Young yo-yoer shoots the moon

 

PHOTOS PROVIDED
Dalton freshman Gabriel Roxberry placed third at East Coast Masters Yo-Yo Championship March 14 in Pittsburgh.

By CHRISTINA McCUNE
DGKN managing editor

With upbeat music in the background, a big smile on his face, and “oohs” and “aahs” encouraging him from the crowd, Rei Iwakura, world yo-yo champ many times over, can be viewed via YouTube videos energetically entertaining his audience with tricks and turns that almost mimic dance steps. His dance partner? A yo-yo.

Dalton freshman Gabriel Roxberry is following in the footsteps of his inspiration, whom he had the opportunity to meet in person.

Roxberry, 15, competed in his first yo-yo competition this month. He earned a third-place finish March 14 in the Aerial-X pro division at East Coast Masters in Pittsburgh.

“I was excited and very very nervous,” Roxberry said.

A video of Roxberry provided by his family that The DGKN shared on Facebook and Instagram shows the teen yo-yoer completing trick after trick for two minutes to “U&ME” by alt-J. If it appears to the viewer that the yo-yo is coming off the string – that’s because it is.

Roxberry competes in an off-string yo-yo division. He has been honing this skill since seventh grade. And he has a callus on his middle finger to prove it. But you won’t hear any complaints from him. That’s part of the sport and it makes yo-yoing easier.

The International Yo-Yo Federation recognizes five main styles of yo-yoing: single string, looping, double string, off-string and freehand.

“I’ve had a yo-yo for awhile,” Roxberry said.

He had received a beginner yo-yo for Christmas eight years ago and would yo-yo off and on.

When his Grandfather was diagnosed with cancer, Roxberry turned to yo-yoing to help as a distraction and to ease his mind.

“I got into it and it’s brought me here,” he said.

Roxberry encourages everyone to keep a yo-yo in their pocket.

He recommends people who are interested in yo-yo tricks should buy a beginner yo-yo that’s responsive – that means it needs to spin when the string is still attached to it.

Roxberry taught himself tricks thanks to videos online. He said the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to have brought some yo-yoers out of the woodwork because more of them began posting videos on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok and other social media platforms.

The World Yo-Yo Contest came to Cleveland in 2024 and Roxberry had the opportunity to meet eight-time world champ Rei Iwakura. He shared a funny story that there was a trick he had been working on and he wasn’t quite able to get it. His brain was able to work it out as he slept. That night after meeting Iwakura, Roxberry had a dream that the world champ was teaching him that trick. The next day he nailed it.

“My ultimate goal is to become world champion one day,” Roxberry said.

He’s taking steps to reach his goal. Next year, he plans to return to the East Coast Masters contest.

Roxberry is the son of Dena and DJ Roxberry and he has two younger brothers, Ethan and Simon. They haven’t been bitten by the yo-yo bug yet but Gabriel said one of his cousins seemed interested in the activity.

Yo-yoing can be treated as a sport or a hobby. Roxberry has much fun with it. He keeps a yo-yo on him and is happy to demonstrate a trick if someone asks him. He’s also serious about it. He practices about 30 minutes every day.

“It’s a lot of fun to do,” he said. “It gives you something to do and you can always learn something new. You always have time to do something and you can take it anywhere with you. You can meet a lot of people who can help you and are absolutely amazing.”

Roxberry said he attends a yo-yo meet every month at the Portage Lakes Library and he welcomes anyone to join him.