on April 4, 2009. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
  9. ↑ "The Lone Ranger (2013)". imdb.com. IMDb.com. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  10. ↑ ""The Best Damn Sports Show Period" Best Damn Yo-Yo Championship (2008)". IMDb.com. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
  11. ↑ Brown, Steve. "365YoYoTricks - One original yoyo trick, every day". 365YoYoTricks. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Featured (2016)". yoyonews.com. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  13. ↑ "YoYo Factory (2016)". yoyofacotry.com. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  14. ↑ "YoYo Expert". show.yoyoexpert.com. Caribou Lodge. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  15. ↑ WYYC, IYYF. "Rules for WYYC". World Yo-Yo Contest. World Yo-Yo Contest 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  16. ↑ "String of Hope" (PDF). Satellite Magazine. Albany Student's Association Inc. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 14, 2008. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.