Santa Cruz pizza spinner twirls circles around other dough tossers
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) -- Santa Cruzan Justin Wadstein is a 13-time pizza spinning world champion; a real slice above the rest.
It's not just all for show, there's a method to his madness... to create the perfect crust.
"I said in high school I would be a famous pizza maker [and] they all laughed at me," said Wadstein. "My family... I would drive them nuts cause I would be spinning pillows watching TV."
Wadstein has been featured on Access Hollywood, Kathie Lee and Hoda, Steve Harvey, Queen Latifah and opening a Fox game show, to name a few. Oh yeah, he's also been in Ripley's "Believe it or Not."
"I started spinning towels, so I would do this with a damp towel," said Wadstein about how he found his calling at 13 while working in the back kitchen of his family's shop. "When I was done doing dishes, I would [spin towels]."
Wadstein has a long history of spinning and tossing pizza, and he intends to forge that forwards with his own local gourmet pizza pop-up shop that uses a wood-fired oven.
He also enjoys paying it forward by teaching others how to spin their own dough. He advises not to be afraid to be a little different and walk to the beat of your drum.
"I never would have thought it would be at this level," said Wadstein, crediting his success to years of practice and patience. "I worked very hard to get where I'm at."
There are only about 50 pizza dough spinners at his level in the world, according to Wadstein.
As the saying goes: "The only thing better than pizza is more pizza."
You can find Wadstein's handiwork at Sleight of Hand Pizza. He also performs at weddings and private events.
