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What Happened to Home of Poi?

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Home of Poi dominated the poi spinning and flow arts world for more than a decade, selling a variety of fire and practice props all over the world. To many, they seemed like an invincible juggernaut and nearly synonymous with the poi world, yet last year they announced they were shutting down. What happened? Well, here's my analysis of why Home of Poi was the perfect flow arts company for the 2000s and why all of those things became liabilities in the 2010s.
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4 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 73

@oranmornzl 3 года назад

NZ-dweller here, member of our local community since 2007. Very interesting to hear your international perspective on this. Some of us here in NZ have some interesting local perspectives on the matter, some of which line up fairly well with what you've shared. It is a pity that they failed to adapt. With NZ being quite literally the home of poi, it seems all the more saddening to see them go.

@DrexFactor 3 года назад

There was a line in my original script that went something to the effect of "while it made sense for the company to be located in NZ where poi originates from, as the community grew abroad it made less and less sense for that to be the only source of parts" that got cut for time. I'm actually really curious to hear about the NZ perspective on all this. Were you all really proud that Home of Poi was kind of leading the way? What's the perception of the company there? Were people surprised when they announced they were shutting down?

@oranmornzl 3 года назад

@@DrexFactor The perception of the company in NZ is a bit odd. They didn't really interact with and/or support the local community, had no presence at local fire/flow festivals, gatherings, et al, and it seemed as though they merely tolerated us for the business. They had a small storefront of sorts in their warehouse, however reportedly didn't like us dropping in for purchases, and I'm only aware of one person within the community ever having actually worked for them at any point in time. Honestly, none of us were really surprised by the news of their closure. They've been selling off stock from their warehouse (which is quite near to where I currently live), and attempts to sell the business have gotten nowhere, reportedly on account of an unwillingness to budge from an 'all or nothing' approach that is far out of reach of anyone who would actually be willing to take on such a niche entity in a small nation. I don't think any of us truly felt proud of them. Maybe some did? But I can't say I've observed much of such sentiment. There are a few other details at play, but I don't think it best they're discussed publicly. If you've an email address we can converse over further, let me know.

@DrexFactor 3 года назад

@@oranmornzl Fascinating! I had no idea about all this. Thank you for sharing and yes, I'd love to learn more details. You can email me at drex@drexfactor.com if you'd like to share more. Cheers!

@oranmornzl 3 года назад

@@DrexFactor Grand, expect a hello some time in the coming 48 hours ^_^

@Michael-tw6mf 3 года назад

@@oranmornzl They gave me a $50 discount once for prop materials that I said would be used for the Auckland Fire and Flow meetups

@brandonhoak9811 3 года назад

My first set of poi was a set of sock poi from Home of Poi. They were incredibly stretchy. I think a lot of poi spinners wouldn't like that, but as someone who dabbles with rope dart as well, I loved them. They allowed me to learn the basics of poi spinning while also allowing me to perform some basic throws that you'd ordinarily do with a rope dart. After a year of spinning, I bought two more sets of sock poi from them so that I could teach my friends and family how to spin. Even though they were over priced, I really wanted to support the company because they had helped me to learn something that had become a big part of my life. I was a little disappointed by these new sets though. The price had gone up but the quality had gone down. The sock itself was the same material but they had replaced the sand weight with a rock hard ball that had pretty much no weight to it. There was no mention of this on their website.

@hollyisblue 3 года назад

End of an era! 😔 I got my first poi and fans from Home of Poi and I loved that they had accessories other places didn't really supply, like good quality shaped prop bags. And their free tutorials were a great contribution to the community before they were as easy to find online. RIP 🙏

@DrexFactor 3 года назад

I got my first poi from them as well! They did an amazing job serving the community for quite some time.

@Donler 3 года назад

Well done video Drex, if only they had seen this in 2009, our community may have been looking at another giant in the industry.

