How This Guy Mastered the Slinky | Obsessed | WIRED

[@jopo7996]

No matter what time of year it is, it's always springtime for this guy.

[@enyajungle]

Got him sprung

[@pianoguy5110]

Ha ha... That was a nice one

[@jamesforrest9837]

absolutely fire

[@HTV-2_Hypersonic_Glide_Vehicle]

Huh? it's always tornado, mosquito, wet and allergy season for this guy? sounds terrible

[@tonedblock1106]

He inspired LL Cool J’s song “HEAD SPRUNG”

[@MyFatherLooksLikeAPallasCat]

He's exactly how I imagined a pro-slinker would be. A tad bit nerdy, enthusiastic, confident, eccentric, but just radiating pure happiness and joy! He's now one of my role models!

[@teddy2577]

That's great 😁 it's really hard to find a role model these days 😔

[@whatwilliwatch3405]

I love his enthusiasm. He sounds like he'd be willing to talk to someone for hours on the topic of "slinking." He also just has a really friendly, positive vibe. I can imagine a lot of people being inspired by him, just based on those things alone.

[@chimkinNuggz]

Hey vsauce. Michael here.

[@ilovexu]

@@chimkinNuggz ☠️

[@DepressedVoidGuy]

he is doing that right now

[@alexpetrov13]

I love it how accurately he describes how to do the tricks. Not only is he great at slinking but also at explaining and teaching others about it

[@karltrapson]

That's because this isn't hard at all. Balisong tricks are way more difficult, but you see all kinds of people still doing them online.

[@briandhamby]

@@karltrapson They're commenting on how well he speaks about it. Of course there are things that are harder, that's completely irrelevant.

[@MaxMckayful]

Lots of performers ALSO practice that - it's a skill itself. Some natural talent and aptitude, some learned "how best to explain it" craft hones through years as a performance artist. Not required for acts, but a component many showfolk add.

[@remoengels2085]

Naa he isnt only the basics with some skill u have them on lock within a week and then you have to figger it out your self..

[@StevieCooper]

He’s happy, talented and spreading joy. We should all be a bit more like this if possible. Good floor him 😊

[@hxcadillac]

It's amazing ceiling him perform!

[@zachnado69]

@@hxcadillac i can't think of any good wall jokes

[@daniel9485]

@@zachnado69 wall I hope you can find a joke

[@gef2]

lets the slinky hit the floor

[@franxyt6424]

Sure he is a kid grown

[@Wired4Life2]

"I wanna be a slinky man," he cried, "Make me a slinky man!" But the slinky master did not answer. He just kept on slinking!

[@plainpotato6454]

😂😂

[@ShawnFumo]

Deep cuts here

[@blackvulture7999]

"TEACH ME YOUR WAYS, SLINKY MASTER!"

[@jeanxza5395]

To slink, or not to slink.

[@jellojiggler1693]

This was the very first thing I thought of when I saw the thumbnail.

[@ZergrushEddie]

Of course most of the footage of him wowing people are festival goers. If I bumped into this guy at Burning Man I'd probably be convinced he was a wizard

[@randall814]

Definitely recognize Electric Forest in some of that footage lol

[@Michael-kp4bd]

@@randall814 same! That place is forever unique

[@kuyakris615]

@@randall814that house at 2:07

[@randall814]

@@kuyakris615 Yes indeed, good eye! The only other festival that even comes close is Shambhala but I've been to Forest enough times to recognize it instantly

[@briondalion]

@@randall814 I've never been and it's sold out this year. Maybe next year.

[@arushsharma6556]

What I find most interesting is not only he has mastered slinky, but also defined the terminologies around techniques, making it much easier to pass on the knowledge to others

[@coyotemoon722]

Yes, he is very adept at "terming"

[@johngalactus4014]

So nice to see stuff like this, just a human enjoying his time and then sharing it to others.

