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Video tutorials below by Jay Gilligan with specific tricks and techniques using your Cuphead clubs
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The cup is optimized for 80mm ball shells. The club works excellently with any ball that is 80 mm (or smaller). For example, Kyiv-style balls, beanbags, stage balls, and hybrid balls. Use Kyiv-style balls for the best experience.
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65% of the ball is visible when sitting in the cup. We have optimized visibility with the catchability of the ball in the cup. The shape of the cup allows the audience to see the ball clearly and to see them as two separate objects, even when the ball is in the cup.
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The club's design allows it to stand up on the cup end easily.
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In many instances, the club can also stand up vertically with its knob on the floor, with the cup end facing up.
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The club can act as a prop stand for a ball due to a slight indentation of the knob.
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A specially textured surface on the body of the club makes for easier gripping when not holding the handle.
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A contrasting smooth finish on the inside of the cup and the indentation of the knob with a more excellent fit for catching balls.
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Discreetly embossed logos of ND Juggling and Fourth Shape (Jay Gilligan's prop design company) to celebrate their collaboration with this club.
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High-density plastic gives more outstanding durability vs. standard one-piece club plastics.
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Two colors are available: Pantone 291 C (Ice Blue) and Pantone Warm Gray 5 C. These colors work great against either a light or dark background. The gray is a warm gray, which means it will not wash out to white under stage lights, and still pops against a black backdrop.
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Option to tape the handle with any color for visual effect and grip preference
History
Around 2006, juggling legends Jay Gilligan and Erik Åberg flew to Switzerland to meet with one of Europe's leading manufacturers of juggling equipment, and pitch various new and original juggling props. Unfortunately the meeting wasn't successful, and Jay quickly put away his hopes of producing these new niche juggling ideas, for what he thought was forever.
But, it didn't stop there...
Out of the blue, Tom Kidwell (Renegade Juggling) contacted Jay and Erik a few months later and asked if they had any ideas for new juggling props that Renegade Juggling could make. As a result, RenegadeDesignLab (RDL) was formed, that included the founding members of Jay, Tom, Erik, and Luke Wilson. This project created all kinds of cool new juggling props and shapes, but mostly in the prototype phase. Many were from the original drawings that Erik and Jay took to their initial meeting in 2006. Tom also came up with many great designs. One of which we called the "Cuphead" club. Tom took his original Fathead Renegade club (inspired by the Mongandors), cut off the top, flipped it over, and attached it again. This Cuphead design created a place to catch a ball on the club's end. Renegade's original Cuphead clubs were perhaps the most successful creation of the RDL project.
Since Tom Kidwell handmade the first set in 2008, Jay has always wanted an adequately machined version with which he could do his best tricks. The juggling tricks Jay invented with this brilliant new type of juggling club started to demand a more uniform precision and durability in the club construction.
Creation of the Cuphead 2.0 club
In 2012, Jay first looked into making a proper Cuphead-mold supported by juggler and engineer Will Oltman. Will and Jay have been working on sketches and 3D models to manufacture the latest Cuphead design since the end of 2021, that Drew Aslesen thereafter made in physical prototypes. Drew and Jay went through several iterations, using 3D printing to test each new edit. The next step was to refine the shape of the cup to fit a ball perfectly. There is a delicate balance between the ball's visibility in the cup and how easy it would be to catch it. Now in the in final phase, joining this collaboration is Niels Duinker, who used his experience producing the bottle club to convert all this R&D into the new tangible Cuphead Club... available to jugglers worldwide!
Special thanks to everyone who has been involved over the entire journey: Tom Kidwell, Erik Åberg, Luke Wilson, Will Oltman, Drew Aslesen, and Niels Duinker!
Media
Tutorial Videos by Jay Gilligan
