What does it take to be a champion? We had an interview with the 2015 champs to find out what they do, and what they think!
1st Place: LARAMIE ROSENFIELD. Phoenix, Arizona
2nd Place: RICO EL-LIS. Houston, Texas.
3rd Place: JACOB MITCHELL. Houston, Texas.
INTERVIEWER: Hi guys! We just saw your amazing performance in Las Vegas. Could you tell us when did you start spinning?
LARAMIE: I started spinning in the year 2006, and went to my first competition in 2007. And since then, I’ve been competing every year.
RICO: I’ve been spinning since June 2011.
JACOB: I started spinning back in 06 under Michael Patterson’s east coast market. This 2015 was my second competition.
INTERVIEWER: What is your opinion in this year’s competition?
LARAMIE: I think this event was the best yet! But we need to improve as a team to make the event safer, to have better time management, and an easier music delivery system to the dj.
RICO: 2015 is a year to remember! Every year there’s lots of great talent but this year was one of the best! It felt awesome to be a part of the top 3 Sign Spinners in the world, but titles don’t matter to me. God is showing me it doesn’t matter if I’m #1 or #21 He’s still blessing me.
JACOB: Overall I thought the competition went really well. The key thing as far as the competition that I thought worked well were the new judges. They were very unbiased and spinnovators whom understood trick difficulty and creativity. I feel great being part of the top 3. A bit surreal as I was really shooting for top 10 lol.
INTERVIEWER: Do you get nervous when you’re competing?
LARAMIE: I’m kinda shy so I definitely get nervous, but I am confident in my sign spinning abilities.
RICO: No, I don’t really get nervous because it’s not about me. It’s about God. My mission this year was to let the World know that Jesus Is The Truth, and that’s exactly what I did so no matter what place I got. My mission was accomplished!
JACOB: I always get nervous, like any other performing artist around the world, I just think: “Go out there and give it your all!”.
INTERVIEWER: Do you do any special training?
LARAMIE: Well, my special training used to be to make as many variations of my combos as possible. Now, leading up to WSSC, I like to shoot a video, spin with friends late at night, and go up to the south mountain and practice with the stronger winds
RICO: Yes I do special training…. it’s called Work! LOL. and lots of it!
JACOB: My “special training” is martial arts tricking. A form of acrobatic arts tile that incorporates martial arts, break dancing, parkour, gymnastics, etc. My ultimate goal as a competing sign spinner is to master the blend of tricking with sign spinning and spear head that the genre/style is Sign Spinning.
INTERVIEWER: What’s the best part of the World Sign Spinning Championship?
LARAMIE: The best thing about the tournament is there are so many talented people who could win and you never know until the end what’s going to happen.
RICO: The best thing about the tournament is the people from all across the world! Everyone is so awesome and it’s highly anticipated because it happens only once a year. Also, every competition I go to, I go to learn not to win. Even if I was the #1 spinner i would always ask people like Calvin White to teach me a trick or 2! Learning is one of the best parts! There’s nothing like leaving your market and coming back with a few more tricks in your bag. LOL.
JACOB: The best thing about the tournament is, perhaps, the reunion of all the sign spinners. Since we are all scattered around the world, once we make friends with them, the re-gathering is a once-a-year opportunity to catch up and hang out. We share ideas, goals and hardships we all had to face whether inside or outside AArrow.
INTERVIEWER: Lastly, Laramie, what does it feel winning a second time?
LARAMIE: To win a second time since 2011 is just unbelievable.The shock is still settling in. Zappos gave me $500 dollars in gift cards. I gave $200 to my sister, for my nephews, $100 to my brother Chamizo ,and $100 to my spinstuctor Ray Rivera.
INTERVIEWER: Thank you all for your time, and congratulations!!! We can’t wait to see what you will bring to the tournament next year!!!
