Evan Nagao
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2019) |
Evan Nagao | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 3, 1996 |
| Occupation | Musician and former competitive yo-yoer |
| Employer | Yoyofactory |
Evan Nagao (born May 3, 1996) is a musician and former competitive yo-yoer. He is known for being the 2018 World Yo-Yo Champion and the 2017 and 2018 National Yo-Yo Champion.
Biography[]
Evan Nagao was born in 1996 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was introduced to yoyoing at a young age by his father, Alan Nagao, who was an entrepreneur and important figure in the yoyo boom of the '90s.[1][2] He was proficient in 2A yoyoing by the age of 3, and was invited to various TV shows as a yoyo prodigy when he was 5. However, he soon found yoyoing to be repetitive, and after a couple of years he took a lengthy hiatus to focus on other aspects of his youth.[3]
After his lengthy hiatus from yo-yoing, Evan had the opportunity to try a newer unresponsive yo-yo in a Redondo Beach kite shop in 2009. Evan was blown away by the improvement in yo-yo technology, and was inspired to return to yo-yoing. He caught up with the tricks of the time, and entered the competitive yo-yo scene. He participated in various yoyo competitions in 2009 and 2010. Dismal results in these competitions discouraged him, and he took another hiatus from the sport.[citation needed]
In 2013, Evan decided to reenter the competitive yoyo scene. After being disappointed by his result in the 2014 West Coast Yo-Yo Contest, Evan sought to learn more about the judging system. Over the next few years, he mastered various aspects of the system, allowing him to do better every year. After his performance at the 2015 National Yo-Yo Contest, Evan was sponsored by Yoyofactory.[citation needed]
In 2017, Evan won the National Yo-Yo Contest. He won the National Yo-Yo Contest again in 2018, and went on to win the World Yo-Yo Contest that same year.[1][4]
In 2019, Evan announced his retirement from the competitive yoyo scene to pursue a career in music.[5]
Competitive career[]
| 2010 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Yo-Yo Contest | 14 | 6 | 1 | 2 | |||
| National Yo-Yo Contest | 6 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | ||
| PNWR | 1 | 4 | 4 | ||||
| EYYC Open | 1 | ||||||
| West Coast | N/A | 5 | |||||
| California State Yo-Yo Contest | 10 | 4 | |||||
| Southwest Regional Yo-Yo Contest | 6 |
Musical works[]
Going under the Artist name, "Evan From Heaven," he debuted with his first single "Waves" in June 2019. He used his second single, "The Last Stand," as the music for his routine at the 2019 World Yo-Yo Contest, which was released shortly after. In June 2020 Evan released his third single, "Me entiendes".
Most recently, in November of 2020, Evan released his debut album titled "Love," which included 10 new songs.
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Andrew Whalen (13 August 2018). "WATCH 2018 WORLD YOYO CONTEST CHAMPION EVAN NAGAO PERFORM TO 'FREEBIRD'". Newsweek. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ Ryan General (14 August 2018). "Hawaiian Man Wins 2018 Yo-Yo World Championships in China". Next Shark. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ Nagao, Evan. "About Me". Evan From Heaven. Retrieved 2021-07-05. "after years and years of yoyoing, I got bored of the repetition and quit sometime around 2002-2003."
- ^ Austin Westfall (6 July 2018). "Hawaii man wins national yo-yo title with incredible performance". Hawaii News Now. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ "About Me". EvanNagao.com. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
- Living people
- 1996 births
- Yo-yo performers