Warped talents

Chico State student Augie Fash‘s impeccable hand-eye coordination (and, if you ask him, his good looks) have taken him far for his 19 years: He’s a national yo-yo champion who is spending his summer traveling with the Warped Tour as part of the Brothers Grim sideshow, spending his days barbecuing with rock bands and swapping tricks with sword swallowers. As an added bonus, Fash is also selling the yo-yo that his sponsor just released in his honor: the YoYo Factory Augie Fash 888, which will soon be sold at Bird in Hand in downtown Chico.

How did you feel when you found out you would have your own yo-yo?

I immediately thought of all the color combos and ridiculous amounts of flair I’d be able to deck it out in.

Describe the yo-yo named after you.

It’s basically a military-grade metal yo-yo with my own graphic and signature on it. It’s bright hazard orange and it costs $125. It sold out three times over in one day on the Warped Tour.

What have you been doing on the Warped Tour?

I’m still trying to figure that out. It’s going really well so far, and all the bands I’ve met have been really into my yo-yoing. It’s been crazy—we have a fire breather, and a burlesque dancer who said she’s going to make yo-yo pasties, so I’m kind of excited. I’m being transferred to OzzFest soon, so I think they’re going to make me sacrifice goats on stage, but I’ll still be yo-yoing, so that’s good, too.

How is life on the road?

It’s amazing. It’s fun just traveling all over. All the people are pretty normal, they just like weird things. The only thing I haven’t enjoyed is wearing dress clothes in Arizona in the middle of the summer. At first I thought I was just hot because I’m heavy, but then I realized it’s because it was 119 degrees. But that just means I’m going to have the body of Lance Armstrong, with the addition of one testicle. Other than that, I love the traveling and being paid to yo-yo.

What is the coolest thing that’s happened to you on the Warped Tour?

The power went out in the middle of my set, so I busted out an a cappella number while yo-yoing. I sung like a drowning house pet while the audience clapped along with all the rhythm of a pubescent eighth-grade boy learning how to dance.