[@BobbyChipmunk]

There is almost nothing like the feeling of controlling pure momentum, and that moment of power over inertia. Manipulating momentum feels amazing

[@aldo9021]

I'm a long time yoyo player and absolutely love seeing videos like this! Just people having fun and living their best lives!

[@JGunit]

It's crazy how someone has mastered the art of every obscure action imaginable.

[@stanleykubik1778]

give yourself 2hours of practice and you ll be a master just like him, lol.

[@janajusimi269]

@@stanleykubik1778 2 hours is nowhere near enough -someone attempting to do this

[@celuler22]

​@@stanleykubik17781000 hours to be able to claim mastery of any given task

[@Franic19]

I never really realized how fun those slinkies could be, let alone see what you could really do with them other than make them walk down some stairs. This looks crazy fun though and actually makes me want to pick one up to learn some :D

[@juancelop]

Love this comment!

[@KolmManison]

When I saw the stupid bottle rolling down stairs tiktok trend, my brain went "that's just dumber, more hazardous version of watching a slinky."

[@felipeandmichelle]

This is so wholesome that it almost feels like a mockumentary. I love it.

[@Resyektt]

Hahaha perfect way to put it,

[@DOC_951]

With a name like “slinky Josh,” good thing he’s so into slinkies!

[@Tricke432_YT]

that's his artist name, not his real name haha

[@takoinche]

LMAO

[@PhilhellenicAgori]

@@Tricke432_YT that was the joke

[@JosiahWarren]

Great coimcidence

[@Sharkest44]

No way someone thinked that that it is his real name....☠️

[@SmokeyChipOatley]

This was me as a kid in a Mexican family whenever my mom would chuck a molten hot tortilla at me when having dinner. If only I’d known she was trying to prepare me for any potential career opportunities as a hippy-flipping slinky bending electro wizard performer at Burning Man slangin’ slinks in exchange for hits of acid-laced warhead candies.

[@philipm3173]

🙈

[@TheRolvaag]

Poetry

[@twostepRMX]

I’ve ran into this guy at electric forest! He bounced it right off my head and made my day

[@GaryGuerin]

great tricks ! Please introduce him to the slow-mo guys ! I would love to see the behaviour of the slinky at insane frame rates !

[@bikeny]

Great idea.

[@wishingonthemoon1]

Not only do I love his craft, I love his enthusiasm and joy and passion for sharing slinking and passing the knowledge down!

[@bugorchard]

I used to ask my friends to tangle up my plastic rainbow slinky in any way they wanted because I genuinely enjoy untangling them. That is, unfortunately, the only slinky skill I possess. This guy is incredible.

[@fuzzybanana0123]

"It's pretty unique to have a slinky this giant." Found my new Tinder opening line.

[@AngusMurray]

That's incredible! I've gotten into penspinning, yoyoing, magic, cubing but everytime I had a slinky as a kid I always remember stretching it out weirdly and it wouldn't go back, then I'd break it 😂

[@CreativeSteve69]

I like this guys mantra practice makes perfect. This year I'm going to find time for myself to learn my unicycle no excuses. Thanks for the motivation Josh Jacobs.

[@Aleedis226]

These intriguing Wired videos always give me timeline apprehension right before I show them to my kids, who COULD drop all plans & latch on to fun but random/niche jobs, finally making this the literal crazy house I joke about. 😄

[@Digitalhunny]

Wendy, if you watch this video back to your practicing the 180 trick, really watch your active hand. When you go to flick it back you're flicking real hard. Try flicking the slinky softer, or more _feel the momentum_ of when it wants to return. You _absolutely_ CAN do it! You're just giving it a bit _too_ much juice.😉 When you do get it, you NEED to post a short to KZbin as an update!🤞

[@artepjan]

Ace Ventura perfectly bouncing a slinky on a super long stairway until the very last step still makes me laugh until this very day XDD

[@ZZ-qy5mv]

I love how he’s not gatekeeping or claiming it as his idea, but is just excited to grow a community for a pretty new art form.

