"alternatives" - PREORDERS NOW OPEN.
4. Everything between EP1 & EP2
I first met Marcus Ee around 2013. I always remembered him as the kid who was always at the Yoyoskeel store, always wearing a Yoyoskeel tee, and doing Darrell Mitchell tricks. Marcus stayed active during my inactive years and honestly improved a lot since I last remembered him in 2015. But he was still kinda trash at yo-yoing—haha!
*Check out the video to see skinny Marcus!*
Anyway, when Marcus told me he was quitting, I just replied, “Quit lah, tell me for what noob”. For readers outside Southeast Asia, that’s just how we are. However, I did follow up by saying it was still a little early to quit and suggested trying it out a little longer. I mentioned that we could spend time together working on how to score and better construct his combos. I told him I’d be doing Stronger Episode 2 (EP2) in a couple of months, and we could see how he felt then before making any decisions about quitting. Marcus and I kept in touch and worked a bit on trick construction. A little anti-climatic, but I needed a cliff hanger for entry 3.
“insomnia”
I find this part of the story kind of boring, but its a necessary inclusion to the story.
“When you have insomnia, you're never really asleep, and you're never really awake. With insomnia, nothing's real. Everything is far away. Everything is a copy of a copy of a copy.” – Fight Club (1999).
Since I was young, I’ve always struggled with insomnia - the inability to fall asleep. Imagine feeling extremely exhausted and you close your eyes to sleep - but nothing happens. That comfort you feel of closing your eyes just isn't there. Even if you are on the verge of actually falling asleep - Your subconscious will think "I'm falling asleep!" and it jolts you back to staying awake.
I can go days without sleeping, often triggered when I feel unproductive or have unfinished work. My close friends say I’m a workaholic, but the truth is, working actually helps me sleep.
One night, somewhere between EP1 and EP2, I had the random idea to create a yo-yo company. The idea came from reminiscing about my earlier days when I’d thought, “If I had the money, I would’ve done it.” So, I got out of bed and went for a long walk downstairs, mostly thinking about whether starting a yo-yo company was even worth it. I’ve always believed that a product needs to be 10x its value in sales to be “worth” doing. Being 31 in 2023, I was very responsible with my money and didn't want to waste it for no reason.
Somehow, I reached the opposite conclusion: why not just R&D the hell out of a product, ignore the $$ and make the best possible version before figuring out the next steps? Spoiler: I did waste a lot of money
And so, I went back upstairs and started working on what would become “alternatives”. I remember being awake for the next 3 days.
I actually learned a lot from lurking at /r/throwers discord #yoyo-design. And also the ZachTheSloth & MK1 videos on Youtube. But no lie, you would need ALOT of passion if you are keen to pick up designing from scratch. Like ALOTT of passion cause its a pretty steep learning curve and its really boring tbh. You might like yo-yos but do you loveeeee designing yo-yos?? A true designer would say yes. But I'm not a true designer, in fact I didn't know what I was doing most of the time.
"insomnia" was the name of our first yo-yo - not because it can't "sleep", but as a playful oxymoron since this yo-yo sleeps endlessly. Skipping ahead, I really love how this yo-yo came out, but it's definitely not for everyone.
However... the "insomnia" was a nightmare to create...
*FYI, I did not fucking do it...
To be continued..