He started with looking up videos on Youtube to learn basic tricks, and seven months later, standing on a stage before hundreds of people, Freshman Phillip Perez took home first place at the talent show for yoyo-ing.

“I looked up videos on YouTube, but after I learned like the basic throw I kind of started making my own tricks,” Perez said.

Perez quickly got hooked and decided to perform at the Wando talent show on Nov. 2.

“I was really into film at the time, so I saw a couple videos of yoyoers and thought: ‘Hey that could be cool,’ so I picked one up,” he added. “I hadn’t really performed yo-yoing in front of a lot of people, so I wanted to try it.”

Guarded by the security of the curtain before the show started, Perez was anxious at the thought of performing an elaborate yoyo routine for such a crowd.

“Waiting to go on stage, everyone back there was really nice and they kind of like helped me calm down beforehand,” he said.

Perez never imagined his name would be called for first place, and he now plans to keep performing and even hopes to compete in yo-yoing competitions.

“I think as soon as I’m good enough I’m going to try going to like maybe Tri State and Nationals,” he said.

Perez is partial to the 1-A style of yoyo-ing, where string tricks are performed with a single yoyo, and was drawn to this style of yo-yoing because of the creative liberty it granted him.

“I like just the freedom that you have with what you do with it…,” he said. “You can make everything your own.”

To aspiring yoyoers, Perez recommends looking up videos online and finding other yoyoers in the area to help and collaborate with.