Zdeněk discovered yoyoing after moving to Prague for high school in 2007. He sat next to David Chlebíček, who one day pulled out a yo-yo during class, and Zdeněk was instantly fascinated. David was playing with a Spinfaktor HG at the time, while Zdeněk’s very first yo-yo was a YoYoJam Journey, a model he absolutely loved. Before long, yoyoing became much more than just a hobby.

His first sponsor was Projekt Jupiter, which later became the foundation for Yoyostore. Shortly afterwards, SLUSNY was founded, and Zdeněk became one of its original members. During his yoyo journey, he was part of Team CLYW together with Peťan before leaving to create his own brand, Barely Legal, with Robert Kučera. Together, they designed and produced their own yo-yos based on their own ideas.

For Zdeněk, yoyoing has always been a huge part of his life. Without yoyoing, he would never have met his partner, had his amazing son, or become part of the SLUSNY team, with whom he has traveled across Europe and around the world. It also led him to meet his business partner, with whom he now runs Candycane Coffee roastery and onesip coffee café. Without yoyoing, his life would have been completely different—and that is something he would truly regret.

He still enjoys yoyoing just as much as ever and tries to throw for at least a few minutes every day. Sometimes it is only a short session, sometimes a full hour, but the yoyo is always close by. What he loves most is constantly creating new elements and combinations. If he had more time, he would love to record more of his tricks, because videos provide a valuable look back at how his style develops over time.

Since 2016, Zdeněk has also been deeply involved in specialty coffee. Together with Adam Gaszczyk, who is also a yoyer from the same generation as Vašek and Kuba, he runs Candycane Coffee roastery and onesip coffee café. He sees a strong connection between coffee and yoyoing—neither can be mastered overnight, and both require discipline, patience, and the desire to improve every single day.

Outside of yoyoing and coffee, Zdeněk enjoys old, unusual, and interesting motorcycles and cars, a passion he inherited from his father and grandfather. The more unique the machine, the better. He is not a fan of hot summer weather, so he prefers mountain trips in the Balkans or the Czech mountains over traditional beach holidays. If there was a place there with great Neapolitan pizza, he might never leave.

• Born: July 1992, Prague / Kladno
• Favorite Style: 1A, 4A, AP
• Favorite YoYos: Empathy Sympathy, Empathy Bubble
• Sponsor: SLUSNY
• Achievements: Czech X-Division Champion, European AP Champion, AP Creativity Awards at the World Yo-Yo Contest (both with Robert Kučera), creator of Barely Legal yo-yos