An interview of Arron recently was featured on the yoyoz.eu site here.

André Boulay by Arron Sparks

Introduce yourself (name, d.o.b., from, job):

My name is André Boulay born March 6th, 1985. Currently from Amherst, Massachusetts here in the USA. I currently run YoYoExpert.com and work at the University of Massachusetts Amherst while I finish pursuing a Masters Degree in Neuroscience and Behavior there.

Let’s start off with the overly used classics; How did you get into Yo-Yo, How long have you been doing it and what kept you interested?

I started yo-yoing when I was 15 – back in 2000 just after the big boom here in the USA when it wasn’t really “cool” anymore to throw a yo-yo around. It was my first year in high school and stumbled into the A2Z Science and Learning store nearby where we discovered their yo-yo classes and I was immediately hooked! I started going to the store once a week and learning through their trick list practicing constantly. I didn’t go anywhere without a yo-yo in my hand for those 4 years!

Although you had obviously been in the Yo-Yo scene some time beforehand, you came up on our radar with the Dark Magic videos. Tell us about them. Where were they made, what was the inspiration? How did you come up with the tricks, particularly the thumb grind (which was an innovation at the time)?

I joined Team YoYoJam in 2002 and attended my first World Yo-Yo Contest that year. From there I performed for YoYoJam for three years traveling the country at various YoYoJam events such as the Smithsonian Museum in DC and various cities during the “Great Race” antique car exhibition where YoYoJam sponsored a car racing. Having placed 5th in the country in 2003 at the National Yo-Yo Contest, teaching at A2Z constantly, and all the performances YoYoJam decided it was a good time to work on a signature series model with me and the dark Magic was born in 2004. It was my freshman year at college and the school proved to be a fun place to film the clip video – they have a lot of neat research buildings there where we filmed in. The thumb grinds I had previously come up with while playing with the Speeder – it was actually more of an accident where I managed to land it on my finger and it spun around. From there I continually practiced the trick and when the Dark Magic was made we kept that in mind and it came out perfect for executing the trick. With practice I was able to land it in mid air on the thumb. The Operation Dark Magic videos was more or less a great way for me to feature the Dark Magic and all that it was capable of and definitely helped people “discover” who I was.

Obviously the videos tied in with your first Signature Yo-Yo, The Dark Magic. The Yo-Yo has been massively popular, a YoYoJam best seller? It was used by a lot of top players who went onto win National Contests with it, why do you think it was (and still is) so popular?

The Dark Magic has been incredibly popular and I am continually amazed as it stays so popular – but I think it is for good reason too. The Dark Magic has a very solid weight distribution and an excellent shape that people find fits in the hand well and plays very smooth and fast on the string. Especially for people just starting out – the extra weight properly distributed gives it great spin without feeling too heavy which is why I think it continues to stay so popular.

And then the Legacy, what was the idea behind that?

With the Legacy we aimed to bring a cheaper solution to the market using the same popular shape and weight distribution. Rather then just going completely plastic we decided to try and get the weight properly centered with the metal weight that is inserted. The Legacy I am very happy with and confident that for the price it is difficult to find a better playing yo-yo – but I am of course biased!

We heard that your 3rd signature Yo-Yo is coming out! Tell us some insider knowledge that we promise not to tell anyone (apart from all our website followers)…

The Trinity is obviously the “third” yo-yo in the series and is an all aluminum version merging aspects of the Legacy and Dark Magic. Again weight distribution is key with the Dark Magic and the weight is properly focused towards the rim and center on the Trinity to give stable long spins while allowing the yo-yo to move effortlessly across the string. It is definitely my number one throw right now and I don’t leave home without it! Overall people should know what to expect with this model if they have ever thrown a Dark Magic – I find it is a great yo-yo for people looking to go for completely unresponsive play after moving from the semi-responsive Dark Magic.

As for insider knowledge – right now the Trinity is being released in five colors (Black, Blue, Gold, Red, and Turquoise). Each is laser engraved with the Trinity artwork. In the near future we will be releasing some special editions with some really neat finishes – contests are a great place to find these but they may possibly be available online eventually.

