It is with great sadness and respect, that I report this morning on the death of Michael Attanasio, the owner and spokesman for TheYo.com and TheYoStore.com. Mike’s employee and friend had this to say this morning.

Please follow the link to see comments from friends and yoyo family.  This post will stay stickied all day.

taurbaby1313-

it is with great sadness that i must announce that theyo.com founder yomike passed away earlier this month here on the island of maui. his remains were flown to his home state of new york where a small ceremony was held for his family. this past week a 2nd ceremony was held here on maui. his family will continue this forum as well as theyostore in his memory and wish to thank all of you for your support and understanding during this time of transition. mike was a close friend and mentor to me. he spoke often of the members and personalities of this forum with great fondness. he was a caring individual, outspoken, and forward thinking.although his presence in my life will be missed greatly, i will remember him always as well as the life lessons we learned together.
thank you,

Mike started TheYo.com in 2002, and has had an integral part in the growth of the yo-yo community. His dedication to the community and was evident as Mike was always extremely generous with contest sponsorships, Chat nights, and was a very active member of his own forum.

A few of his friends and I prepared some words when this announcement came forward…

Frank Difeo -
Most of us knew him as Yo Mike at the YoStore.com. I met Mike on the internet shortly after yoyos caught my interest and we developed a mutual business relationship. Unlike myself, Mike was no stranger to spinning toys having won a Trophy at a Spinning Top Contest when he was 10 years old. People become who they are in life through their experiences as time passes and I found Mike knowledgeable of many things as he carved his own niche in the yoyo community working relentlessly managing his Forum and Yo-Yo Store. He became one of many driving factors in the yoyo community and like most yoyo stores, had a following of his own. Personally, it was a pleasure to do business with Mike but more importantly, that we became good friends along the way. In today’s world, we meet people long distance and communicate mostly through the internet and email. But with Mike, most of our communication was on the phone and he always had a story to tell keeping me entertained numerous times. The world has become small and I feel Mike will be missed by the many people who came in contact with him.

My prayers and thoughts go out to his family.

He was my friend and I will miss him.
Frank Difeo

Ernie Kaiser (General-Yo) -

Mike was a no-nonsense guy who told it like it was..like it or not! He became a friend from the very beginning of General-Yo. He was the first one to order yoyos from me. He helped helped me with the advice I needed, and even named my first Throw, the “Torrent”. He played a major part of the yo-yo world as I know it. I miss him very much.

Chris Allen -
To be honest, I was surprised when Mike started talking to me regularly. At first we did not talk much, but after a while, a weekly hour long gab session was common. We would talk about everything from new yo-yo’s coming out, how many to order, opinions on throws, news, marketing, ect. After a while, conversations turned more towards the personal side as we talked about family and friends. I have only known Mike for a couple years, and only in the last year would I say that our relationship turned into a friendship. He was a stand up guy, always willing to share his unfiltered opinion. He was real. Something that is rare with an online store owner in any industry. He always strove to give his customers the best price, and refused to hide behind a shield of customer service agents. If there was a mistake, Mike took care of it. It saddens me to hear of his death, and angers me in  its suddenness. It may be selfish to say, but I feel cheated. There was a strong friendship growing between us, and now I will never have the chance to build upon it. Mike, you will be missed.

Please leave behind your own messages if you like.  If you and Mike were close, and you want to send me a paragraph, I will put it up.