How Nick Woolsey Started a Poi Spinning Revolution

Discover the incredible impact of one of the most influential figures in the world of poi spinning and flow arts - Nick Woolsey. Join Drex from DrexFactor Poi as he delves into the legacy of Nick Woolsey, a pioneer who transformed how we approach poi spinning, performance, and education. From viral videos to pioneering online tutorials, Nick Woolsey's contributions have left an indelible mark on the flow arts community. Learn why Nick's influence continues to shape the world of poi, and how he empowered flow artists all over the world to follow in his footsteps.
In this video, Drex explores the evolution of modern poi spinning, Nick's groundbreaking instructional approach, and the lasting impact on the flow arts community. Discover how Nick Woolsey's vision has shaped the way we spin, learn, and connect in the flow arts world.
Watch my Profiles in Poi Interview with Nick: • Profiles in Poi: Nick ...
Check out all of Nick Woolsey's tutorials, reviews, and performance videos over on ‪@playpoivideos‬
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Pekha Pekkonen
0:00 Introduction
1:24 Who is Nick Woolsey?
3:29 Influence on Modern Poi Style
6:11 Influence on Poi Business
9:00 Influence on Flow Arts Education
12:41 Conclusions
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A huge thank you to this month's Flow Supporters:
Lane Lillquist
Ky Lee
Jordan Aguirre
Siryn
Jaime-Lynn Rodd
Andrew Gibbs
Ben Reynolds
John Gruber
William Pearson
Nick
Fairy moon Deva
Kathleen Griswold
Elisabeth
Christina S
Mim Dickson
Erin Fitzgerald
Juliette Laurier
Adrian de Leon
Will
Maxim Fateev
Kathleen
Carrie Fitzgerald
Deon Fox
Mikey
Skyla Harris
Carmen
Guinevere Steele
Liene Verzemnieks
BJ ✨
Michael LaHood
Cameron Olguin
Vitaly Gashpar
Alison Keroack
Wynne Hunkler
Jordan Aguirre
Zachary Stephens
Davide Bontempi
Austin Yo
Kate Marusina
JF
Carys Matar
Tina McDonald
Manuela Bellydance
Phlip Purple
Jessica Nunno
Stephan Scheiderer
Codin
Anna
Mindi Luke
Sheri Morgan
David Diaz
Brian Acosta
Joseph
B. Lujan
Julia Ryder
Paul Kim
Radek Michalik
Jay
'@whistlepunk.labs
Patricia Lee
Kelly King
Nate Techlin
Eric Montijo
Brian Huddleston
Niamh F
Cara Lee Macdonald
Charles Sauvageau
Ania Swiniarska
Blingtron
Jim Martin
Alex Ciminian
Zack Skellington
Dana Ma
Aaron Freeman
Purple Lotus
Bloodsong
Amanda
Siryn
Steffi
Will384
Auron Wyse
Alfred Blackman III
jimid
Yuliya Tenincheva
Jeff J
Mr Mom
Alexey Gilman
Arlene Smith
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Parmita Dalal
S Jones
Chris
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Flow Mayhem
Jameel Alsalam
Dean Ritts
Jeremiah Johnston
Alexis
Masa Ferme
Ivan Gorbunov
Alix Moore
Russell Paac
Finn Bell
PitzkeMP

[@vetev]

Nick is easilly the most impactful person in the world of poi. What else to say... hope he is happy with whatever he is doing nowadays :)

[@DrexFactor]

Agreed on both counts!

[@DanniTehLeopard]

I cannot even begin to state how important Nick was to my journey learning Poi, especially coming from a Glowstringing background in th elate 2000's. Playpoi single handedly was my greatest resource from learning since I didn't have anyone else I knew who spun poi at the time and my eternal gratitude for not only the lessons I learned from his work but the teaching method he dispensed.

[@DrexFactor]

Same! Nick's tutorials started coming out about the same time I discovered the fire community in Denver and came out in such a fashion that by the time I'd gotten down one trick, the next tutorial had dropped. It was a fantastic way to augment my in-person knowledge with stuff I might otherwise never have been exposed to. Was there a tutorial in particular you remember that stood out?

[@zikoadrian6059]

Nick and you Drex are my two greatest online poi teachers. Thanks for all your sacrifices and excelent tutorials. You both changed my poi world for better. Cheers

[@DrexFactor]

Thank you kindly! That means a lot to hear! 🙏

[@mcmcpoi-ra7405]

Nick is the GOAT. Got the chance to meet him when he happened to visit Edinburgh a few years back. Unfortunately, caught me when my sleep was bad (sleep disorder) so was too tired to really hang with him and get to know him better but glad I got to meet him.

