The “Crazy Ones” Competition – Winners

  • Aug 13th 2009
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Hey guys…

The time has come for us to announce the winners of the Crazy Ones Competition.

We had 54 submissions in total, with entries from the USA, Vietnam, the UK, Egypt, Brazil, France, Germany, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Netherlands, Canada, Switzerland, Mexico and South Africa.

The submissions contained all sorts of crazy, creative, funny, entertaining and inspiring moments and scenes… and choosing our winners were so difficult because we had just never seen anything like that in any card flourishing competition, ever.

To see the different ways that the message to “Think Different” was interpreted and brought to life from card lovers all across the globe was ridiculously inspiring to say the least, and the amount of effort that we know many people put into what they did, be it videos, photos, drawings, and even sculptures… was just something that really moved us.

We never knew how many people would take part in the competition. In fact, we thought that most people would find it ridiculous that a card flourish competition did not even need to have card flourishes as a requirement… but the crazy competition happened during this crazy WLD ‘09 event… and we have finally selected the winners.

The prizes:

To recap, here are the prizes again in full detail… including the 2 previously unannounced bonus prizes:

  1. Anaconda “The World’s Longest Dribble” Limited Edition DVD
  2. The Eye Cut
  3. 1 Signed Deck Used During Production
  4. The Anaconda Original Soundtrack
  5. 1 Lefty Deck Courtesy Of “The New York Magic Project” (1st Place gets an entire brick!)

The Winners:

Remember how we said we were going to pick 3 winners?

Well, we looked at all the crazy submissions… and realized that 3 winners wasn’t enough for all the awesomeness that we received.

There will now be 4 winners for “The Crazy Ones” competition. Surprise surprise ;)

So who are the winners?

We’ll start with three runner-ups, then announce who scored first place.

The Three Runner-Ups (in no particular order)

Cynthia Lu:

Cynthia’s crazy submission came as a surprise more than anything else. She emailed it to us purely as something she draw for fun over two afternoons, and when we saw it, we instantly fell in love with it and suggested that she submit it for The Crazy Ones Competition.

The level of detail of what she drew, the amount of style that that single frame projected, the vibe that the drawing alone gave off… was just so crazy and inspiring, and there’s just nothing we would change about what she submitted.

We’ve actually been showing all our friends this work of art, and everyone we know loves it just as much as us. It’s absolutely beautiful, and it speaks volumes to “Think Different”.

Cynthia, your work is simply amazing.

Arnaud:

Arnaud’s was one that we were all awe-struck by.

For starters, the cinematography was absolutely stunning, and the feel of this video was just so refreshing. However, there was one little hiccup.

Kevin and I didn’t quite see the “crazy” message that was supposed to be in it.

So we spoke to Daren about it, to which he replied something along the lines of this:

“His message IS to ‘Think Different’. He’s inspired by architecture and design; and while most people don’t see the work that goes behind the creation of such buildings, it takes “crazy ones” to create, design, and build structures so beautiful.”

…and nothing else needed to be said about a message so subtle, yet so powerful. Our hats off to you, Arnaud. =)

David Misner:

David’s submission started with a powerful introduction message, and it ended with what we feel is the most iconic moment in all the video submissions we received. His video had a beautiful message that really projected what “thinking out of the box” means to us.

Many people limit and restrict themselves in life with the rules and boundaries that they set for themselves, freezing and giving up because of all the ‘what ifs’ that are asked.

David’s video, however, featured the amazing element of ’surrender’. Surrender not in the form of giving up, but in the sense of allowing oneself to flow with the art, and to just allow expression and creation to take over.

His video sent a message that accomplishing the impossible begins with the impossible, as the impossible isn’t really impossible at all, as long as we believe.

Thank you David, for your amazing submission.

First Place

Tyler Chase:

Before this competition, we all had no idea who Tyler Chase was. Then, his “crazy” submission simply astounded us all.

Tyler’s video started with a short introduction filled with energy, confidence, humour, and so much sincerity.

