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OFFSET x “ALTERNATIVES” – Xavier Edition INERTIA
Ever wondered how a less than one-year-old brand with 1k followers on IG and zero collabs managed to get a collab with Xavier Ng & OFFSET?
OFFSET is the fastest-growing and arguably one of the largest yo-yo brands, owned by Brandon Vu, who is the LARGEST yo-yo YouTuber with over 1.3 million subs (2.3 million plus if you count his Español channel haha). The general sentiment is that they’re wholesome and well-behaved individuals.
With that in mind, we - “alternatives,” a brand that, I’m told, is borderline cancelable at any moment - managed to get a collab with OFFSET?? Holy shit son.
Now, wanting to collaborate with another brand isn’t easy. It was my first time doing it in the yo-yo world, but thankfully I had experience in my corporate job. If you ever want to collab with someone -whether through work or yo-yos - here are my thoughts:
Come prepared and approach the client with a clear idea. Lay out the idea as simply as possible, make the process as easy as possible, with clear shared objectives and roles, and some proof of concept. The worst they can say is no. The most important factor is timing, which is difficult to gauge but usually the difference maker in whether it works.
With that being said, we were already fucked from the start, as OFFSET had nothing to gain from us - they already have good products and a huge following, just a small amount of about 1000X the size of ours. But one fine day in November, I saw the light.
"INERTIA" prototype
Pictured: Rendering of INERTIA prototype
In November 2024, the prototypes of the INERTIA came in, and I flew down to Singapore for the regular play tests. Everybody loved the yo-yo, but one person in particular - none other than the “X-man,” Xavier Ng - really loved it. Funny thing was, he actually put a massive ding in that yo-yo on his first few throws. Thankfully, it still played smooth. Xavier kept the INERTIA prototype and brought it to Australia during his trip down in December, in preparation for EP6.
I knew he liked the yo-yo, but damn - in January, when we met again for EP6, he bought two more from us.
The success of the INERTIA was a weird one for me. We actually only created one reel with Zafran on the yo-yo, which didn’t really blow up - but somehow the INERTIA sold like hotcakes. At EP6 we sold over 100 pieces - at an event where people don’t really buy yo-yos. There was something about it that made people really want one. Perhaps it was the attractive price point of USD 65, or just the colorways. But anyway, back to Xavier.
Pictured: Xavier, myself, and a random fan (I think this guy has potential to go far!)
The Collab!
A couple of months back, we were preparing for our second run of INERTIAs and had some colors I couldn’t decide on. So, I thought, why not drop Xavier a message for a potential collab? Xavier said he loved the idea of a "Shadow X" INERTIA similar to his best selling colorway of the Xenon but had to check with Brandon first. I think Brandon was busy in China at that time, and I didn’t expect a reply at all.
I had already accepted my fate at that point and was like, OK, I got left off gently. Guess what? Brandon said YES.
I IMMEDIATELY MESSAGED TONG AND TOLD HIM TO FIRE UP THE FACTORY—IT’S TIME FOR THE “ALTERNATIVES” × OFFSET XAVIER EDITION INERTIA! Why did Brandon say yes? It didn’t matter! I needed to get those yo-yos made ASAP before he changed his mind. So I told Xavier, “OK, I ALREADY PAID FOR IT - NO CHANCE TO U-TURN ON ME NOW.” The rest was history.
A couple of months later, Xavier showed up—blonde hair and all—and we shot the promo video right outside the Airbnb they were staying in at Stronger.
Over nine years ago, I was asleep in my hotel room at AP16, very late in the evening (2 a.m., maybe). My hotel door opened and Brandon Vu walked in. We were bunking together at that event, and I was expecting him to arrive late—but not that late! The lights were off, but the entrance light was bright enough that I could see Brandon come in with his massive suitcase. He pulled it into the room and began taking out some camera gear. I didn’t say anything cause I was tired as fuck, but I was curious enough to see what he was doing. He then placed the camera on a chair and started recording the entrance way. He walked out of the room with his giant suitcase, closed the door, and opened it again, strolling in.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I said.
Watch his vlog here! And guess what? he never used that clip! Woke me up for nothing??
Nine years later, we finally had a collaboration, and I couldn’t be more grateful. The exposure was great for “alternatives” but my favorite part of this collaboration is the years of friendship involved and that I get to create this product together—one I will cherish forever. Love you guys, thank you for making this happen.
Turns out all you need to collab with one of the largest yo-yo brands in the world is a little bit of luck, timing, and friendship.
Today is also coincidentally Xavier's birthday! Happy birthday if you are reading this!
A few pieces of the Xavier INERTIA are still available on our webstore.