Entrepreneur Plus - Short White
For Subscribers

How One of America's Most Beloved Toy Makers Rebounded From Near Death Wham-O created the Frisbee, Slip 'N Slide and more. Then it fell into disrepair -- until a new leader came along.

By Joe Keohane

This story appears in the March 2018 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

Doug Chayka

John Hinnen always wanted to make things. A born tinkerer, the son of Illinois spent the better part of his 20s designing toys and novelties in his parents' garage. He created a line of greeting cards and peddled them all around downtown Chicago in his cowboy boots. He created an elaborate child's educational toy that got good feedback but was so complicated to build that he couldn't make the economics work. He had a little wooden toy that twisted from a heart to an egg that, he says, he "thought was the next pet rock." It wasn't.

Life would go on. He married. In May of 1989, he and his wife were expecting their first child. "I had to get real," he says. He got a job at the Diamond-Star Motors plant in Bloomington. He had two more kids, bought a house by a park in Peoria. It was a happy life, though with a sacrifice: "I kind of put the dream on hold," he says.

This is a subscriber-only article. Join Entrepreneur+ today for access

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

Business News

Tech CEO, 26, Found Dead in Suspected Murder

Pava LaPere founded EcoMap Technologies in December 2018.

Business News

Target Will Close 9 Stores Across 4 States Due to Ongoing Crime That's 'Threatening the Safety' of Customers and Employees

Target stated that it "invested heavily" in efforts to combat crime, but it just didn't work.

Business News

Sorry, Point-Lovers—Buying With a Credit Card Can Be Costly For Small Businesses

"Swipe fees" — charges imposed on merchants for processing card payments — can add up for small businesses, with some saying it's their third largest expense.

Business News

People Are Eager to Go to Europe. But a 'Strange and Humiliating' Requirement Is Derailing Travel Plans.

There aren't enough resources to keep up with the demand — and it's causing major problems.

Business News

This State Just Replaced New York as the Country's Second Most Valuable Housing Market

A recent report by Zillow found that Florida has edged out New York as the second most valuable housing market in the U.S., while California is still No. 1.