Are you ever going to compete again? If so where? If not why not?

I have definitely considered competing but it isn’t in the near future. Right now my real focus is on teaching and spreading the sport to as many people as possible. That and I judge the majority of the contests that I attend so difficult to compete. But you never know in the future – it could happen! It would definitely be fun.

You’re a National Master, what does that mean, how do you become one?

Yes! This was an amazing honor! The National Yo-Yo Master award is given by the National Yo-Yo League here in the US. It is awarded to people who have devoted a large part of their time and energy to promote the sport of yo-yoing and who have had a large impact on it. From where I stand: Obviously I started competing and had an impact when releasing the Dark Magic. From there I had started my personal website (www.MasterMagic.NET) which quickly became one of the number one resources for new people looking to learn tricks. After taking over Team YoYoJam and building a very strong competitive team I decided my time was best spent trying to help judge and re-work the judging system as a whole. I put a lot of time and work into the World Yo-Yo Contest and helped in the removal of “compulsories” and continued to spend time promoting the sport with new videos that were filmed in conjunction with www.ExpertVillage.com – now the leading source for people learning to yo-yo on the internet. Everyone’s path to becoming a “National YoYo Master” is different but that is at least my path and I am incredibly honored to have earned this award.

Videos…
Operation Dark Magic
Operation Dark Magic 2

You judge at many contests including worlds, what do you look for in a FS? Who are your favourite players and why?

As a judge we all look for similar things. A combination of technical skill and difficulty along with an ability to perform and present tricks in an entertaining fashion.
My favorite players for a long time to watch have been Yuuki Spencer and Jason Lee. I have a lot of respect currently for Jensen Kimmitt and John Ando. Hiroyuki Suzuki has one of the best “freestyle” performance abilities out there. And from an ability to perform for the public Steve Brown and John Higby both engage people in incredibly unique ways. Grant Johnson and Takeshi Matsuura are two of the youngest players out there with skills far beyond their age and are two who I continue to look forward to watching grow and win! These are a few of my favorites that come to mind fast but I have a lot more!

Who do you think will win Worlds this year? Who should we be looking out for?

There are A LOT of contenders for Worlds this year in 1A. Again – Yuuki Spencer and Hiroyuki Suzuki are two favorites to win. Jensen Kimmitt has a very solid chance this year though and will be hard to beat if he comes out with a solid routine. If John Ando decides to compete in 1A he has the ability to create such a unique performance and tricks that he is a wild card and has a good shot to win if he pulls it all together.

And for the many new players we meet all the time “how do you get on Team YoYoJam?”

Practice, practice, practice. Team YoYoJam is for the most part highly competitive and invitational only. We look for players who are capable of competing at a National or World level in freestyle play. We also look for players who are strong role models or good teachers. Many players get ‘discovered’ through videos posted online on sites like YouTube or Vimeo which tends to be a good way to get noticed and some attention possibly leading to sponsorship. Of course winning contests is also a great way, etc.

You set up YoYo Expert, is that full time, any future plans?

Yes – YoYoExpert is my current business and I absolutely love it. It has quickly become far more then a part time job and we are currently moving into a much larger office space to accommodate our growth! We have a lot of future plans including far more tutorials and continuing to do what I think we do best – promote the sport of yo-yoing and get it into new peoples hands – help people discover and re-discover just how amazing the yo-yo is today!

Who would you like to thank/plug?

There are a lot of people who have helped me get where I am today. Jack Finn who owns the A2Z Science and Learning Store has been a huge help in terms of getting me into yo-yoing and showing me how to promote the sport and make a difference. YoYoJam for the signature series and helping sponsor me and believe in my abilities.
There are truly countless players who helped me with tricks when I started and who supported me as a player when competing. Thank you to all the manufacturers who continue to innovate and push the sport in a positive direction.

Anything else we should have asked you?

This seems good but feel free to email me back with anymore questions. Sorry again for the delay! Keep up the great work!!!

Thanks André!

Richie Windsor owns and runs online store YoYoZee but that was not always the case. Arron Sparks talks to him about his long and diverse career.