Gelada 2
The Relaxed Revolution
The Gelada 2: Better, Faster, Stronger
PHEW.
We’re truly blessed at this point. Two solid releases in a row, the team firing on all cylinders, and the vibe in the MonkeyfingeR camp? Electric.
In the background, while we’re pulling together these stories, the whole crew’s tossing around memories, files, and inside jokes, it’s like reliving the chaos in real time. This one brings a big grin to our faces.
The chatter from our team members was loud and clear:
“We need a version 2 of the Gelada!”
And they were right.
We knew exactly what we wanted to do this time around. The original Gelada? Solid on the string. Fun to throw. It had that MonkeyfingeR flavour.
But version 2?
That was going to be our Bionic Man moment—better, faster, stronger. (Yeah yeah, we’re showing our age.)
We had one word stuck in our heads:
Spin time.
Then again for good measure: Spin time.
And oh yeah, did we mention spin time?
So we got to work:
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Shifted the rim weight way up the wall
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Thickened the center just enough to avoid tilt a whirl syndrome
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Swapped out the nipple design
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Smoothed the lines, tightened the feel
And BAM, say hello to the Gelada 2.
Sidebar: The Prototype Miracle
First run prototypes came back and absolutely nailed it. No tweaks. No do overs. Straight into production. That never happens. We celebrated like mad over that one.
What made it even better?
Team members already had them in-hand, and they were gearing up to drop some serious heat for launch. The energy was there, it felt like a family hype train flying downhill with no brakes.
Around the same time, we started reaching out to a few stores in Europe. MonkeyfingeR exposure was growing and, as always, we were hunting for our sweet spot: that perfect blend of unique design and community buzz.
Save-a-Gelada
Oh, and then there was Chris, co-founder of YoYoNews.com, who had officially joined the MonkeyfingeR squad. He wanted to take point on this release, and let’s us just say:
The launch video he created? Off. The. Charts.
Sidebar: This Video Is Bonkers
Seriously, if you’re reading this and you’ve never seen the original Gelada 2 release video, stop what you’re doing and go watch it. There hasn’t been a promo like it before or since. Massive props to Chris for that stroke of originality. Watch it here
We released Gelada 2 across six different online stores and… yeah, it was a hit.
A big one.
The community was growing. The momentum was real.
We’d hit a major milestone.
So now what?
Do we go back and re-release a classic? Or do we keep pushing forward into new territory?
After the Gelada 2’s success, Chris came forward with some return-top ideas that he had to get out, and we all agreed: it was time to build something new.
The Gelada 2 stayed in production until 2023 and then went extinct.
