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Interview: Dave Yearick, Inventor of Licensed Toy Products on Got Invention Radio


Licensed Toys & Games with: Hasbro, Mattel, Imagination, Basic Fun, ToySite, MaterPieces, Talicor/Aristoplay, Patch Products, Brio, Great American Puzzle Company, Martinex

CURRENT VENTURE: Djubi™ (pronounced joo-bee) is played with specially designed racquets and a unique ball called “the djubi”.

To play, place the rubber loop over the launch hook, pull back and aim. When the ball is released it flies through the air at varying degrees of speed, distance and height, depending on the trajectory it was launched. The ball is then snagged out of the sky in the deep racquet pocket. Playing Djubi will undoubtedly take the tried-and- true game of catch to a cool new level of fun and excitement!

The Djubi story. In my line of work as an inventor of “things to play with”, I was inspired when my eldest son Thor had no interest in playing catch with me using a traditional baseball glove and ball or a football. He, at the age of 9 was wired to be more interested in things with a bent toward “alternative” or “extreme” sports and activities; such as snowboarding, skateboarding, rock and tree climbing, shooting slingshots, etc.In recognizing this I set my sights on creating a cool new way to “play catch”. After some tinkering my fist successful prototype was made from a fishing net and a plastic hook cut from another toy I found. I jammed the plastic hook in the base of the aluminum frame of the fishing net and “bingo” I had the first rendition of what is now the Djubi racquet. The first Djubi ball was concocted just as simply. I located some surgical tubing and a foam ball. With some handiwork the latex loop was anchored to the core of the foam ball and it was ready for the official Thor Yearick Test of Approval. It passed!From that point 12 years ago the concept has been refined and improved upon to where it is now, enjoying great success today in the marketplace. This summer we introduced a whole line of Djubi products, to include the Djubi Jr,, Djubi SpringShot, DartBall and RockertBirdie.