I left West coast Canada in December but only temporarily - I left most of my stuff there. Moved back home with the parents for a bit after the start up I was working for went under - I saw it coming though, and it was a crazy well timed event that landed me back home. The slowness of releases in 2019 were a good indication of how busy I was, but also trying not to force creativity when my mood isn't the best. A few issues cropped up when I left Vancouver, mostly my deteriorating mental health. More often than not my projects become ways to cope with how I feel weather its cars or coding or doing yoyo releases.
in the 2020 year, there is one thing I would like to focus more on which is to collaborate with more people on releases. Creating with someone else is such a genuinely gratifying feeling. I think I am in a very fortunate position where I have a brand power and an amazing fan base where I can display others creativity in the most ultimate platform - in titanium. When I released the Daytona almost 3 years ago, it was my take on a pocket throw that had elements of old school feel. This was me making an educated guess at the things I liked - not by someone who actually was a skilled responsive player. I finally had the idea to reach out to Ed Haponik for advice - someone I've looked up to for a while. His dedication to responsive play and passion for old school yoyos made him the perfect candidate to brain pick and get some real information on how the original Daytona could be improved.
Shown above are the comparison between the original Daytonaand the Daytona SB Highwall. The biggest and most challenging change was the switch to small bearing. This generally helped (In my opinion) with shoot the moons and regens because of the kick back. Ed digged the Core Co pads which are used in some of the best playing slimlines made in the recent years. They remind me of old style Dif-e-yo pads, but fit for small bearings. Other changes were a higher wall that I found added stability and stalled flip tricks. Because the pads are taller the walls are inherently taller as well. The entire body is lighter by 3 grams which is a lot, and definitely makes this yoyo way more responsive focused then the original Daytona.
After the chats with Ed, the rest of the styling and shape was up to me, borrowing the hub from the Alpina with an updated retro engraving. The profile changed organically by itself after the added highwall, which still remains comfortable when snapping back into your hand. The small bearing definitely gives it a very unique feel. The weight also makes it less intimidating and hefty then the original Daytona.
Im happy with how this all turned out - kicking off 2020 with a small passion project with only 25 available. This will likely represent a turning point in Luftverk where releases will be limited and I will try to work with people on more collaborative projects. Its hard to believe its been 5 years since I released the first yoyo, I think I would like to be more selective in what I release and making sure its something genuinely special. Thanks everyone, especially Ed who helped make this mini - colab possible. I sent him one already as a gift, go bug him if you want to find out how it plays.
The Daytona SB Highwall Silimline will drop Sunday January 19th, 10pm EST time.
It has been a while since Ive written much - the second half of 2023 was insanely busy with project management. Since the release of the plastic lineup, I had very little time to focus on the roots of what made Luftverk so exciting. I realized this was a huge problem - I needed to guide Luftverk back to it's roots of exploring new materials and build product lineups that told a story stemmed from exploration. I had done this with plastics last year but in 2024 I would like to also focus back onto some more products that use exotic materials. While being incredibly late to the party this recent project is Luftverk's first Magnesium ever, which was at first canceled and almost never released.
It has been nearly 4 months since Ive been in Japan, and 5 months since I left Toronto. Writing that out makes it feel short but in reality it feels like forever ago. The last launch of the Plastic Peak was an overwhelming experience. I felt so grateful to work with CLYW, a company I grew up with. When the World Yoyo Contest hit I didn't know what to expect, but I had started noticing a feeling of burn out after grinding out so many yoyo related projects and in a weird introverted way I was a bit reluctant to go.
CLYW is a Canadian brand that started in 2006. I was 14 at the time when I watched this new brand unfold on the Yoyonation forums. They released their first yoyo named the "Peak" with 50 pieces retailing for $85. Today, that yoyo has used asking prices north of $2500 making it one of the most insanely rare and expensive yoyos to date. This "OG Painted Peak" featured a custom painted surface by a Canadian airbrush artist named Levi. Overtime as the Peak was impacted or dinged, the paint would chip off meaning there are only a handful of units in the world that survived in mint unused condition. Later versions would be released in more durable anodized finishes, but these first 50 "OG Painted Peaks"cemented CLYW into yoyoing history.
Jeffrey Pang
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