Yo-yoing Around With Noel Kunz

Photo: By Nathan Nowack

Yo-yo pro Noel Kunz added another prize to his collection by taking first place at Kollaboration this year.

Noel Kunz is said to be the first yo-yoer to win Kollaboration and the first performer to win the Asian Pacific American entertainment competition twice.

By Nalea J. Ko, Reporter
November 28, 2011

Yo-yoer Noel Kunz, 23, has a sizable collection of over 20 yo-yos at home, but it only takes one yo-yo to wow a crowd on stage.

In his collection are his favorites such as a yo-yo he designed, which plays his music and bears his engraved signature. It is a yo-yo that was manufactured by H Spin, a European yo-yo company.

“I have one case that fits 14 yo-yos,” Kunz said from Indiana where he recently graduated from Ball State University. “I don’t think nobody every needs more than one, but it’s nice to have a variety.”

With about 4,000 people in attendance at this year’s 11th annual Kollaboration Los Angeles, Calif. Kunz used his yo-yo skills to win over the crowd. He took home a check of $2,000 at the Nov. 5 competition, which is dedicated to showcasing Asian Pacific American talent. It was the second time the Filipino American yo-yoer won Kollaboration. His first win came last year at Kollaboration Tulsa.

Kunz is the first yo-yoer to win Kollaboration and the first performer to win the competition twice, said Roy Choi, Kollaboration CEO and executive producer.

“I think the audience appreciated the uniqueness of a yo-yo artist. Who can say that they’ve seen a live yo-yo artist?” said Choi. “Noel is a fun performer whose passion really shines when he performs. He also incorporates a little music and dance into his act.”

It was 1998 and Kunz was in elementary school when he was first exposed to yo-yoing. A performance by professionals from Duncan Yo-yos that Kunz saw as a freshman in high school piqued his interest in yo-yoing.

Takeshi Kamisato of the Duncan Crew became Kunz’s yo-yo mentor. The over 10-year veteran of yo-yoing says the sport is appealing to many people.

“Everyone has played with a yo-yo at some point in their lives, so everyone has an idea of how easy or difficult it is to do the basic tricks,” said Kamisato, a 36-year-old who is part Japanese and Native American. “But when people see a modern day yo-yo player, like Noel, what he does goes beyond their comprehension and often goes into the

realm of magic in their minds.”

The first trick Kunz mastered was the trapeze, a trick that is an important foundation to learning more complicated maneuvers.

Soon Kunz, who is also a drummer in the Manny Garcia Band, was winning competitions with his unique style that incorporates dance movements and music.

“Everything that I know in performing came from music,” Kunz said. “I did music so much that I needed a break from it and yo-yoing was kind of my out. But now it turns out that I love yo-yoing just a little bit more than I do music.”

His first milestone in his professional yo-yo career was a performance in a variety show to the Ne-Yo song “Closer” at the 2008 Filipino Americans Coming Together conference.

“So that’s when my career really started. And I remember right after that performance I just honestly felt like, ‘This what I need to be doing for the rest of my life,’” Kunz said. “Before that it was just a hobby and then after that, that was my way of life.”

The first yo-yo contest Kunz entered was in 2004 at the Indiana State Yo-yo Contest where he took fifth place. Throughout 2006 to 2009, Kunz also made it to four World Yo-yo Championships.