Cal High has been home to students of a wide array of talents.

There have been musical prodigies, fencers and astounding champion athletes. Now, with junior Sam Bramer, Cal can add competitive yo-yoer to this list.

Bramer began dabbling in the art of yo-yoing when he was nine.

“It was the summer after third grade and my dad got pneumonia and I was pretty bored,” said Bramer.

After watching a couple of online videos, Bramer became interested in yo-yoing himself and asked his parents to order his very first yo-yo online.

Since then, Bramer has competed in several yo-yo competitions. The skill levels at these competitions vary from amateur yo-yoers to yo-yo masters.

He has participated in one regional competition and two state competitions, as well as two Bay Area Classics.

“Before my first competition performance, I was probably shaking for about five minutes,” Bramer said. “But after a few tricks, I kind of forgot I was performing.”

Yo-yo performers must execute a short routine that lasts a couple of minutes. During this time, performers show off a variety of tricks that go along with the music of their choice. For Bramer’s first competition, he went with the song “Under Pressure” by Queen.

“His first competition was at a cool little venue in San Francisco,” said Bramer’s mother, Tess Bramer. “ It was a kick to watch him on stage. He was really young – I think 10.”

One may ask how did a children’s toy ever evolve into professional competitions with so many participants?

Ever since 1932, there have been countless yo-yo competitions worldwide. As yo-yo technology advanced, so did the tricks.

Not only is a lot of focus required, but having great reflexes and spot on hand-eye coordination is paramount when mastering and executing these tricks.

“Nothing feels better than hitting a trick perfectly on stage, especially if it’s a hard one that you planned a music cue with,” said Bramer.

As a competitive yo-yoer, Bramer has spent not only many hours practicing, but invested quite a deal of money in this endeavor as well.

“I know Sam has competed in events and watching him go at it is just mesmerizing,” said junior Fariz Qureshi, a friend of Bramer’s.

At the moment, Bramer owns a total of 16 yo-yos. His most expensive yo-yo is the Angle, which is worth $185.

The types of yo-yos Bramer handles are not your typical automatic yo-yos.

To pull off certain tricks, Bramer uses a sleeping yo-yo in which the yo-yo will not return back to the hand unless you “bind it,” or complete a certain trick.

Through sleeping yo-yos, players have access to much more time to mess with the yo-yo before eventually the yo-yo stops spinning.

Currently, Bramer has left the competitive yo-yoing scene. What was once a passion is now just an enjoyable hobby for Bramer, an activity to help calm him down and relieve stress.

“Some days I don’t yo-yo at all,” Bramer said. “Other days I’ll spend five to six hours yo-yoing. It really depends on my mood and how busy I am.”

While usually supportive of his hobby, Bramer’s friends still poke fun at him for the eccentricity of this extracurricular.

“Whenever he yo-yos, he makes a lot of super weird faces,” said junior Danna Kim.

Whether it be a passion or a hobby, Bramer’s skills are certainly unquestionable. He has even posted several videos of himself yoyoing on Instagram and YouTube.

“The most enjoyable thing about yo-yoing is making up tricks,” said Bramer. “The possibilities of how the string can move and interact with the yo-yo are infinite, and there’s always more things to create.”