His introduction then followed with a brilliant video with a clear and powerful message that speaks for everything we believe in.

His video projected the message of a sense of unity and inspiration even beyond our art; a message that symbolized that we’re not just connected in our own little community, but that we’re connected in all kinds of ways, through all sorts of mediums.

In other words, Tyler showed us that inspiration can be drawn from amazing people everywhere, and it showcased those particular individuals in his life that motivated him through music, movement, dance and sports.

It’s funny how so many of us fight amongst ourselves in a community that’s already so small… and Tyler just showed us that even people in completely different art forms can inspire each other to keep going for what they have a passion for.

To us, art isn’t about separating people. It’s our personal medium of expression so that we may connect with each other on a greater level, and Tyler’s video showcased it perfectly.

His video also started with a beautiful and quirky twist. He put a beat over the main audio track, instantly increasing the pace of it and giving it its own unique flow… something that immediately made the old crazyones.mp3 feel new again.

We can’t think of any better winner, and Tyler, you most definitely deserved first place.

Kudos to you, man. =)

Honorable Mentions

Here are some honorable mentions for the competition. All honourable mentions win the Anaconda Original Soundtrack, scored by top Singapore music composer and producer, Roland Lim.

KC Ushijima:

DAMMMMMN!! You are one ridiculously skilled dude. And proposing with our Ninja Spring Grab was absolutely crazy. We definitely appreciated your submission… and it’s definitely going to inspire a lot of card handlers out there. Thank you man.

Tiny:

That T-Rex was insane and we definitely appreciate the effort you put into it.That was amazing!!

Herman Huang:

That card swan you built was ridiculous, and it definitely gave a new meaning to the term “card manipulation”.

Pinkie Boyz:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. You guys were freaking hilarious… and we loved every second of the video. Thank you for brightening our day.

Mathematician2:

Trippiest video ever… ’nuff Said. Dayyyuummm.

We thank everybody who spent their precious time and effort creating their submissions for “The Crazy Ones”.

We watched each and every single one of the videos, and definitely enjoyed every moment watching them. Thank you so much guys, and whether you won a prize or not, we appreciate the very fact that you took part with such courage and gave it everything you had.

That concludes the weirdest, craziest and first Card Flourishing competition of it’s kind… the Crazy Ones Competition, at WLD ‘09.

Till then, keep striving, keep doing what you love… and keep being “crazy”.

We’ll be contacting the winners of WLD ‘09 really soon - expect some really awesome stuff in your mailboxes!

-Huron Low, The Virts

Read the post? Share your thoughts below and stand a chance to win a free copy of the Anaconda “The World’s Longest Dribble” DVD!

460 Responses

  1. tim gore says:
    August 18, 2009 at 2:20 am

    Congrats to all the winners

    Reply
  2. Saul says:
    August 18, 2009 at 2:22 am

    Great video entries, congrats to everyone who won.

    Reply
  3. Matthias says:
    August 18, 2009 at 2:26 am

    congratz to all the winners and damn, I didn’t think there were such great videos in this competition w00t

    Reply
  4. David Misner says:
    August 18, 2009 at 2:27 am

    Great work to everybody, and thanks to the Virts for this opportunity. Enjoy your brick of lefty decks Tyler ;)

    Reply
  5. el que ma singa! says:
    August 18, 2009 at 2:31 am

    i think this do not make sence !

    cuz it was supost to be cards on it ???
    i think some people made videos better than those that u guys choose!! i dindt send one ! but i think that other people deserve the price – ! but congratulations to those people that won!!!! – the only one i like was the numner tw0o and erick sauls one – and geovannys – those deserve to win but u allready tooks the winners 0

    Reply
    • David Misner says:
      August 18, 2009 at 2:39 am

      I think if you read and think about what Huron and the Virts have said about each winning video, you’ll see why they chose them. There were some fantastic videos entered, but they couldn’t choose them all.

