KEY - Karthik Devaraj's Signature Yo-yo

14. Expressiyon

13. PNWR & Pre-Expressiyon

12. Stronger Yo-yo Cup EP4

Story of “KEY” – Karthik Devaraj’s Signature Yo-yo

There’s nothing like the KEY — and it’s highly unlikely anything will ever replicate the feeling of it. The yo-yo was never meant to be — and likely can never be made again. 

In May 2024, right after the release of the INSOMNIA, I started working on our next release: a 49mm wide version of the INSOMNIA. I wanted to create a yo-yo with an inner stainless steel (SS) rim pressed into the aluminum (AL) body.

Typically, yo-yos with inner SS rims are wrapped around a protruding AL. But instead, I envisioned a design where the SS was seamlessly pressed into the AL. Personally, I’ve always enjoyed yo-yos with flat hubs — both in feel and aesthetics. The downside is that flat hubs can make a yo-yo feel too hollow, or too rim-heavy.

By pressing SS into the AL, I hoped to create a unique weight distribution and a feeling I don’t think can be replicated. That said — we never made a version without the inner SS, so we can’t definitively say how much it affects play.

Having an idea is one thing, bringing it to life is another. Funny story — we submitted the concept to multiple factories and were turned down by all of them. Their concerns were valid: significant risk of damaging or bending the SS ring, scratching the AL during pressing, being unable to remove the SS once pressed, and the additional labor costs involved. Most factories suggested we just raise the AL and wrap the SS around it — not only easier, but much cheaper. But to me, that felt counterintuitive and, honestly, kind of ugly. So, I stood firm on the flat hub with the seamless SS insert.

Eventually, we found a factory willing to give it a shot — but only under the condition that we paid a premium and accepted that it was highly likely to fail. After several design revisions, the factory finally agreed to take on the job. It wasn’t cheap — but I guess that’s the price of innovation?

A couple of months later, the prototypes arrived. I immediately booked a flight to Singapore the next day to meet Karthik. He fell in love with it instantly. It was a solid yo-yo — powerful, stable, and handled all his new tricks and horizontals with ease. He tried freestyling with it right away and hit a near-perfect run. Other players that night tried it too — some even pulled off 2-minute throws on their first go.

The entire process of making the KEY took 10 months. As expected, it was extremely difficult to produce. The factory ran into the same problems we anticipated — damaged parts during assembly, and labor-intensive handling. Precision errors in the SS inserts rendered some yo-yos unplayable. Any damaged or vibey units were melted down and reworked. But when the precision was right — it was magical. Honestly, I think the factory lost money on this job, lol. I don't foresee anybody trying this anytime soon, as it is just not cost efficient to make, and that our factory probably won't make any more. We are thankful it only took 1 prototype - or else the yo-yo will cost even more..

Karthik Devaraj

I first met Karthik back in 2013 — at the Asia Pacific Yo-yo Contest (AP). Picture a short, plump Indian kid who wouldn’t stop talking about how Hiroyuki Suzuki was the best yo-yo player ever. For whatever reason, Karthik followed me around the contest, constantly asking questions about making tricks. Mind you, he had just started yo-yoing and couldn’t do jackshit. He even asked if wearing sunglasses on stage would help him land tricks. Still, I considered him a friend — even if he was annoying as hell.

Fast forward to today, Karthik is still short, annoying and more proficient at yapping. But I’m happy to introduce his first Signature Yo-yo — the “KEY”. Named after Karthik KEYan Devaraj, this yo-yo is based on the shape of the INSOMNIA — the very yo-yo he used to win multiple titles:

• 2023 Malaysia National Open Champion
• 2023 Thailand National Open 1A Champion
• 2024 EP4 1A – 3rd
• 2024 EP5 1A – 2nd
• 2024 1A Singapore Nationals – 2nd

Although inspired by the INSOMNIA, the KEY plays very differently. At 49mm wide, it feels neither too wide nor too narrow. The redistributed weight makes it more nimble, gives it more spin time for longer combos, and makes it less punishing on stage when mistakes happen.

Karthik was one of the founding members of ALT and one of the hardest-working players I know. Starting “alternatives” was a huge challenge — especially in reaching an audience — but Karthik definitely made that journey much easier. It’s only fitting that our first Signature Yo-yo was created for Karthik Devaraj. "alternatives" Ghoul, JaeHwi from Little India, Thanos, Ashton Hall, World Champion 2036.

Karthik will be competing at Singapore Nationals this July, aiming to take the title, and also making his debut at the World Yo-yo Contest in Prague.

We hope you’ll get the chance to try the KEY. It holds a special place for us — and we hope it becomes your next competition throw.

Here’s to 12 years of friendship, and the journey ahead.

KEY - Karthik Devaraj's Signature Yo-yo - AVAILABLE NOW

Material: 6061 + SS + SS
Diameter: 56mm
Width: 49mm
Weight: 66g
Gap Width: 4.55mm

The KEY is also available on YOYOSHOPSG