Good topic Greaves, here is my story:
How did you first discover tops?
I played with tops when I was a kid, my father played with them and he tought me how to throw. I used to play at school, Tops came in waves, one month it was Tops, the next Yo-Yos, the next marbles and so on.
Why did you start spinning?
I rediscover Tops last christmas (2009), when I bought a Top from an artesan to teach my 7 year old boy how to throw them, and I got hooked again, after more than 25 years of not touching one. Jorge's (Master Ta0) videos really motivated me to learn the tricks, I can say that I owe Jorge that motivation, I hope to meet him sometime. Then this forum and all the good people that post here, like Chris Neff, Pulp, Salvador, Mike, MountainTop, Jim, etc
How did you get your first top and what type of top was it?
I had many wooden made colombian Tops when I was a kid, but I started to buy Tops to learn "Artistic Tops" on January of 2010, my first one was an useless Duncan Imperial from Amazon, then I bought a Sidewinder from Amazon and that is when I really started to enjoy the game, I learned to do the boomerang with it, the next one was a Duncan Rip Cord from Amazon, it was tough to throw but started me into modifications. Then I found the Gladiator and it really kick start my learning, that one from Speintastics.com. Regenerations started with the Trompo Grande and the Premier Jumbo from Ta0.
How old were you and how many years have you been spinning?
My "Artistic Top" journey started on January 2010 at age 38.