      Reply
  6. DaeSun says:
    August 18, 2009 at 2:31 am

    Wow, I have to say these four people are amazing. The way they displayed their creativity, whether it was through a picture or video, was amazing. I am not saying these were the only four that seemed cool because I saw a lot of other videos entered into the competition and I was also surprised at the stuff other people did. KC Ushijima was one of them. The way he balanced himself on that..ball while doing flourishes and stuff was amazing. There was also this video of this dude practicing cards while eating noodles, and I thought “WOW, I really could never do that.” :)

    So what I think is that everyone who entered this competition is a winner no matter what. :) But I must still respect these four winners and Kudos to you guys, especially Tyler Chase. I loved your video. :) I can see why the Virts and Bone Ho chose you as the WLD 2009 Crazy Competition’s winner. Haha. “When I was first introduced to awesomeness.” The way you said that and with the expression was cool, haha. :) Good job man! :)

    Thanks also to the Virts and Bone Ho for hosting this competition! :) And to those who didn’t get chose, don’t worry your time will come! Hehe. :) Creativity is contagious, and you all (the 50 contestants, and more card people all over the world) have it. :)

    Anyways, that’s all I have to say! :) Good job you all!

    Reply
  7. Brent "N5omniac" Bass says:
    August 18, 2009 at 2:48 am

    Congrats to all, real crazy stuff!! And Tyler, let the Beat Freakz know i voted for them!! lol

    Reply
  8. crazycardist says:
    August 18, 2009 at 3:01 am

    first place winner was funnnnnny

    Reply
  9. Arnaud says:
    August 18, 2009 at 3:09 am

    Oh wow! Thanks so much! I’m glad you liked my video and its message!
    The others entries were nice as well!

    Congratulations to all!

    Reply
  10. Alex Oeming says:
    August 18, 2009 at 3:32 am

    Excellent choices for all the winners. I remember watching the winning video and reading the youtube comments where people were already calling it for them. Freaking awesome and congratulations to everyone!

    Reply
  11. Jacob says:
    August 18, 2009 at 4:31 am

    Wow,

    I wish I hadn’t missed this competition.

    I love the idea that there are so many “crazy” people out there. It makes me feel better….Magic/XCM and the art of astonding and amazing people is an art that is about so many things. You have to be crazy, a dreamer, a scientist, a student, an artist, and entertainer.

    Thanks to everyone for being inspired, for being inspiration, and being amazing.

    Life reflects art, art reflects life.
    Magic as an art reflects the space between dreams and reality.
    You can quote me on that.
    -Jacob Hatfield
    Magician

    Reply
  12. Tyler Chase says:
    August 18, 2009 at 4:33 am

    Hey everyone! I just wanted to drop a note to say thank you all for the kind messages and to thank the Virts and Bone for creating this great contest and for picking my vid. Your words mean a lot to me and I’m so glad that the message came across. Not only was it a great experience to create the video, it was also amazing to watch the entries from all around the world and to see how everyone came together to send out the message that we are the crazy ones and our art is a beautiful interpretation of ourselves. (Hahahaha, I’m also glad that you guys recognized Shorty from the Beatfreaks. She was psyched to do the vid and sends out a “HOLLA” to you all.) Congratulations everyone!

    Thanks again,
    Tyler

    Reply
  13. santiago sanchez says:
    August 18, 2009 at 4:37 am

    i wished i had a camera and i could send a vid,next time

    Reply
  14. Tero Kujala says:
    August 18, 2009 at 4:49 am

    Really nice work man, video really stood out from the crowd :)
    I wish i had done my video in time :(

    Reply
  15. Mark T. says:
    August 18, 2009 at 5:17 am

    Congratulations to all of the winners! You did a great job with crazy videos and the message to “think different” definetely came across! Very inspiring. But I think we all can be proud to have created these awesome videos. And no one loosed, because we all were able to show how crazy we are and what we can do to change the world and to win the next contest! =) And I think I’m not the only one who did his first video ever and we can much learn from the winner videos what we can do better next time.

    -Mark J. Thomas

    Reply
  16. Mark says:
    August 18, 2009 at 5:46 am

    Awesome job, guys, those videos really blew me away. That message is so powerful. Good job!

