Triple Zero - A New Beginning

Life is funny. No matter how hard we try, things never seem to work the way we want them to. And at the same time when everything goes wrong new opportunities arise. As cliche it sounds, that is exactly what happened after I arrived in Vancouver. After driving for nearly 9000 miles. 



I left Toronto two months ago. I had this crazy plan to do a road trip and meet as many of you guys as possible. Most of you Ive only spoken to briefly online. Many offered to meet with open arms into your personal lives. Your town, your family and friends. Your own city. Where you work. I got to peek inside other peoples lives for a brief moment. I posted so many photos of my car in these funny exotic places. But I never found a way to convey the real importance of this trip - and that is to build genuine human connections. 





Before the trip I had been in a somewhat rough relationship. On paper we were so good together yet I felt like we were always competing against each other. I saw so much of me in her - both the things I like about myself but also the things I deeply hate. It was a strange feeling, almost like we were too similar. Being masked by love, lust and all sorts of other emotions it was hard to see how poisonous that relationship was for my mental health. 

During this road trip I must have talked about her to everyone I met up with. She had flown out earlier by a company that had hired her to work in the film industry. So I was left to do the trip alone. While she worked 60 hours a week at a brand new desk job I was slowly making my way across the country in hopes for a fresh start in life with a new partner.



In LA, we had a talk - the ones you have about your future and what you really want in life. Job wise, we were very different people - she was very career focused with the 9-5 life style, where I spontaneously book flights on a whim. There were many other comparability issues that started to crop up. My personal family struggles. Trust issues regarding her past, and everything in between. Things got heated and we broke up. I remember that clear as day since we split up when I was staying with Augie in SLO. I still had 1500km to drive before I got to Vancouver. But the big move to start a new life suddenly meant something much more depressing.

Its funny. Luftverk started 4 years ago. I was in University at the time, hating every second of it. I had ended a relationship - so bad that I and left the country to travel. Of course, looking back most of that pain seems so irrelevant now. But If none of that ever happened, I wouldn't be where I am now. I wouldn't have run into my manufacturing connections. I wouldn't have designed the Evora. And I wouldn't have designed the Skyva (which is now in the National Yoyo Museum). That blows my mind. When doors shut - new ones open. Sometimes you don't see those open doors. Sometimes you see them but you're scared to walk through them. Sometimes its both - I just got lucky being at the right place at the right time. People often ask me how all that happened. And I would be lying if I said luck wasn't a huge factor.  



So here I am in Vancouver. Im alive - doing okay. Its unfortunate things didn't work out but maybe for the better. It has still been a struggle to decide what I want to do with my life. I knew it had been months since I released anything. Once I landed here I started designing something different. Something designed out of emotions. Unconventionally, I called it the "Triple Zero". Synonymous to square one. A fresh start to everything.



Using as little edges as possible, it is the most simple, minimal design Luftverk has ever released. It doesn't try to distract you with lines or curves - just a simple cup and flat hub. A flat parting edge with a minimal chamfer are the only thing on the outer lip of the yoyo. The outer profile pays homage to more classic designs like the Miroc 1, Eetsit and the E1NS. There is no step, no schmoove. A single function design with no bells or whistles. I would like to think this is the equivalent to a blank slate - the bare essentials to make a modern yoyo work well. 

During play you can feel the simplicity of the design. One element I wanted to focus on was the sound of the yoyo during play. It rings like a bell as it zips through strings. Its definitely the loudest titanium yoyo I have ever played with - whips and lacerations makes the body ring loudly. I found that this could be achieved by having a large portion of the body machined below a certain thickness. This of course also helps with weight distribution. The larger diameter feels incredibly stable. The movement feels more effortless than anything else I have designed before - perhaps due to the combination of a flat hub and organic shape. The power of the throw is strong - but not overpowering like a competition design. One of the few throws I am genuinely surprised at its outcome. I wonder if this is why musicians create the best music during personal struggles in life. 



I never understood why I felt I need to share so much into my personal life when I do releases. Maybe I find solitude venting to people online. I look back at every drop and instantly it brings me back to a time and place - weather thats sleeping on the streets of Italy, or my apartment in Prague. Or sitting on the roof of an apartment watching the sunset in Toronto. But Triple Zero is the first yoyo that I formally acknowledge that the same thing will happen. I will look back in a year thinking about this break up. The struggles of moving into a new city. How horribly such an amazing road trip had to end. And dealing with my own deeply rooted emotional issues. But also meeting so many new friends in a city I can call home. I know only a few of my customers can see this. But maybe you have your own nostalgic memories tied into my products. Designing through emotional inspiration has always been at the core of what Luftverk is. Triple Zero is no different. 

000
Diameter: 56.5mm
Width: 43mm
Weight: 63.2g
Response: Luftpad
Price: 285USD