[@DrexFactor]

He's such a sweet guy. I'm glad I got the chance to meet him, too!

[@me0101001000]

I got into poi in July of 2012, and Nick was one of my go-to resources. I really am grateful for him.

[@DrexFactor]

I got in the spring of 2007 and likewise he was one of the first great resources I found on KZbin! Super grateful...I don't know what my flow journey would have looked like without him.

[@DavidAsh42]

Thanks for doing this video Drex. It's so important to honour the OG teachers. That man actually deserves a poi knighthood. Sir Nick of the whirling poi .. has definitely been the most inspiring person on my poi journey and taught me so much. Super fun, authentic, engaging style and great at sharing the love and positive vibes along with the skills! Much love to you Nick. I owe you a lot.

[@LordBongwater]

Nick helped me allot with learning poi when I first started. Big thanks to you Nick! May you continue to be blessed in your life. 🙏🏻

[@kwojo932]

Nicks dervishly video changed how I saw poi spinning and showed me how to not be stiff while spinning and to feel the flow and dance with my poi

[@bauschnlomb1]

I started poi poi about a year ago , always borrowed my friends poi when he was around . A couple months ago I bought my own and started Nick’s online course on Udemy . He really breaks every move down in a very detailed way . Met him at the flow jams at trout lake and told him how great his tutorials are . He is such a humble guy , told me to practice the tricks I already know blind to get more comfortable. Poi is such a cool journey . My 40 year old brain somehow had a really hard time learning new ball juggling tricks , so I decided to learn poi , and it’s going great with Nick’s tutorials . Gonna dedicate all winter for learning .

[@pietergreeve7336]

I started poi when I was 59 years young! I am now 62 and I learned almost everything from Nick and from you Drex! Thanks for that. I performed for 2:15 minutes for an audience of 350 people recently (led poi choreography on music) and it was so Wonderfull to do that (at my age!). Very satisfying. I rank myself still as a beginner going to intermediate. Thanks to you both!

[@caldrenfitzpatrick3308]

Nick is a legend. He continues to be a huge factor in my spinning abilities. I was literally watching his video on behind the back 3 beat weaves yesterday. Between Nick and You Drex is where I've learned all of my spinning skills. It's good to recognize his legacy.

[@playpoivideos]

Much blushing and much squee! Love you Drex! :)

[@DrexFactor]

Love you too, buddy! 😊

[@evakenworthy7308]

I took a workshop from him back in 2004 amd i still use The Scales of Poi in my practice and my teaching. Thank you, Nick!

[@chrisc9694]

I concure, Nick got alot of people involved. Thank you for continuing his tradition. Spinning actually helps keep me flexible and mobile.

[@Destiny07180]

I started following this channel because someone I know does flow arts and recommend this channel. I have been interested in learning and have eyeing a course on Udemy by Nick. I had no idea he was such an influence in the poi world. Makes me even more excited to pick up poi.

[@torontofiredancer]

Nick is a wonderful person and the best teacher I ever had and when I'm looking for lessons, I still go to his videos first.

[@DrexFactor]

His methods are fantastic, that's for sure!

[@giganticwalrus]

Drex, Nick, Vojta Stolbenko, and Yuta Imamura the all stars

[@dan_g-DreadMassaker]

did not know he retired due to an injury :/. i really learned a lot from his videos!!! true legend

[@DrexFactor]

He injured his shoulder before he even started spinning poi and the poi spinning definitely exacerbated the injury. He had to take several breaks during his career when the injury flared up. He talks about it a bit in the interview I did with him for Profiles in Poi: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYiqpJWOi6x3abs

[@julzb.8568]

i started Poi with the beginnercourses and Poi from PlayPoi about ~2012; can totally relate that he had that much impact

[@DrexFactor]

His pedagogy for teaching poi is still incredibly impactful and fantastic!

[@hillpunk92]

definitely learned some of my first tricks from dude over 13 years ago.

[@DrexFactor]

Same!

[@sophiasometimes9818]

Love him he was the first person on the internet I found !!! He’s the OG:)I started spinning in 2005.It’s wild to see the evolution of poi from then to now.

