CLEVELAND -- They may look like toys, but for people who know how to use them, they’re specialized tools.
Logan Broadbent knows a thing or two about that. He earned two world championships and finished second in the world in 2016.
"I've been throwing boomerangs almost my entire life since basically I could walk," Broadbent said.
So, for Broadbent it’s more than just a toy.
"If I'm Lebron James, I can just get another basketball to be able to play with, but no two boomerangs fly alike," Broadbent said.
It’s a lifestyle for Broadbent and he makes it look easy, throwing it far and catching it in dramatic fashion.
"It's easy to throw and catch a boomerang the first time, Broadbent said. “But to become really good at what we do, you have to have the right equipment."
Right now, his world-renowned equipment isn’t even in his possession. Instead it’s in the hands of someone else.
"Unfortunately, it was one lapse in judgment and that was pretty bad luck,” Broadbent said. "A little over a year ago, all of my boomerangs were stolen from a muffler shop."
The theft was captured on camera at the muffler shop in Old Brooklyn, a thief in the night rummaging through Broadbent’s car, eventually popping the trunk and taking the black case.
Of course there’s money lost, but there’s more than that at stake.
"It's basically like learning to walk again,” Broadbent said. "Majority of the boomerangs that I had in my kit were provided by different throwers and competitors from around the world."
He said they were his babies and he would do anything to get them back, including a $500 reward for anyone with information leading to his gear.
The sooner the better, though, because Broadbent is set to try his hand at another championship on July 20.
"I'm a little bit nervous about the World Cup because I do have a whole team, a whole country relying on me to do well,” Broadbent said. "You can be the best athlete in the world, but without the right boomerangs you can't win a world championship."
If you have any information, contact police and email Logan Broadbent at ninjaboomerangs@gmail.com.