[@Business_Facts_Daily]

walter white if he never met jesse

[@keithgreene79]

This is so cool. I was performing similar tricks in my room as a kid with the metal Slinkys - until they bent or became too entangled. Awesome of Josh to take this to the next level of performance and exposure.

[@Resyektt]

NO THIS CANT BE TRUE, ACCORDING TO THE VIDEO SLINKY ART DIDN’T EXIST UNTIL HE SAW A VIDEO OF A CHINESE DUDE DOING IT AND DECIDED TI CREATE IT HIMSELF SO THERES NO POSSIBLE WAY YOU JUST SOMEHOW DID THIS BEFOEE IT WAS EVEN A THING. You folks are ridiculous 😏😂 /s

[@keithgreene79]

😅🤣

[@midwestmike613]

I can see him killing it at all the EDM shows!

[@talabarzkar785]

I love this guys so much! His enthusiasm for what he loves is infectious ❤

[@tm82891]

I met josh in 2015 when he was roommates with my buddy. Congrats Josh! Great to see you make it this far

[@karimjaw20]

People like this make me realize you could really succeed doing anything if you really love it and stay consistent. He plays with slinkies for a living, don’t let anyone tell you what will and won’t succeed at.

[@j3nki541]

These toys already amazed me as a child just watching them run down some stairs. Stoked to see them again, glad people have found ways to make them cool again.

[@jugglerj0e]

As a juggler and doing some flow, this is so cool. I never realized you could do this with slinkies. I just think of them going down a staircase.

[@randomsandwichian]

This, juggling (assorted), yoyos, the diabolo kinds, etc, they're all just mesmerizing. Kudos to you too.

[@n0xure]

I think it's because slinky's are famously fragile. If you're the "juggler-type" and at one point owned a slinky as a kid, I'm 100% sure it didn't survive the first day. You got bored after seeing the slinky go down the stairs three times, so you tried to use your hands as steps and as a result it got tangled up and ruined after five minutes.

[@GodzillaGoesGaga]

Just goes to show how much joy an inanimate object can give when animated by a master craftsman! ❤

[@elizabethgodwin7679]

What I love about this is that it's an incredibly new thing and an incredibly old thing at the same time

[@azdaze227]

Made me super happy he mentioned yoyoers, my friend group and I all competed in yoyo contests and some of us messed around with slinkies and noticed tricks could be done with them but never took it this far, that's so cool

[@SinisterShrink]

I wonder if he coined a lot of the terminology himself, or if other slinky artists did before him. I remember seeing the same video of the chinese guy doing it and I had the same reaction he did, I wanted to learn how to do it. Unfortunately I made the mistake of doing it with a metal slinky and, well, it ended up the same way the metal one in this video did.

[@renees766]

I love slinkies! I'm old school, so the original metal is my fav, but those tricks w the plastic...WOW!

[@nahometesfay1112]

I used to do this kind of stuff with a metal slinky. There are some disadvantages, but you can still do all kinds of tricks.

[@luxtempestas]

Man, I would give all I have to have ANYTHING in my life that I would look at it with the joy and enthusiasm he seems to have towards his Slinks! 😢

[@JV-ll1cu]

Video games

[@k03hl3r]

Cool to see this guy on Wired! The clips of him slinking at Electric Forest went kinda viral within the EDM/music community and I wondered who he was!

[@Fallub]

Those tricks look even more amazing in slow-mo. Cool guy.

[@samuelbrown434]

it is possible to learn with (enough thoughtful, methodic, consistent and persistent) practice.

[@GreenT_LoR]

What a cool guy. Josh's being just exudes joy.

[@Lucifer-hq5pe]

Yeah, the guy is a real slinker.