    Reply
  17. Mathematician2 says:
    August 18, 2009 at 6:14 am

    Yay, the Virts think I’m awesome! :D…
    Thank you so much guys for acknowledging my crazy weirdy nerdiness. Oh, yeah, and thanks for the soundtrack, I’m sure it’ll kick aspartame…(that’s sugar substitute, btw). Will I be allowed to use the soundtrack in my future videos without any copyright issues?

    Reply
  18. Melvin says:
    August 18, 2009 at 6:18 am

    Damn, I can’t believe I missed those vids LOL
    anyways, all of them were great, congratz peeps!

    Melvin

    Reply
  19. Joshua says:
    August 18, 2009 at 6:19 am

    Congratz people

    Reply
  20. Anuj says:
    August 18, 2009 at 6:22 am

    great job, all the entries were great, but these were pretty crazy, congrats to all the winners, great job u guys!

    Reply
  21. Jacob says:
    August 18, 2009 at 7:19 am

    Congratulations to everyone!

    Reply
  22. Mathias Kersting says:
    August 18, 2009 at 7:31 am

    Congrats guys! You were all awesome and inspirational.

    Reply
  23. Erick says:
    August 18, 2009 at 7:33 am

    Congratulations to all the winners
    It was awesome
    Damn
    I knew it
    that Tyler was supposed to win
    even he add a beat to the song because I read a comment from the virts that it have to be original!

    but I think that doesnt matter cuz is a really great video !
    and well for the Cynthia Lu’s ART it was amazing and I took the pic and i save into my ipod jeje
    It were so amazing!
    Congratulations!

    Reply
  24. Steve says:
    August 18, 2009 at 8:39 am

    Very nice entries. Although I did feel a few of the honorable mentions were simply astounding, the choices were good and the first place video was well deserved. Congrats to all the winners.
    Cheers
    Steve

    Reply
  25. Herman Huang says:
    August 18, 2009 at 9:34 am

    gratz to winners. thanks for the honorable mention :]

    Reply
  26. Joel says:
    August 18, 2009 at 10:07 am

    Kudos to the virts who have inspired us all. But look at where this has brought us to?

    A community.

    If Marshall McLuhan had any idea about what he said about the world coming together as a global village, he would have used WLD2009 and the Virts as the explanation behind his impossible theories.

    A big thumbs up to all who participated, to those who won. Those who did not win, they dared to try, and in doing so, I believe gained an invaluable experience.

    Once again, thanks to the Virts for giving us all a chance to showcase what flourishing is really all about, for giving everyone the hope, belief and determination to if anything, try.

    Reply
  27. William(s) says:
    August 18, 2009 at 10:33 am

    Woohoo! Congratulations winners!

    Reply
  28. Cynthia L. says:
    August 18, 2009 at 11:17 am

    WOAH! These video submissions are AWEsome!! I went back and started watching all the other video submissions, and pretty much gawked at how much thought and creativity went into each and every one. I totally just want to say that I look up to all of you, and that I’m glad we share the love for cards and flourishes with each other~ All of you guys rock so much!!

    To the Virts: Thank you so much for the honors! (Your compliments made me blush, haha…) :)

    GO BEATFREAKZ!! :D

    Reply
  29. Cjchinmay says:
    August 18, 2009 at 2:08 pm

    Awesome !!1…Very creative stuff

    Reply
  30. PinkieBoyz says:
    August 18, 2009 at 3:06 pm

    Congratz to all the winner…
    Thanks to Bone and Virtz for HONORABLE MENTION…

    go CRAZY go…!!! LoL

    ~PinkieBoyz~

    Reply
  31. Gene says:
    August 18, 2009 at 6:12 pm

    Congratz to all the winners!

    Reply
  32. Joel says:
    August 18, 2009 at 6:32 pm

    I have to say this. I absolutely loved Arnuad’s the most. Good work mate. It was beautiful.

    Beautiful.

    Reply