Myachi was invented in 1997 by the intrepid Steven "The Myachi Man" Ochs. He first conceived the idea of a hand hackey-sack as a student at Vanerbilt University. Shortly after graduating he realized that the world of 9 to 5 corporate drudgery was not for him and set off to follow his dream.
People told him he was crazy when he quit his stock-broker job and traded all his worldly belongings for a dilapidated RV and a used sewing machine. Ignoring the naysayers who said he was doomed to fail, Ochs hand painted the RV and set about sewing the world's first Myachis. He set off for the first Myachi tour in 1997 and has been spreading the word ever since.
In 1999 he met Jason "Kid Myach" Loeffler who added his unique blend of skill and charisma to the movement. Originally contracted to build Myachi's first website, Loeffler fell in love with the whole concept and before long he joined Myachi Man's quest and became a permanent resident of the "Myachi Mobile".
By 2000, Myachi boasted over 100,000 handsacks sold including several series of conventional Myachis along with the growing segment of corporate sponsored Myachis like the "SESAC", the "Amgen" and the "Rice Krispies Treats". The company continued to expand into new avenues. Tens of thousands of miles and a new RV later, Myachi found its way into major retail locations like Ron Jon's Surf Shops, Spencer's Gifts and Kitty Hawk Kites.
It was at Kitty Hawk Kite's flagship location that Kid Myach first met a Myachi Maniac named Luke Rodgers. Having learned the game only days before, this dedicated Maniac was spending huge portions of his vacation hanging out in front of the store teaching the game to random strangers as they past. Unbeknownst to him, one of those strangers turned out to be Kid Myach.
Eventually taking the Myachi name "Animal", Luke joined the team shortly after graduating High School. While working his way through college at Presbyterian University, he spent his summers at some of the world's coolest theme parks playing Myachi and teaching the tourists. After summers at Dollywood in Gatlinburg, Tennessee; Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri and Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, Animal earned his Bachelor's Degree and immediately went to work as a full time Myachi Master.
By then, the team had grown. Aaron "Crazy Ivan" Davies spent years earning his living as a street performing juggler before joining the Myachi movement. He is also the one writing this page and it's not exactly going through a peer-review process, so while we're at it, Aaron also cured cancer, fought off a band of aliens set on the destruction of earth and deciphered the true meaning of the lyrics to "Horse With No Name".
In addition, Myachi had added the scarcely fathomable skill of one Ryan "Monk" Burtch, an award winning "flair" bar tender. After a chance encounter left him heavy one Electric Orange Shag Myachi, he fell in love with the game and contacted Myachi Man through the website to offer his skills and service to the company.
Cody "Maverick" Hatch also added his skills to the mix. After years of practice with a footbag, Maverick discovered Myachi at a trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada where he met Myachi Man and Kid Myach. It only took a few seconds of watching his effortless display of foot tricks before he was offered a spot on the team. He jumped at the opportunity and quickly became one of the most respected names in hand-sacking.
By this time, Myachi had long outgrown its humble beginnings. Myachi Man's hunched posture over a sewing machine was replaced by outsourced manufacturing. The Myachi Mobile was replaced by actual apartments and homes for the Myachi Masters. The warehouse had gone from the storage space beneath the RV to Myachi Man's brother's garage and eventually settled on an honest warehouse. The office went from Myachi Man's bluetooth to an actual office.
It was at this time that one of the most important pieces in the Myachi Movement fell into place. Le'ah "Pinky" Davies was already the world's finest female Myachi freestyler (in addition to being Crazy Ivan's lovely wife) and signed on as Myachi's new office manager in the Winter of 2008.
To this day, the movement continues to grow. The ranks of the Myachi army continue to swell with venerated masters like Bones, Noodles, Bamboo, Rush and Unknown with new Masters entering the rigorous training program every year. The next generation of masters slowly hone their skills while Myachi eagerly awaits their 18th birthdays. The game continues to find its way into hundreds of new stores.
By 2011, over one million Myachi Original Handsacks were sold with millions more on the way. Even after all the hard work and dedication that it took to come this far, the Myachi team knows that the best days for the movement are still to come. Rather than look at the million people who have Myachis, Myachi Man continues to focus on the 5,999,000,000 that don't.
The game continues to grow through the same word-of-mouth, grass roots marketing that grew the game from a concept to a major force in the toy industry. With new products on the horizon, new advertising venues opening up every day and a continuous supply of new Maniacs entering the game, the Myachi Movement shows no signs of slowing.