[@hawaiianrussian1047]

It’s weird. No matter how dorky or lame I may find it I also can appreciate someone that found something they enjoy even if it’s just a hobby and they mastered it to the point of turning it into art. Touché my friend

[@rikii2034]

wow slinky winky

[@rhyshm9102]

Impressive

[@mancerrss]

This man really said, I saw a Chinese man pioneering on doing that Slinky manipulation and we Americans shouldn't be left out of this

[@AnaRena1094]

He has such a fun and colorful job. I'm happy for him!

[@captcoin9512]

Met this dude at a music festival, awesome to talk too and he bopped me on the noggin. Great dude

[@a2rhombus2]

Always excited to see new forms of juggling like this

[@robertsmall1657]

This guy also has a rare talent for teaching and engaging. Would make a great teacher.

[@theinventiveidiot]

he does! He has some courses on his site! and does workshops!

[@Torpedex10]

I didn't even know a slinky was something you could master

[@JimmySquiky]

If there were a competition of Slinky the winner should be called "The Slinking".

[@exotic1405]

This guy knows how to do it

[@joaquincaceresguibovich3182]

I'd love to see a physicist explain why any of this happens

[@slishslash9202]

Im no physicist but he said in one of his videos that the wire of the slinky travels in sort of waves, like when you whip a rope up and down it travels all the way down slowly. So when he does that hand twist the twist eventually reaches the other end of the slinky when he does his next crazy move.

[@_tripalong]

Wow, didn't know Babish played with slinkies as a side hustle! Very cool.

[@dbzcollector9963]

This sorta reminds of yo-yos how everyone has probably owned one at some point but the most exciting thing we’ve done is making it go down like 12 sets of stairs. Then they’d end up tangled and in the trash within a week. 😂😂😂 I never would of imagined something like this so props to him for doing it and doing it well.

[@SeriousGamer753]

This is SO much cooler and more visually pleasing that juggling! Dang!

[@GuyWithAnAmazingHat]

I remember watching that very clip of the Chinese slinky performance, pretty cool to see one of the origins of an artform.

[@helder1340]

^

[@citrusblast4372]

Someone should ask THAT guy where he learned that lol

[@HaileISela]

the beginning reminds me of the many cases of "so and so invented such and such, except the Chinese knew it forever"

[@amicaaranearum]

Next week on House Hunters: HUSBAND: I’m a professional slinky manipulator. WIFE: I’m a world yo-yo champion. HUSBAND: Our budget is $875K.

[@juancelop]

Man, his aura is amazing! 🥹 Now i miss my childhood slinky that only went down the stairs 😭

[@ItIsYouAreNotYour]

Every slinky I have ever owned ends up in knots and broken.

[@Frank7489]

I’m glad you put that trying to learn part in there cuz he really makes it look like something you could just pick up and do first try

[@bruno3]

If we had to fight aliens for the future of our civilisation and slinkies were somehow involved, this guy would be in the room. A true expert.

[@jacobc874]

I know this fella, couldn't be a more kind and lovely soul.

[@stphndrn]

There's definitely Phisics in this art form...Im glad we live in a day and age... that someone can live off slinking manipulation! And he's happy so cool!

[@yanyanzhang5813]

I know my guy is humble enough to give credit to the slinky sellers in China and such but my dude is probably gonna go down in history as the creator of competitive slinking.

[@JourneyStand]

GREAT! Now I have to buy a Slinky

[@montysaints4750]

He's mastered skills beyond our realm.

[@roofus282]

This is some avengers-level super power 💀

[@CapitainBarbaRoja]

The just simple happiness this brings him and the people involved is great.

[@radry100]

Literally every asian street vendor who sells slinkies can do that.

[@ElDarren]

What a slinky master! The stalls on peoples heads is my fav 😅

[@MoGimp.]

Dean Pelton before Greendale.

[@kaonashi3D]

My buddy and I met this guy like five years ago at a fest he's come so far. So great.

