Babbitt
THROWING LAUGHS & LOOPS
Babbitt
Coming off the buzz of the Fire Devil Ridgback, we were feeling good.
Things were moving. The feedback was great.
But behind the scenes?
We’d been trying to make something happen for a while.
Enter John Narum.
World champion. Showman.
And just so happens, a legit stand-up comedian.
We’d been nudging him for years.
“John, let’s do an off-string signature throw.”
“Nah, I’m good.”
Alright, what about a 1A design then?
Still nope.
He just wasn’t feeling it.
Sidebar: You ever meet someone who’s too talented? That’s John. World-class thrower and he’ll make you laugh until you forget your bind.
But then John threw out an idea of his own.
“What I really want is a cost effective plastic throw I can sell at my comedy gigs.”
Wait, what?
We don’t do plastic.
Ray had kicked that idea around before, sure, but nothing ever stuck.
Still… this was different.
This had a purpose.
John wanted something fun, simple, and affordable, something he could hand to a curious kid after a show, or sign for a fan who just saw him blend killer throws with killer jokes on stage.
So we reached out to the folks at MagicYoYo.
They had a solution:
Lease an existing design.
Rebrand it.
Repackage it under the MonkeyfingeR name.
Boom.
Problem solved.
John gave it the thumbs-up, and just like that,
The Babbitt was born.
Sidebar: Named after a sleepy little town in Minnesota where John’s grandmother grew up. A quiet nod to the past, wrapped in future play.
We rolled it out in light blue, dark blue, green, and red.
It came with hubstacks, a solid bearing, and most importantly:
It was approachable.
The Babbitt was the perfect intro throw.
A gateway yo-yo for beginners.
A performer’s sidekick.
A pocket-sized souvenir from a night of laughter and loops.
And now?
Every time John takes the stage, he’s not just telling jokes.
He’s throwing down.
And handing out joy by the handful.
Sidebar: Sometimes a signature doesn’t need titanium or trophies.
Sometimes, it just needs heart.
