The Speakeasy was born out of a desire to create something that encapsulated all of the things that I truly love about modern yoyos. My first exposure to yoyos started with the Yoyofactory F.A.S.T Speed Dial that I got for Christmas when I was back in middle school. While I was obsessed with learning new tricks for a time, the Speed Dial was eventually forgotten and I never really progressed past learning the Brain Twister. Fast forward 13 years, I happened upon a 2019 World’s freestyle video and was instantly hooked again.
I was amazed at just how far yoyo design had come in the time that I had been away. From even just a cursory look on yoyo retail websites I found myself instantly drawn to the idea of bimetals. I thought that it was such an elegant solution to improving performance, and was impressed by the precision manufacturing required.
I had been throwing for a little more than a year before I started on the design of the Speakeasy, but I knew that I wanted the project to encapsulate many of the things I adored about modern yoyos. This meant a few things: it had to be light, powerful, and elegantly designed. All three of those design criteria pushed me towards a bimetal construction. While I had quite a bit of CAD experience, I had no idea where to start with yoyo design. Thank you to Mark of MK1 Yoyos for his design videos, which really gave me the background and push needed to pursue my own design.
With my design I wanted to exemplify the benefits of a bimetal, which to me meant the ability to pack a lot of power in a low weight package. To further push this design philosophy, I decided on an H shape, which is known for its rim weighted distribution. There was only one issue with the H shape, which was that I truly dislike the aesthetic of most H shape throws. There are usually two hard steps in the profile of H shaped yoyos, which, to me, does not create a harmonious design. To remedy this I decided on an extreme inverse round design, one continuous curve from the rims directly into the response zone.
The inverse round approach to an H shaped yoyo has a few performance benefits as well. An inverse catch zone helps to bring the body of the yoyo away from the string, reducing drag. It also makes the Speakeasy especially suited for finger grinds, the gradual curve hugs your finger and keeps it balanced and stable.
I decided very early on as well that I wanted the overall package to be approximately 56mm x 43mm and weigh 63g. A 56mm diameter is considered to be standard for a reason, it is large enough to create a high MOI but is not so large that the yoyo becomes unwieldy. The 43mm width is narrower than current trends, but was something I wanted for comfort in my own hand as well as the ability to weave through your densest mounts and tech tricks. The experience of throwing the Speakeasy truly comes from the 18.3g steel rings on each half. It is extremely powerful, but I do not feel as though the rims overpower the feel of the yoyo.
I could have easily attached 20+ gram rings to this frame but I felt as though the yoyo would have been quite one-note, and had a sluggishness that would muddy the entire experience. Instead, those weight savings were pushed into the wall thickness of the yoyo which allowed it to stay nimble and responsive, but with more of a presence on the string than its 63 gram weight would suggest.
The idea behind the branding of both the Speakeasy, and Prohibition Yoyo as a whole was born out of the shape of the Speakeasy. Whilst poring over the CAD, I noticed that the shape of the yoyo on its side was quite reminiscent of a cocktail glass as it tapers from the top down to the stem. In addition to yoyos, I’ve always had a great interest in cocktails, especially classic cocktails. The rest of the branding came quite naturally. The Prohibition theme would be able to serve many more designs being created, but as my first ,and signature yoyo, it would have to be named after one of the defining features of the era, the Speakeasy.
Each color of the Speakeasy is based off of a different cocktail, both created just before the Prohibition began. The Last Word is represented by the pale green colorway, and the Aviation by the blue and purple fade. Cocktails are a fun analogue to yoyos in the way that each has a recipe for the final product, especially for bimetals.
The body of the yoyo can be thought of as the main flavorings: citrus, juice, liqueurs of a cocktail, they create the main experience and flavor of the end result. They could be warm and round, focused on comfort, or tart and sharp. I like to think of the rims as the main spirit in a drink which provide the bite. The more rim-weighted the yoyo, the more spirit forward the drink. While this is just a fun analogy I like to toy around with, it can be a good framework to think about during the design process. If I’m trying to design a chill yoyo (drink) that can be thrown (drunk) around all day it wouldn’t make very much sense to have an insane amount of rim-weight (alcohol).
The Speakeasy truly captures the vision I had for my first yoyo, and it is a vision I hope to share with y’all with this release and those yet to come. Enjoy.
Diameter: 56.25mm
Width: 43.2mm
Weight: 63 g
Aviation: $110
Last Word: $100
Last Word: $100
Speakeasy releases Oct. 28th