What is OPYOYOS?

Only Pink Yoyos (OP for short) is the successor of Smashing Yoyos, my previous company. Smashing was originally a small company focused on making fun yoyos and bringing joy to those who played them. During the time that I ran Smashing, I made incredible friends, grew as a yoyo designer, and learned a lot about myself. Unfortunately, Smashing grew faster than I could handle. I had to disband the company but my passion for making yoyos remained. I spent some time exploring how I could continue to make the yoyos that I wanted to make, and what I found was OP.

Since its debut in 2019, OPYOYOS has allowed me to make yoyos with less of the stress that came from running such a big brand. With OP, I can make yoyos that nobody else is making—the yoyos I want to play with. From the widest, to the best-performing, to the most organic yoyo possible, OP is all about taking a characteristic of a yoyo and making it the best it can be. OP is making a yoyo that performs, feels, and looks at home where it counts—on the string.

Since this is my first post on my new blog, I’d like to provide some insight into the foundations of the company by describing my vision for the first OP yoyo. Without further ado, I’d like to introduce a yoyo that’s as wide as it is round—the first OP—the 543.

The 543

The 543’s main characteristic is that it’s wide—very wide. Most competitive yoyos range from 42 to 46 millimeters in width and 54 to 58 in diameter, but the 543, living up to its namesake, forms a perfect cube in its measurements: 54 millimeters in both width and diameter. Weighing in at 63 grams with an extremely open profile, the 543 feels comfortable, performs well, and looks pretty all while providing an extremely wide catch zone for easily landing tricks that are otherwise difficult to land, which is exactly what a player wants out of a wide yoyo.

Wide yoyos facilitate big tricks—big whips, big slacks, and big movements. Wide yoyos aren’t as good at technical tricks because they are harder to move through intricate mounts, so why design with that in mind? My goal in making the 543 was to make it spin long enough to practice those bigger, harder-to-hit elements with more confidence and ease. I was happy to sacrifice a bit of technical performance in favour of having the yoyo be more controllable for whippy and slacky elements, so that’s what I did. With the 543, there’s more of that satisfying feeling when a player finally nails that hook or slack they’ve been trying to hit for a while than with more traditionally-designed competitive monometals.

Since wider yoyos also tend to have larger, more flared-out catch zones, they’re also great for finger grinds. With incredibly little friction in the shape, I decided to push the 543’s affinity for grinds even further with an aggressively-blasted finish. The 543’s shape and finish not only favour long grinds, but they also feel nice to the touch. Thanks to the 543, I have invented and learned many fun tricks, accomplishing exactly what I set out to do when I first opened my CAD software. The 543 is easy on the eyes, confidence-inspiring, and most importantly, it’s pink as f***.

That’s OP

My description of the 543 is exactly what OP is: a company that creates yoyos that inspire players to learn new tricks, try something unusual, and explore the limits of what yoyoing can be. At OP, we pay attention to the small details that make yoyos capable of turning the tricks in players’ heads into the tricks in their hands.

Much love,

Jordan

Patreon

Did you know I have a Patreon that provides excellent discounts, early access, and exclusive information for everything OP? For $7.50 USD/£5 GBP a month, OP Patreon members get everything early—OP yoyos, prototypes and even most Thesis yoyos. I even design yoyos for free for all patrons! OPYOYOS patrons get exclusive access to a private section of the OP Discord server where I share all of my designs, provide the latest news on OP, and chat with all of my lovely patrons. OPYOYOS wouldn’t happen without my patrons—not only do they support the company directly, but they also shape the future of OP.