Yo-Yo may seem to be a thing of the past for most people now. The flick-of-the-wrist activity has been forgotten in childhood as years pass. However, Senior Matthew Lane has brought a whole new meaning to the hobby.

With great skill, Lane has been able to transform his yo-yo into an act of awe.

“The initial reaction to my yo-yo’ing is always positive,” Lane said. “Most people just stare and smile like they just saw a pretty girl.”

A simple trend became a hobby to last years for Lane.

“I picked up yo-yo’ing in 7th grade when it was a fad for a few weeks, for some odd reason I picked it up faster than other people, and it stuck,” Lane said.

However, yo-yo wasn’t in Lane’s initial interest in middle school.

“I was a little bit confused at first, because he was constantly dissing people that yo-yo, and then it became impressive to watch his skills at it,” senior Jesse Fowler said.

More often than not you’ll find him practicing new skills or improving on them.

“I yo-yo, because it’s a fun creative outlet that allows me to see a distinctive improvement in my skills,” Lane said. “You’ll find me in my room practicing, listening to music, and improving my skills.”

To this day, the hobby doesn’t usually leave him when he goes out or attends class.

“It has always been entertaining and fun to watch him and see him especially enjoy it as well,” Fowler said. “Anywhere he goes he’s pulling awesome tricks on his yo-yo.”

Because of his unique talent, attention draws to Lane wherever he goes.

“One time, we were out to get food with a few friends and he brought his yo-yo along to play around with,” Fowler said. “A small crowd formed and would just hover over Matt and watch him do awesome tricks.”

Being set apart from the usual hobbies like sports or other extracurriculars has been a positive in Lane’s life.

“We love that he has found a niche that is unique to him,” Lane’s mother, Delta Lane, said. “It is an interest he found and developed on his own and now shares it with other yo-yoers around the world.”

Yo-yo’ing isn’t the only skill acquired from the hobby; other important skills have developed through it.

“Yo-yo’ing might sound silly or simple to some, however, once you understand and appreciate the skills involved, you can see everything it has taught him,” Delta said. “He’s learned hand eye coordination, balance, physics, geometry, focus, tenacity, artistry, performance skills and, most important, a confidence that he carries with him everywhere he goes.”

Delta, at first, was also surprised at the sudden interest and talent shown through Matthew.

“I didn’t think much of it at first, I thought it would be a passing interest,” Delta said. “It wasn’t until sophomore year that I realized how much time and effort he’d put into learning and performing.”

As the years passed, yo-yo’ing has developed into an art form, an opportunity to put on a performance for an audience.

“I’ve recorded him yo-yo’ing in museums with a background of famous artwork, on subways, at street festivals and parks, on college campuses, in grocery stores, airports and in front of pizza places,” Delta said. “People will always stop to watch in awe, comment and sometimes give him things as a tip for entertaining them.”

Matthew hopes to take yo-yo’ing to the next step by joining conversations not only in the country but across the world.

“He went to Cleveland, Ohio this past summer for a competition,” Delta said. “Most recently we gifted him tickets for a trip to Reykjavik, Iceland to attend the World Yo-Yo Competition in August of 2017 and with that, a brand new yo-yo appropriately branded ‘Aurora Borealis’.”

According to senior Carter Drost, Matt’s talent has been greatly known around campus because of its difference amongst everyone else’s hobbies.

“Matt’s yo-yo’ing isn’t only incredible, but it’s unseen compared to anything else, which is why he’s gotten so much publicity for it,” Drost said. “This whole school is packed with an incredible amount of talent that gets overlooked more than anything else.”

Yo-yo’ing may seem to be a simple skill, but Drost says otherwise.

“We stayed at a lakeside cabin during Thanksgiving break last year and he tried to teach me how to yo-yo,” Drost said. “I ended up swinging it back and hitting myself on the bridge of my nose, which doesn’t seem that bad until you remember they’re made out of metal.”

If it wasn’t for yo-yo, Fowler believes things wouldn’t be the same with Matthew as they are now.

“Matt to me, without his yo-yo, would not be the Matt we know,” Fowler said. “I’ve seen it as ambition and setting goals to learning brand new tricks that makes for Matt’s character as a determined individual.”

However, Drost believes the opposite about his friend.

“Yo-yo has never been anything other than something he enjoys doing, Drost said. “After him getting a yearbook page and now a newspaper article, the only thing that mattered to him is how much better he’s gotten at what he loves, and to me that’s what really makes him one of a kind.”