@DrexFactor 3 года назад

I don't know if any of us would have known just how powerful social media would become in the 2010s back then. I feel very fortunate that I produced content for what turned out to be a platform with a terrific built-in audience that has lasted. As for what's coming in the the 2020s? The easiest way to be wrong is to make predictions, but off the top of my head I'd say we will see the decline of Facebook's influence on both individuals and pop culture as younger people seem to overwhelmingly avoid using it (and it's not unlikely that an antitrust lawsuit will break it up in the coming years). Social media will likely continue to exist in various forms but I don't think we've seen the emergence of what will influence the coming decade in the same way social media influenced the 2020s just yet. Let's all keep our eyes out!

@caldrenfitzpatrick3308 3 года назад

Good deductions Drex, well put together.

@DrexFactor 3 года назад

Thank you so much!

@britishogo 3 года назад

Excellent topic! Loved this video! 👌 My 1st purchased poi was from HoP about 14years ago, jailhouse black and white stretch poi with basic watch battery heads. I loved the forums and videos. I evolved to use hop as a materials wholesaler when I began making props, for brand loyalty, trust, and vast quality hardware selection. Best video in a while, thanks for your contributions to the community and sharing knowledge like this.

@DrexFactor 3 года назад

I had those very same stretch poi, too! Glad you liked the video--thanks for the terrific feedback 😀

@mattmilliken1510 3 года назад

Damn, I remember the first set of LEDs i saw that really got me interested in poi and wanting to spin myself were the ninja poi from hop. I got some later as my second set and while the protective rings they included did next to nothing, i was also new to spinning when i got them and if I could get a new set today they would never break. I miss those things a lot, before future poi and pixels that was as detailed as you could get with leds. Anyone who has seen them will know the colored square/crown shape setting that went thru a bunch of different colors that I'm talking about, that shit blew my mind back in the day.

@kwojo932 3 года назад

Great video. In the middle of covid I was making myself a new set of poi and went to their site to order supplies. Saddened me to see they had not inventory and where closing up shop. Thank you for the in depth analysis on the downfall of HOP.

@MattTerry1 3 года назад

Ha. Thanks for the shout out Drex. Spherculism does still exist on a server. I updated it all a while back but I just don't have the time to promote things like that so I closed it all down. Sad to see hop go down. I thought I heard somewhere that malcolm was quite ill. So that may have been a factor. But even back in the early 2000's a lot of what you say here was true. Poor quality products. Disgruntled suppliers etc etc. It was always a very capitalist enterprise that didn't sit well with the renegade fringe :) so did someone buy hop? It was up for sale. The site was down and then back up again so I figured it had been bought.

@DrexFactor 3 года назад

Sure thing, Matt! I narrowly missed being a part of the Spherculism community but I knew how important it was via reputation for sure. As far as I know, nobody has stepped in to purchase HoP. I'm not sure why the website has been up and down but the good news is that whatever happens next, there are plenty of backups on the Wayback Machine if you know what to look for.

@jrocthewarlock5659 Год назад

Thanks for the update!

@Homeofpoi 8 месяцев назад

It's not really an update. DrexFactor has drifted away. And unreachable. Whereas... Home of Poi just shut down for a few months and now ships from Hong Kong with far better international shipping rates and times. COVID-19 caused the cost of freight from NZ to skyrocket. As Malcolm's health worsened, he had to sell to someone to operate HoP overseas in order to keep HoP going. There is much historical information, 100's of learning videos, yes, some "crappy" ancient videos, and stories/articles. Too much information to just disappear.

@SkyGuysQuest 3 года назад

Can you do emazing lights next? I really thought they could do some cool stuff with epoi and some of their advanced programable glove set technology but they really don't seem to care about innovating on their poi. Even their glovesets have been unsupported for years now

@britishogo 3 года назад

Oh, this that's a touchy topic. I low key want to see a video about the flowtoys vs emazing lights drama.