[@heinrich4673]

Walter White

[@noahboat580]

It reminds me more of kendama then yoyoing: the kendama has a ball (called a tama) attached to a string so you learn ball control when doing tricks. 'Slinking' is the same concept but you manipulate coils, so you do coil control. Sounds like a cool hobby!

[@insectbah]

I love people getting really good at stuff!

[@fractiousfauxpas1368]

Straight away my brain went to flow arts at raves, but I see you've already done it. Seems a little more accessible than a some of the other flow art equipment I've seen, more intuitive at least 👌

[@Pilobolus]

WHAT!!!! Pilobolus needs slinky dance. Josh, wanna make something? Look us up!

[@neilgooge]

This is a masterclass in the problem with people learning anything new… and we see this in art often The absolute first lesson he taught, the presenter did not do on pretty much any subsequent attempt. Don’t move your platform hand. And then, rather than copying what he was doing with his other hand, she did what she thought he was doing, not what he was doing. The most valuable piece of art advice I ever got was… “draw what you see, not what you think you see” in other worded, most people drawing a chair that’s right in front of them, draws what they assume a chair looks like, not what it actually looks like… and I think this is where she goes wrong with the slinky bounce. She tries to catch the slinky, which isn’t what he’s doing, she doesn’t let the slinky come back. As cool as the tricks were, that was the most interesting thing to watch (for me at least :D)

[@theinventiveidiot]

Very good observation

[@element74]

Protect this man at all cost!

[@nemlicklee]

Ive met him a couple times at shows, it's so cool watching him live and a very very nice guy

[@pixelchu]

There’s cardistry, yo-yos, kendamas, bottle flipping, and now this I discovered. I wonder what’s the next toy to be taken to the next level. It didn’t occur to me much how cool slinkys can be.

[@PacoOtis]

Very enjoyable! Thanks for sharing!

[@johnchristian4821]

Wow. That's an amazing Slinky Bending! Ang will be very proud!

[@gabriel.cashez]

man... the vibes of this dude are crazy, he is just happy all the time, what a nice pal

[@NeroBaelside13]

My entire life I thought that watching it go down stairs was the pinnacle of entertainment for a slinky.

[@Synthicity]

I could never do this. Every time I casually played with a slinky, I always tangled it and never was able to fix it afterward.

[@theinventiveidiot]

he has a video on how to untangle Slinkys!

[@sashajary]

Omg, one of the best video you did!

[@andyd8370]

As someone who was mesmerized by poi-spinning and just HAD to learn, this resonates with me. Hope to see you in THE FORREST

[@patiakreles]

What i'm seeing is that the hand that moves the slinky must move in ONE direction at a time, no diagonal vectors in order to harvest as much kinematic energy as possible (idk if that's even a word, in spanish is energia cinetica). What she's doing wrong is that she is trying to move the slinky by forcing the coil with her hand movement. The slinky will form the waves by itself, the hand should be a gentle guide. Doing the U is just to accumulate energy in the coil, but you pretty much can't tell it what to do.

[@RyanSurfsYoutube]

"I had a slinky once..but I straightened it." - The legendary Egon Spengler

[@dave14647]

Love this guys energy

[@supernova4760]

The words, "it seems like something I am not co-ordinated enough to do" is your first sign of accepting failure which is a shame and is why most people never advance to anything good. I thought the same way when I started learning to fly revolution kites that are controlled with four lines and two handles. It took me 6 months of constant practice to become really good at it and today, I'm considered a master pilot but that came with determined training, ambition and the belief that i could do it. If I think it's too hard and give up, I would have failed right there.

[@ezzatisaid]

Honestly a World Slinky Showdown would be a cool event lol

[@scy1038]

I've been a dedicated yoyo player for over a decade, I'm happy to see other simple "toys" have advanced play tactics and cultures.

[@sydthegoat88]

Yo yo tricks are also a cool and mesmerizing control over fundamental physics laws just done with just hands, respect

[@galaxythedragonshifter]

I didn't even know this was a thing! This is so cool!😭