Cool Kids on the Block — Zack Gallagher
Welcome to Cool Kids on the Block, Recess Media’s weekly feature project where we showcase different creatives on campus who are passionate and committed to their work. New stories up on Medium every Wednesday.
This week’s Cool Kid is Zack Gallagher, a kendama player and student at the UW. He currently sells a Kendama Pro Model through Sweets Kendamas and starred in a documentary that followed him and his brother through their kendama journey. Read on to hear more about his story, his inspirations, and his words of advice!
Stay up to date with Zack at @zack_gallagher on Instagram!
What is Kendama, and what is it to you?
Zack: Kendama is a Japanese cup and ball skill toy. It consists of 3 cups and a spike attached to a string in a ball. It’s a classic Japanese skill toy formulated during the Edo period, which was like 5,6 hundred years ago, and the shape of it kept getting redesigned as time progressed. I found kendama in middle school in 6th grade when I was 11 years old, and it blew up in Washington. I thought it was so dumb at first, and when my friends would play it, I would be like, “what is that? It looks like such a kid’s toy!” but it’s kind of ironic that I was saying that because I was just 11 like “Ah! It’s such a kid’s toy. It’s so stupid!” So I neglected it for so long. Maybe for four month after I saw it, and I finally tried it. And I started with just trying to get the ball into the big cup (which is one of the easiest tricks you can do). After I did that, I was hooked! The sensation of doing that just changed my whole perspective on the toy.
I’ve been playing kendama for over nine years now, which is crazy to think about. I’m 20 now, and six years ago, in 2014, I became a professional kendama player. I got sponsored by a company called Sweets Kendama. They messaged me, saying, “Hey, we like what you’re putting out!” I met the owner prior to that, and we got along really well with 14-year-old me. So that happened. About three years ago, I got my very own Pro Model kendama. I got to design the kendama and its ball, and that’s been going great! I’ve been very privileged to travel the world for this toy! I’ve gone to Japan, Romania, across the entire U.S. and Canada! It’s been a fantastic journey for me, and I would never have thought this would happen when I first started.
What’s your favorite part of being a professional Kendama player?
Z: It’s definitely being able to travel. It also comes with getting a lot of free kendamas, but the most impactful thing in my life was traveling around the world for these tournaments because of my sponsorship. I’m really fortunate that my sponsorship helps pave the way and helps with finances.
I’ve also met so many amazing people through kendama, internationally and domestically. I knew this was a really life-changing thing for me was when I realized that these people I’ve met aren’t just my kendama friends that I only play kendama with, they’ve actually become my really close friends. I’ve been able to make friendships that are stronger than friendships that I’ve made here, growing up in the Snoqualmie and Seattle, Washington, area. I guess when I think about it, it makes sense since we all share a common interest, and we’re all like-minded people. But we have a lot of fun together. Meeting all these people across these past six years has been the most life-changing.
What makes kendama stand out among other hobbies?
Z: The thing about kendama is that it looks like a simple toy at first, but the more and more you get into it, you start to realize how complicated it can be. There are infinite tricks you can do with it even though it looks so simple. Tricks are made in 2020 that are literally incomprehensible to most players back in 2012 when I first started. When I started, I thought that was it. Those were the only tricks. But there have been hundreds of tricks made over the past six years I’ve been playing. One creative outlet is creating your own tricks based on other players’ tricks, and it’s never-ending!
Another special thing about it is how you play. What I mean by that is your style. If you watch videos of other players, you’ll see the different styles easily. Some people move around a lot while they’re playing kendama. And there are only like two kendama performers who play as a real job, and they’re in japan. And their style of playing is really visually appealing. They’re literally flying all over the place and jumping mid-air, doing super crazy stuff that no other players can do (because they just don’t play like that). The string makes it even more infinite because you can do so much with it. Some people treat the toy like it’s a yo-yo and see what they can do with just the string (another different play style). Last but not least, there is a traditional play where people just try to get the ball on the cup. You can kind of see people’s personalities when they play. For example, some really extroverted people would play really explosive and loud tricks with their kendama. Basically, for me, it’s the infinite tricks and the style of playing kendama that makes it really unique.
Is there anyone or anything that inspires you to continue?
Z: I started playing because it was a fad. It was like, the popular thing to do. And, I’m not going to make this up, but I’m pretty sure every single kid in my middle school had one. If I could compare it to something in terms of how popular it was, it would be fidget spinners (like how everyone had a fidget spinner). So yeah, it blew up, and my inspiration back then was just being able to play with friends for hours. Every fad dies out, so all my friends stopped playing after a while. But there was one person who stuck with it and is one of the reasons I stuck with it: my brother. So, my brother and I have been playing together for the past eight years. We are the only ones from our middle school still playing, and I wouldn’t still be playing if it weren’t for him. I think it really helps to have someone to play with- or even doing anything you’re interested in. If you could find someone who has a common interest like you, it’s great because you can talk about it more, think about it more, and do it more. He is such a big inspiration for me, and we push each other, whether we’re conscious of it or not when we play kendama.
And, man. With the kendama pros that use to watch in videos, they were like gods to me. It was really hard to believe they were real people when I would see them in person. I just felt this amazing feeling come over me when I saw them in person, like wow. You can really do all that with a Kendama. They were doing tricks that I never knew were even possible. When I was 12, the pros really inspired me, but now that I’ve met most of them (most of them are my good friends that still inspire me now) and that I’ve started to become one myself, kids who are coming up with kendama and really love the game inspire me too. They remind me of what I used to be and inspire me to keep continuing.
What advice would you give to people just starting out?
Z: You can take kendama as seriously as you want to. I take kendama pretty seriously, and I know that 99% of the people I give a kendama to won’t stick with it consistently every single day. I’d say, start small! Some people treat it like something you put on the shelves, and people would ask about it, and you would do the trick right there and then. Some people play when they feel like it, and some people take it seriously like I do and enjoy the community. It takes progression because I wasn’t super into it when I started out but it grew as an interest. No matter what other people say about it (especially negative), just try it out for yourself. You’ll never know if you’ll like it. Before I started kendama, I also used to be super judgmental about other people and their hobbies and make fun of it for not being “in” or “in style.” Kendama really opened my eyes to being more accepting of things and trying out as many new things as possible. You never know what could come from trying something new. This is super biased, but I can guarantee that you’ll have fun with kendama. It’s super fun. Everyone I’ve given a kendama to has said they really enjoyed it, and they get super hyped up when they do their first trick, and that’s pretty awesome!
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