@SkyGuysQuest 3 года назад

@@britishogo I would love that as well

@fyreize0155 3 года назад

My first fire poi set and fire hula hoop came from Home of Poi. That fire hoop was my favorite. It was beyond perfect and it helped me create such beautiful magic. Oh how I miss that hoop~

@ladym994 2 года назад

they are open and I just ordered a set of fans from them

@trevorbarnhart7501 3 года назад

Home of Poi was my first ever pair of poi 😔

@DrexFactor 3 года назад

Mine too! Or at least the first pair I ever bought...

@leathergothstudio1020 3 года назад

Confused, their website's still up, what's happened?

@FireSandra 3 года назад

Omg... "Every trip to the hardware store felt like the beginning of a fantasy novel quest." You just nailed it. What an absolute adventure the whole thing was. Walking in and a shopkeep asking if I need help, or what I'm making. "Ah... well sir, I need to make a fire hoop." Long pause..... "A what?"

@DrexFactor 3 года назад

Yuuuuup. I know those feels. Person at checkout counter: "Okay...I have to know...what do you need fishing swivels, welded chains, a half dozen bolts of different sizes, a strip of leather, and rivets for?" Me: "A new set of fire poi." PaCC: "...a new set of what now?"

@tcarper 3 года назад

First poi were cathedrals and HoP branded glow (3 tiny screws and 4 tiny watch batteries in series, ugh). By the end they didn't have much I cared about or couldn't also just go ahead and buy from the original manufacturer (like PodPoi). I still think there's something to be said about doing a clearinghouse model, but then you've got to lean in heavy on customer service (like Amazon has a reputation for doing) if you want repeat business.

@DrexFactor 3 года назад

Agreed. I also switched over to closer manufacturers whose work I enjoyed as well as who I considered to be friends. I cannot remember when was the last time I ordered something from Home of Poi, which is really incredible because I *can* remember when it was impossible to order from anyone else.

@lunairies 3 года назад

I only ever went into the actual store that's apart of their warehouse once while I was on tour. From my memory, staff were nice. But the amount of times hoops would show up damaged just became so concerning. My friend had at least 3 hoops shit themselves after a week or two if light usage, and after spending months saving up for an LED hoop it arrived mis-shaped and it looked more like an egg than a hoop which was just kind of embarrassing. I only used it a handful of times, and unfortunately this was not a situation where I could just squish it into shape, because it just wasn't shaped well to begin with so there was basically nothing I could do. I tried everything to save the money I spent on it. 've only had 1 hoop survive and I still have it. It's just a poly pro orange hoop.

@bennettmylius1563 3 года назад

Yeah, I learned the word Squander. Savage 🤣 totally using it now

@HoundoomHeart229 3 года назад

I bought my first fire and led poi sets from HOP. I had years of fun with them but the led ones that were powered by those button batteries broke after years of overuse. Just a few short years ago I bought new re-chargeable led poi from HOP but I was not entirely happy with them. My old led set lasted for weeks with those batteries but the charge on the new ones only lasted about 45 mins before I had to stop and recharge them. This sucked because I’m used to spinning for a lot longer than 45 mins and I hated having to charge them up so often

@kristinicole2055 3 года назад

That sucks. I bought my poi from them last year. Their crappy poi lesson videos are the reason I found this channel 😂

@DrexFactor 3 года назад

Well I'm glad they indirectly led to your finding me here!

@kristinicole2055 3 года назад

@@DrexFactor me, as well!

@DurbsBT 3 года назад

Hey - some those crappy videos took me literally minutes to make, and then hours to upload on dial-up :D

@Nobenchmarks 3 года назад

Got my first Ninja V3s from them, going to miss them..

@DrexFactor 3 года назад

I never did get a chance to try out the Ninjas. Did you like them?

@warrenskud 3 года назад

I had ninja v2, they had amazing patterns but were fragile as

@user-wg5ij3uw1b 10 месяцев назад

They seem to be back up and running. Anyone had any dealings with them in recent times?

