Introducing the OFFSET Yoyo XENON
By Brandon Vu & Xavier Ng
How I Met Xavier Ng
It’s 2019, and I’m chained to my office cubicle at the Nestle Corporate office in Sydney, Australia. While I’m supposed to be responding to emails I see something unusual. The 2019 Singaporean National Yoyo Contest videos have just been uploaded. I scan the results for the usual names like Christopher Chia or Marcus Koh — but I don't see them.
Instead, there's a new kid on the block I'd never heard of, his name is Xavier Ng.
Later that year, I met Xavier in person at the Asia Pacific Yoyo Contest.
Awkwardly, we’ve met before. He shows me a photo we took together the year before (We can't find that photo :P). I’m embarrassed to admit I have no recollection of that moment. Either way — we got along. He spends the next 2 hours patiently teaching me his latest speed combo.
What impressed me most about wasn’t Xavier's tricks. It was his humble and courteous demeanour. I saw he treated aspiring yoyo kids and established champions with the same reverence and respect.
I knew then, that if I ever decided to take OFFSETyoyo seriously — I wanted this guy on the team.
It’s 2024, and Xavier’s been on OFFSETyoyo for almost 2 years. We’d achieved a lot together. Xavier had defended his 2023 Singaporean National Yoyo title using an OFFSETyoyo DEVIANT+.
And now it was time to make him his signature yoyo.
Designing The Xenon
Since his debut on team OFFSETyoyo, Xavier shunned our premium bi-metal designs. Rather, he gravitated more towards our budget mono-metal designs. "I don't like yoyo's with sharp rims and angular profiles. I do a lot of neck and body tricks, a lot of which involve the yoyo coming near my face. So for my signature yoyo, I wanted something rounded and comfortable."
Xenon Prototype Number 1
So for the first Xenon prototype, we ensured each cut on the yoyo was smoothly curved to maximise comfort in the hand and reduce any painful edges that may come in contact with Xavier’s face.
This was a complete departure from anything in the existing OFFSETyoyo lineup. It was a 52mm wide, hefty, bulbous-looking yoyo, reminiscent of a big red apple.
Xavier's Stronger Win Freestyle
While we both knew this design wasn’t final, it seemed to suit Xavier’s style well. He used it to break his losing streak in 2024 and used it to win the Stronger Yoyo Cup in 2024.
Xenon Prototype Number 2
In our quest to curve all the edges, we ended up with a yoyo that played stable but was very slow. The heavy prototype unintentionally slowed down Xavier’s horizontal tricks and tricks in general.
So for our second design, we redesigned the hub to reduce centre weight and sharpened some of the edges to reduce weight further. The result was a more angular and faster-moving version of the Xenon.
Xavier HATED this version.
"This yoyo played too fast” and “lacked stability”, it felt more like a yoyo designed for someone else, but definitely not my style."
The Impossible Problem
This was the most challenging phase of the Xenon design process. To make a yoyo play “faster” requires either:
A reduction or reallocation of rim weight OR A reduction or reallocation of total weight.
Both make the yoyo faster but at the expense of stability. What Xavier wanted was impossible. At least impossible with a mono-metal design.
The whole reason why bi-metal designs exist is to solve this very problem.
Adding a denser material on the rim of the yoyo allows you to drastically reduce centre weight, making the yoyo’s body extremely light. The result is a yoyo that’s ‘light’ overall, but still packed with rim weight, making it ‘stable’.
Both the OUTLIER and LOGIC utilise this solution. But Xavier’s dislike of ‘extreme’ rim-weight ruled out this solution, leaving us with no options.
It’s a good thing I’m not the designer behind OFFSETyoyos.
The Solution
Turns out there is a 3rd way to increase stability and spin time. Together, Xavier and Jeffrey Pang solved the issue.
It’s the solution of choice when working with materials that are less dense than aluminium, like plastic.
Take a look at any high-performing pure plastic yoyo you own. Pick one that plays fun but also has a solid weight distribution and stability too.
You’ll notice one thing hiding in plain sight — the oversized diameter.
Diameters as large as 60mm aren't uncommon with plastic yoyos. That’s because increasing the diameter of the yoyo increases rim weight but spreads the weight across a larger circumference. The result is a simultaneously lighter feeling yoyo that is also stable and long-spinning.
Xenon Prototype Number 3
Armed with this insight, the Xenon prototype number 3 was produced.
A larger but lighter version of the yoyo. Fast, but now also stable and long-spinning.
With it, Xavier used it to defend his 3rd Singaporean National Yoyo title.
Xavier's Singapore 2024 Win
"I've never played with a yoyo like this before... A big, rounded, organic & comfortable yoyo yet so powerful, stable, catchable & fast. After all these tedious revisions and prototypes, we finally struck the gold. I never thought we would be able to achieve a yoyo like this. I thought it was virtually impossible. Turns out I was wrong..."
Best of all? Because the Xenon's stability was achieved with intelligent weight distribution, rather than a bi-metal design.
We were able to sell the Xenon at $55 USD, a much more affordable price point than our other signature competition models.
Finally, the Xenon features a polished mid-ring aesthetic. This was done to further reduce 0.3 grams of weight, but also to give the yoyo the bi-metal aesthetic — without the bimetal price tag.
Final Word
Designing a yoyo for yourself is one thing, but designing a yoyo for someone else is a highly collaborative, challenging, and ultimately fulfilling experience.
An afterword by Xavier: I wanted the XENON to be more than just a high-performance yoyo; I wanted it to embody everything I had learned. Every design choice reflects a piece of that journey: the smooth, rounded edges are a tribute to the patience I learned, the power-packed bimetal structure a nod to resilience, and the big diameter a symbol of the courage to think bigger than ever before.
If I could go back and tell that younger version of me what was coming, I’d say, “Keep going. This path will test you, but one day you’ll hold something in your hand that shows everything you’re capable of.” The XENON is that product – the one I dreamed of creating but never thought I’d have the skills to pull off.
With the XENON, I feel I’ve given something back to that kid who first fell in love with the art of yoyo. And for everyone who picks up the XENON today, I hope you feel that same passion, that same wonder that made me pick up a yoyo in the first place."
Working with Xavier and Jeff on this project has challenged my preconceived notions of what’s possible with yoyo design and inspired me to push the boundaries for future yoyos to come.
For those of you fortunate enough to try the OFFSETyoyo XENON, I hope you guys enjoy and appreciate the design qualities we put time and effort into building.
