After watching Matt's clip and reading one of the hashtags, #ownerscanstillgetdown, I began thinking about which dama company owners get down the hardest.. With that being said, who is your favorite kendama company owner and why? Maybe you like their company the most, you like what they're doing for the community, or you think that they're not only a good owner but that they shred the dama super hard as well! Whatever your reasoning, vote in the poll and/or leave a comment down below as I couldn't enter any more options! I know there's a lot more out there! Mine is probably Lord Jero Here is Matt's clip that inspired this thread: Added the company names to the poll so the noobs know who's who
In overall terms, @htimSxelA, @thorkild, @MattSweets, @Chad Covington and Tamotsu can *actually* mop a lotta players off the floor with their tricks. The people listed here have those nutty OG JKA style tricks in their arsenal, which can bring to some serious slayage, since most of the new gen players don’t really dabble on this kinda stuff. Alex being my vote, because he can come up with really nasty and awkward tricks, and probably while holding a Tim Horton’s waffle that’s drenched in maple syrup in one hand, while trackstanding.
Favorite company is probably KUSA but I don't really know much about Jero, likewise Kris of REZ. Matt Rice does an amazing job of pushing his DWI brand and innovating paint schemes, considering he seems to be a one man operation. Also his selection of Pros too. Although I don't actually own a DWI dama! Favorite player here is definitely Kris Bosch of PNW, but all these guys came on up with the OG damas and you can really see that in their playing styles.
It has to be pretty awesome to own the dama company where you have your own pro model. That you have earned. Not just bc you can.
Jero and Colin together helped kendama "go wide". He's a quiet guy and a lot of n00bs wouldn't even recognize him, but replace the J with an H and you get the idea of what he means for kendama in North America. Phil and Thorkild are just so much fun and have a contagious passion. Super positive guys and they are very generous to the community at large. Alex Smith is just one of the smartest and most knowledgable guys out there and his contributions to DS are endless- that's why he probably will never relinquish his spot on the leaderboard. Kris and Tamotsu are both very kind people. They're the kind of guys you would actually want your sister to date. Good dudes. There really isn't a bad person on this list. In general if you're a dick, people won't do business with you, so it's a testament to these owners that they're all still working in kendama.
I swear my phone still autocorrects 'Jero' to 'Hero' every time lol. Thanks for the love My vote(s) went to Jero and Tamotsu, those two have take risks and done more for dama than most people will ever know (worth mentioning, Hajime Ishibashi is the other GLOKEN founder. Tamotsu is largely the face of the organization, but Ishibashi deserves a lot of credit as well!)
ugh I had a slight feeling I might not have gotten this right, did not know about Hajime Ishibashi before, thanks Alex!
I think that Matt and Jake are amazing kendama owners and are constantly spreading the love. Also GT makes the best damas out there (My opinion) Kris from REZ is such a nice dude, and also bangz the dama. Alex is amazing. He makes amazing, beautiful tamas for terra, while still spreading the love with KUSA. This may be biased because I think that KUSA and GT are the best kendama companies, and I also have personally met Kris, sooooo... But, I am being as honest as I can based off of my prior knowledge.