@Homeofpoi 8 месяцев назад

This is a very outdated DrexFactor video. The good news is HoP is still going. Although Malcolm's health has gotten worse. With the beginning of COVID-19, the cost of shipping from NZ went up 300%, and it was too much. Malcolm had to sell HoP or find someone overseas to take the reins. The warehouse and offices of HoP shut down, and it took 5 months for all the stock to move overseas. HoP now ships from Hong Kong using far better shipping rates and times. New younger blood boosted the company forward again.

@noslowerdna 3 года назад

Interesting story!

@lamentpnw8662 Год назад

huh weird recently decided to get back into poi, and just ordered a pair of contact poi for em guess i won some monthly drawing too and got a free $100 decided to pick up a pair of the ninja v4 led poi with it :) lol when i first started spinning i had the V1s so it will be interesting to see what they changed! when are they suppose to be shutting down? i noticed their prices have gone up a decent amount but still reasonable and noticed they now carry pretty much every major manufactures LED poi even the fancy ignis ones that ill never be able to afford XD

@AM-bo5go 3 года назад

what is that clicking noise

@tracerammo 3 года назад

I think they may have just done a redesign or rebranding or something... I just got a wholesale account set up for the fun shop I work at. 🤷‍♂️

@MrBoomBlops 3 года назад

Got my first led poi from them in 2014 and I too had tin foil where the batteries are lol

@DrexFactor 3 года назад

Seriously, that shit was wild. To say nothing of the fact that they ran on watch batteries that were impossible to find replacements for!

@thecaptaintaz420 3 года назад

What?!?!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! HOME OF POI FOREVER!!!! loved my poi set so much.

@iriroche 3 года назад

Such a shame, these guys were such an amazing community and did such great work

@DrexFactor 3 года назад

They had a good run...and like I said, I'm really curious to see what other companies wil spring up to fill in the gaps and meet customer demand.

@BodaciousWench 3 года назад

Ha ha I’m the only person in my community who doesn’t spin fire or poi. Tho’ I do have a poi set from Home of Poi.

@artcreative.studio 3 года назад

*offers you glowing compliments and cliché motivational phrases* 🫂

@xjoshi 3 года назад

Wait where did they announce this? I’ve got tons of referral credit to spend. Do I have time to use it up?

@taliesinpotter4097 3 года назад

Ooof you've unfortunately missed the boat then

@Homeofpoi 2 года назад

Please come to Home of Poi. We did not close???? you can still use your credit - Malcolm

@nickpowell7432 2 года назад

@@Homeofpoi why does this vid exist??

@nickpowell7432 2 года назад

@@Homeofpoi is it malicious?

@Homeofpoi Год назад

@@nickpowell7432 Malicious, it seems that way. This has been here for over 2 years. I asked nicely for him to remove it twice. I feel sorry for the guy, he is currently going through tough times, so I wanted to give him a chance to do the right thing. No company should sponsor people who behave like Drex. But we really have better things to do keeping up with stock and sales. A few months ago, I requested RU-vid take it down, and they said that if he does not remove it, they can delete his channel. Out of my hands now. Drex has a shop? So this video gives him the financial benefit of telling untruths. A few of our customers are disheartened and angry that we have "shut down" and incorrectly missed out on getting products, support, refunds (e.g., on faulty hoops), or using their credits. It's a shame a few people and companies rubbish others to gain importance, especially when so many suffered through Covid shutdowns. Helping others is the best reward and the mission of HoP. The real history... I was ill and seriously thinking of selling HoP. Covid came, and we shut down our business following our government's instructions/demands. So the value of the firm dropped. Just like millions of other struggling companies, this hurt a lot. Unfortunately, logistics are screwed up for shipping from New Zealand. Freight prices had almost tripled. So we moved countries to be closer to our customers. Now shipping from Hong Kong, USA, and New Zealand. Thanks to the help from Shaban and his great team, more lovely people are enjoying the performance arts. Regards Malcolm