[@DrexFactor]

I can only imagine! One of my biggest challenges in creating this video was finding video of what poi looked like before Dervishly Yers was released because it came out before KZbin was a thing. I still have a couple old Circles of Light DVDs although I have no way to view them or get the footage off at this point 😂

[@FullCirclePhenomenal]

Hey! Nice to be a part of the “embarrassment of riches” in the poi educational world! 9:30 💰💰💰😁👍🙏

[@swaroopshetty8640]

Nick and yoy kickstarted my Poi journey. The most fruitful journey of my life so far. Much gratitude to both of you 🙏🏾. Also I got featured in this video. 😮

[@Power_Poi]

Excellent video Drex!!

[@enigma1487]

So much love for Nick Woolsey ❤️

[@DrexFactor]

Same! We're lucky to have been blessed with his presence in this community for as long as we have! 💜

[@ivovelo]

YES!

[@FireandWater.Elements]

Where is he? I loved him so much. And his love of the dance! His heart always came through his spinning. He inspired me to start spinning. Thank you Drex!

[@BringTheFireProject]

Nick changed my life ❤ eternally grateful

[@zikoadrian6059]

i knew it :) he changed my poi world too

[@DrexFactor]

Same! 💜

[@DominusFeles]

Not to forget what a fashion influencer he’s been! 😁

[@earthsoul9454]

Love Nick so much. I'm doing his online course and yep he's an excellent teacher ❤️ Thanks for doing this video on him 🙏 what a guy!

[@superdannyj]

I met him once at EJC but didnt really know what to say so i just said hi Nick thanks for the videos. Hes a nice guy.

[@matc87]

if you see these nick thankyou for your efforts back in the day. you impacted my poi and poi's imparted my life

[@DrexFactor]

So say we all!

[@dollplexus74]

Incredible. Im so influenced about his work.

[@asqwert2121]

Deep respect for Nick & Yourself for the myriad of videos for poi. Thanks

[@DrexFactor]

Cheers!

[@rmkdunn]

Nick is awesome, I started poi around 12 years ago and he was my go to for learning. Now days its Drex. Thank you.

[@DrexFactor]

Awww...thank you! That's great company to be in! 😊

[@gaberialla]

Even though I have not watched Nick tutorials I know you talk about him alot. There's a ton of tutorials for poi but very few tutorials for hoops and fans. There are definitely so many different teaching styles and right now you are one of the people whose content I love because you explain tricks very well in your tutorials as well as in live stream classes and private lessons. This is a very interesting video thank you for sharing this. I have seen antispin flowers and inspin flowers referred to so many props in the flow arts world. I am going to definitely have to watch Nick's videos so I can learn how he carved out a path for content creators.

[@DrexFactor]

Definitely take a look through his archive of old tutorials! You won't regret it! youtube.com/@playpoi

[@Lynx86]

and breathe ;) Thank you Nick

[@c.n.9739]

So true. When I startet playing poi in 2011 I learned the basics with his videos and had luck he was touring through germany the same year.

[@DrexFactor]

Nice! I'm envious. We never did get a Nick Woolsey tour through the United States. I had to travel to Canada to meet him, but I'm glad I did!

[@JaredHikes]

You two pretty much dominate my poi playlist! 👍👍 keep on spinnin' 🤠🖖

[@DrexFactor]

Oh that's awesome to hear! Thank you!

[@FlameChild_Fireshows]

Omg, I remember Dervisly Yers inspired me for over 20 years ago when I first started out XD Daaamn this was a trip down memory lane.

[@melindaagain]

I learned from him ❤

[@theera5145]

unrelated but the sponsor "juggling calling" made me interested in seeing what type of things they had for juggling and they don't even sell anything for juggling lol

[@hou5eheadjason]

I remember I saw his video on btb weaves in 2006 2007 ,learned it from thay video, the same video still up

[@DrexFactor]

It's the video I used for much of the b-roll for this video because it was the first tutorial that he produced that I found, too! I still see it as a template for how to write out a lesson plan for a tutorial or in-person workshop.

[@rickwiers1905]

Nick is an amazing poi spinner, as well as a kind good human being.

[@dollplexus74]

Were can i find information of a convention?

[@agajot89]

❤

[@Zero_XZ17]

Feel like zan moore should have been mentioned in here as a peer of woosley

[@DrexFactor]

Zan's the guy in the clip at 5:24 where I'm talking about other people using many of the same conventions Nick was.

[@Zero_XZ17]

@@DrexFactor oh I'm aware. Just would have been nice to hear him actually referenced, not just the video some of us old hats know ;)