How This Guy Mastered the Slinky | Obsessed | WIRED

Did you play with slinkys when you were younger? Josh Jacobs has taken a childhood toy and turned it into a visually stunning art form. Slinky manipulation is a fairly new practice, starting around 2010. Josh got into "slinking" eight years ago when watching an incredible Chinese performer do things he never thought possible with a slinky. Now, Josh is one of the best slinky manipulators in the world.



Director: Charlie Jordan
Director of Photography: Colin Witherill
Editor: Richard Trammell
Talent: Joshua "Slinky Josh" Jacobs

Producer: Wendi Jonassen
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Associate Producer: Melissa Cho
Production Manager: Eric Martinez
Production Coordinator: Fernando Davila

Audio: Ted Thacker
Cam Op/Gaffer: Alex Witkowicz
Production Assistant: Daniel Ellis

Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch
Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant
Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen
Assistant Editor: Ben Harowitz


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[jopo]

No matter what time of year it is, it's always springtime for this guy.

[whatwilliwatch]

I love his enthusiasm. He sounds like he'd be willing to talk to someone for hours on the topic of "slinking." He also just has a really friendly, positive vibe. I can imagine a lot of people being inspired by him, just based on those things alone.

[MyFatherLooksLikeAPallasCat]

He's exactly how I imagined a pro-slinker would be. A tad bit nerdy, enthusiastic, confident, eccentric, but just radiating pure happiness and joy! He's now one of my role models!

[WiredLife]

"I wanna be a slinky man, " he cried, "Make me a slinky man!"

But the slinky master did not answer. He just kept on slinking!

[StevieCooper]

He’s happy, talented and spreading joy. We should all be a bit more like this if possible. Good floor him 😊

[ZergrushEddie]

Of course most of the footage of him wowing people are festival goers. If I bumped into this guy at Burning Man I'd probably be convinced he was a wizard

[alexpetrov]

I love it how accurately he describes how to do the tricks. Not only is he great at slinking but also at explaining and teaching others about it <3

[arushsharma]

What I find most interesting is not only he has mastered slinky, but also defined the terminologies around techniques, making it much easier to pass on the knowledge to others

[searchandestroy]

This guy is exactly what I’d imagine a “slinky manipulator” to look like

[BobbyChipmunk]

There is almost nothing like the feeling of controlling pure momentum, and that moment of power over inertia. Manipulating momentum feels amazing

[JGunit]

It's crazy how someone has mastered the art of every obscure action imaginable.

[johngalactus]

So nice to see stuff like this, just a human enjoying his time and then sharing it to others.

[Franic]

I never really realized how fun those slinkies could be, let alone see what you could really do with them other than make them walk down some stairs. This looks crazy fun though and actually makes me want to pick one up to learn some :D

[DOC_]

With a name like “slinky Josh, ” good thing he’s so into slinkies!

[aldo]

I'm a long time yoyo player and absolutely love seeing videos like this! Just people having fun and living their best lives!

[twostepRMX]

I’ve ran into this guy at electric forest! He bounced it right off my head and made my day

[felipeandmichelle]

This is so wholesome that it almost feels like a mockumentary. I love it.

[SmokeyChipOatley]

This was me as a kid in a Mexican family whenever my mom would chuck a molten hot tortilla at me when having dinner. If only I’d known she was trying to prepare me for any potential career opportunities as a hippy-flipping slinky bending electro wizard performer at Burning Man slangin’ slinks in exchange for hits of acid-laced warhead candies.

[GaryGuerin]

great tricks ! Please introduce him to the slow-mo guys ! I would love to see the behaviour of the slinky at insane frame rates !

[fuzzybanana]

"It's pretty unique to have a slinky this giant." Found my new Tinder opening line.