Yo-Yo’s in the Wall Street Journal

Mary Pilon contacted me a few weeks ago about a story for the Wall Street Journal on “yo-yos”. We did a quick interview, but I didn’t have my hopes up about making it in the paper. After all, I’ve been contacted 3 other times by the WSJ for various stories, but was never actually included.

I was pleased to discover that not only did I make the cut, but the article hit the front page! Here’s my quote from Mary’s WSJ yo-yo article:

Brian Roberts, better known in the yo-yo world as “Doctor Popular,” is holding on to 100 Bolt yo-yos that he custom designed out of a high-grade plastic called Celcon that’s impossible to shatter. Mr. Roberts, of San Francisco, also sports a flaming yo-yo tattoo on his left arm. His right arm is so much larger than his left, because of yo-yoing he says, that the sleeves of some of his T-shirts are too tight.

Mr. Roberts once sold a “Silver Bullet 2″ yo-yo to a man who had recently been robbed at gunpoint while working at a gas station in Minnesota. The Bullet is known for its sharp edges, high-end metal body and fast spin. “His boss wouldn’t let him get a gun,” he says. “I think he thought he was a ninja.”

That’s right, I got quoted about ninjas in the Wall Street Journal!!

For the record, I don’t think anyone would actually consider my tattoo “flaming”. It’s hella-hetero.

I’ve asked Mary about finding the pointillistic yo-yo portrait, which she says are called “hedcuts”, online. If she sends me a link, I’ll update the post, but I’ve posted a scan of the yo-yo hedcut image from the front page article:

Mary also sent me links to some of the artists responsible for the hedcuts, which are so closely identified with the WSJ’s front page:
http://www.sprouls.com/portfolio/wsp/index.html
http://www.nolinovak.com/
http://www.randyglassstudio.com/