Sector Y v2.0

The year 2000 was one of yoyoing’s strongest years. 1998 and 1999 created the craze, and in 2000 the bar was raised. Everyone brought their A-game. Everyone who started with the boom now had over 2 years of practice, and string tricks continued to push forward. This video is a look back at the innovation that exploded around the turn of the century.

Title: 2000 Revolutions [ Download | Stream ]
Creator: Gabriel Lozano
Date: Created 2004, footage from 2000.
Music: Days of our Livez by Bone thugs-n-harmony
File Type: Mpeg-4

Here’s a presentation of some repeating tricks that have been developed over the past 5 years. It’s interesting to see how time-symmetrical some tricks can be. Tricks are shown forward and in reverse. Some of the changes are very subtle, some look different but just as cool backwards, and some are clearly impossible to do in reverse.

I made this video just to help catalog some of the lesser known repeating tricks. Repeating tricks have taken a backseat over the last few years in light of more complex, technical tricks. The art of making that simple one-or-two move repeating trick has been slowly fading away, but there have been a few strong progressions over the years. This video is here so we don’t forget.

These repeating tricks were filmed during the National Yo-Yo Contest 2009 in Chico, CA on October 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, 2009. Many thanks to those who let me film them.

Title: Things that repeat. [Download | Stream: Youtube or Vimeo]
Creator: Gabriel Lozano
Music: Broken Van (Missing You) [instrumental] by Kno
Time: 2:13
Resolution: 1280×720 (HD)
File Type: Mpeg-4
Note: This is my first attempt at playing around with HD footage. All footage shot on a Canon HF S100. Video created in iMovie.

I started yoyoing during the 1998 yoyo boom. Most of 1998 was spent learning tricks from Ken’s World on a String, and I even got to visit US Nationals that year. But even though my roots were based in 1998, 1999 was the year when things really started to take off.

I became a regular at the Spindox meetings in 1999. I spent most of my time learning new tricks from Paul Escolar, Gary Longoria, and David Capurro. In essence, this was the beginning of what would become a major advancement in string tricks. Posting videos on the web helped continue yoyoing popularity, and Sector Y was eventually born on October 15, 1999. This video is a look back at the scene that helped create the original Sector Y.

Title: 1999 [ Stream | Download ]
Creator: Gabriel Lozano
Music: Change the World [Instrumental] by Bone thugs-n-harmony
Time: 3:16
Resolution: 640×480 (SD)
File Type: Quicktime H.264

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/8049363[/vimeo]

Velocity was a fun video to make. I had a lot of footage that just didn’t fit into other videos for one reason or another. Most of it was either old stuff or simple stuff. I decided to see if I could cram it all into one video and this was the result.

Most of the Parental Advisory section of the String Theory DVD (where this video originally debuted) was full of old footage. And while this may be a “rehash video,” there’s still some unseen footage in here. I always fought with the idea of how to present footage that had already been seen, so the Parental Advisory section was just an experiment on what I could possibly do to make dated footage seem less boring. I wasn’t sure if these videos would ever see the light of day, but I released it because nobody would gain anything if I had just kept the footage to myself.

Ever since this video was made (I believe sometime in 2001), yoyoing has sped up quite a bit. As freestyles have become about racking up as many points as possible, speed has been the focus of many yoyoers over the past few years. As a result, most of this stuff doesn’t look as fast as it used to. Time has taken a toll on this video but I hope some of it can still be appreciated.

This video has explicit lyrics.

Title: Velocity [ Stream | Download ]
Creator: Gabriel Lozano
Music: Velocity by Extended F@mm (featuring Tonedeff)
Time: 3:52
Resolution: 640×480 (SD)
File Type: Quicktime H.264

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/8049263[/vimeo]

This video was inspired by one of GReg’s clip videos. In 2000 or 2001, GReg had released a clip video that was very basic and rudimentary compared to other videos of that era. Despite not having the newest tricks, it was full of charm. I like to think of it as similar to a child’s kindergarten drawing: it’s never really a fantastic work of art, but you still put it on your fridge.

This video was my attempt to do the same thing. It contained a lot of footage from 2000 – 2001 that had already been released, but also a few clips from other people who had sent in their footage.

This video has explicit lyrics.

Title: Professional Elegance [ Stream | Download ]
Creator: Gabriel Lozano
Music: Doo Rags by Nas
Time: 3:56
Resolution: 640×480 (SD)
File Type: Quicktime H.264

Sweet nostalgia! This is one of my favorite clip videos. I went with some of the Spindox to West Coast Regionals in 2001. The van broke down a dozen times, we got lost in Inglewood, and stayed in a cramped motel room, but the trip was fantastic.

This video was initially made for the people who went on the trip with me. I didn’t think that most people would appreciate all the picture trick stuff, nor some of the goofy stuff. But I figured, since I already spent so much time making the video, I might as well share it with others who might enjoy it. And I guess they did. I can’t remember. Regardless of how people feel about this video, it will always remain one of my favorites.

Title: Breakdown to WCR
Creator: Gabriel Lozano
Music: Pachelbell 8000 by Mars & Mystre
Time: 3:54
Resolution: 640×480 (SD)
File Type: Quicktime H.264

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/8049478[/vimeo]

I remember watching SuperYo’s Kickin’ Tricks VHS and thinking, “Wow, this is the coolest video ever.” A VHS tape full of tricks that showcased the hottest tricks was something that was rarely seen. So, of course, I wanted to make one.

I believe I announced Project Sector Y (PSY) in late 2000, and had figured that a project like this could not possibly take over a year, right? ;) Well years and years went by. Some people who originally were interested even moved on to other hobbies. I guess I didn’t expect college to get in the way.

PSY released at Nationals 2004 as the String Theory DVD. Afterwards, I sold them myself via mail order. GReg from Infinite Illusions produced the second run of them. These were in smaller DVD cases, and they probably featured different disc art. Then after that… they were gone. Right now there are no copies available anywhere, but you can download the videos from this site. While PSY was a long arduous project, it was a fun collaboration with yoyoers around the world.

This teaser was the start of it all.

Title: PSY Trailer [ Stream | Download ]
Creator: Gabriel Lozano
Music: Sound of Nature by Mario Lopez
Time: :40
Resolution: 640×480 (SD)
File Type: Quicktime

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/8049498[/vimeo]

The 4-14-01 Spindox Club Meet was one of the few meets that were located in Jack London Square, CA. This plaza by the bay is always windy, but the weather happened to be particularly nice that day. It was a nice change of venue from the usual Roundtable Pizza or UC Berkeley Campus.

There wasn’t a lot of new content to film, so the club footage had to be combined with some footage of myself and Spencer, which was shot on UC Davis campus. This is the video that debuted the original Laceration. This is probably one of my least favorite videos, although at the time I thought it was pretty cool (and so did many others!).

Title: 4-14-01 Spindox Video [ Stream |  Download ]
Creator: Gabriel Lozano
Music: Crazy by Seal
Time: 1:20
Resolution: 640×480 (SD)
File Type: Quicktime H.264