I don't have a girlfriend, don't want one

May 10, 2010 1:44 PM

Kenny Strasser : YoYo Master
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints (36 comments total)

Oh, man. I've only watched the first one, and I'm practically in tears! This guy is very, very good at what he does.
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:56 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

"A lot of times, we'll be laughing so hard we don't even get to the environmental stuff."

I lost it there.
posted by Taft at 2:07 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

He never breaks character and he walks right up to, but does not cross, the line where it would become obvious he's a crank. Genius. In fact, he's so good I actually feel bad for the on-air presenters. But it serves the producers right for not even doing a rudimentary fact check, or at least asking to see the tricks before going on the air. What a bunch of yo yos. (Sorry.)
posted by dust of the stars at 2:08 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Perfect. I fell under my desk with The Cringening.
posted by everichon at 2:10 PM on May 10, 2010 [4 favorites]

I love this! This guy truly is the Andy Kaufman of yo-yos. Hope to see him dupe some more stations as a different character soon.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 2:11 PM on May 10, 2010

This is wonderful.
posted by georg_cantor at 2:12 PM on May 10, 2010

Whoa -- someone took the DNA of Joey Skaggs, Andy Kaufman, and Tommy Smothers and created Kenny Strasser!
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 2:12 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Wow, he had me right through the first video. I was sure the second would show his amazing yo-yo skills, but decided to read the first link, for context. Aaannnnd, brilliant! I really like Andy Kaufman, though; I bet the Venn of people who like this and people who like Andy is a single circle.

The faded, but still colorful, appearance; the half-hearted suspenders; the cell phone; the solid yellow baseball cap... I wish we knew who was behind this character, because I'd love to see more of his stuff!
posted by gilrain at 2:13 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

the Andy Kaufman of yo-yos

Hello new business card.
posted by shakespeherian at 2:18 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

This has been making the rounds on the interweb today.

The best so far is the one where he keeps his cell phone on and takes a call on the air from his dad.
posted by wcfields at 2:23 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Someone has to link to the real Yo-Yo man, and that's me.
posted by Some1 at 2:26 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

The best so far is the one where he keeps his cell phone on and takes a call on the air from his dad.

That was the first link in the FPP.
posted by delmoi at 2:26 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

He's really good at this. Very professional in his half-assedness.
posted by mr_roboto at 2:26 PM on May 10, 2010

nope, wc field's video is different. and also amazing.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 2:27 PM on May 10, 2010

I like that this kind of thing can still actually happen.
posted by Fraxas at 2:28 PM on May 10, 2010 [5 favorites]

I'm not fully convinced that this isn't Tim Heidecker's newest venture.
posted by decagon at 2:31 PM on May 10, 2010

This is way more entertaining than someone who can actually use a yo-yo.
posted by KyMaTo at 2:38 PM on May 10, 2010 [2 favorites]

I immediately knew it was fake when I realized he wasn't Japanese. Those guys are the yo-yo kings.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 2:52 PM on May 10, 2010

This fits in with my "Local news is completely awful" theory.

K-Strass is pretty hilarious though.
posted by graventy at 2:59 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

. . . I just don't have the muscle-memory anymore.
posted by Think_Long at 3:03 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Video of Hiroyuki Suzuki in action. This is the guy that Civil_Disobedient linked to. I have no idea what he's doing in this video or how he's doing it, but HOLY CRAP. It seems that really advanced yo-yoing isn't so different from really advanced contact juggling.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 3:04 PM on May 10, 2010 [4 favorites]

This sounds like a connection (first link bottom):

a reporter with Wausau's WSAW, tried to find him and located a phone number for Guehrke. The number was traced to Joe Pickett, who is a comedy filmmaker and operates a business with partner Nick Prueher. Both men have Wisconsin ties. Their business, "The Found Footage Festival," tours the country showing obscure, unusual and bizarre home videos, promotional clips, outtakes and training films to comedic effect.

posted by stbalbach at 3:07 PM on May 10, 2010

Is it sad that I heard the accent and was like "WISCONSIN REPRAZENT!" (before I had even read any details?)

Today I am proud to be from the land of cheese!
posted by symbioid at 3:39 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

"One of the things that they like us to do is the Interscholastic, which takes us around to, like, colleges when I was younger, and I met a lot of great yo-yoists there. One of my favorites was the Garth Brooks of yo-yo, Eric Stringer."

"...Wow."

I love him.
posted by Errant at 3:47 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Here is a follow-up story from one of the stations.
posted by jessssse at 4:59 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

This is hilarious.
posted by cell divide at 5:06 PM on May 10, 2010

Is this Kenny? http://blog.rooftopcomedy.com/2009/11/04/interview-nick-prueher-of-the-found-footage-festival/
posted by cell divide at 5:08 PM on May 10, 2010

I don't know if anyone has else read it, but the wikipedia entry on yo-yos is really quite astonishing. Someone who really loves yo-yos has spent about a decade working on it.
posted by smoke at 5:55 PM on May 10, 2010 [2 favorites]

cell divide: I did some internet sleuthing earlier to see if Nick Prueher could be Kenny Strasser, but after comparing a bunch of photos from different angles, and video of him, I don't think so. The noses, eyebrows, and voices are too different.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 6:27 PM on May 10, 2010

Here is a follow-up story from one of the stations.

There are some really pissed off yo-yo people at that link.
posted by dirigibleman at 9:54 PM on May 10, 2010

The "news program" context means that Kenny Strasser isn't the Andy Kaufman of yo-yoing. He's the Dick Cheney of yo-yoing. He gets to air completely un-fact-checked assertions by a compliant, lazy press.
posted by DU at 6:02 AM on May 11, 2010 [3 favorites]

They spent far more time investigating how they were played than they did vetting their guest....amazing.
posted by nevercalm at 6:57 AM on May 11, 2010

Kenny Strasser isn't the Andy Kaufman of yo-yoing. He's the Dick Cheney of yo-yoing.

A closer comparison might be Alan Abel.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 7:18 AM on May 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

cell divide: I did some internet sleuthing earlier to see if Nick Prueher could be Kenny Strasser...

If anything K-Strass looks a bit like Mark Prokosh, who has worked with Nick on stuff in the past (I don't think it's him, though.) I am not surprised to find out that Nick is involved - he is a funny, funny person, and this is right up his alley.
posted by louche mustachio at 2:04 PM on May 11, 2010

Actually, now that I look at the videos again, I do think that might be Mark.

Oh my God, nice work guys.
posted by louche mustachio at 6:34 PM on May 11, 2010

Zimzaminc.com

The yo-yo site.
posted by cjorgensen at 1:45 PM on May 19, 2010