Its been a hot minute since Ive had access to this blog and even put thought or effort into it,
I don't know or really care who checks this but its been a great resource for me when it comes to looking back retrospectively on thoughts and feelings from the past.
So Im going to add to it and keep these thoughts flowing.
Here's a interview I did for the homie Copper who has been running a wordpress blog cataloging and picking brains from dancers and capturing a Aotearoa perspective.
https://recordbreaks.wordpress.com/portfolio/pistol-pace/
Hey Pace! Thanks for taking part in this blog. So first thing’s first. When did you start breaking and what got you into it?
I started to see and acknowledge breakin’ 98/99, then started breakin’ around 2000. To be honest, seeing it in video clips like ‘Run DMC vs Jason Nevins – It’s like That’ on Juice TV kicked things off for me. I had tried things like skating, which a lot of my friends growing up were doing but nothing clicked till I found breakin’.
I was trying to teach myself how to windmill on the grass at my grandparents crib and one of my uncles came out, schooled me and said I needed to take a step back and learn my foundation. He then taught me my first six step variation.
Props to Retrospekt for putting me on the right path!
How did you get your name Pace and Pistol Pace?
‘Pacerok’ was my first and original name in breakin’. It was given to me by my homie
We learnt to break together and would battle at school against other homies who were starting out.
Since then, I played around with variations of “Pace” & “Rok/Rawk” but landed on Pistol Pace. Out of all the variations I felt that it represented my style/growth/maturity in my dance. The name was derived from Pistol Pete, the basketball player, for no reason except for the way the alliteration worked.
What crews have you represented past and present and when did you form/join them?
Questionable Teknicians was my first crew, reason being I created it, I used it from time to time with homies from school but that’s as far as it went.
FLESHMAZE – Is my one and only “crew”. I am the 9th member of the squad and was invited to join in 2006 which was the same day as Stretch & Spell’s ‘Wheel of Fortune’ event in the Tron.
NAACALS – This is my extended familia! I want to say 2013 is when I got put down.
Tell us a bit about Fleshmaze. I’ve often heard people referring to Fleshmaze as the ‘funky’ and ‘fresh’ guys. What is your own impression of your crew?
We have 10 official members to the squad.
Samu
Mayhem
I
Nature
Matmatix
Jay Perfect
Hugga
Colour
Pacerok
Pash
My impression of my crew is that we are the fuckin illest in the room at all times! But for real, we are just a family that bonded over the love of breakin’ and the way we like to do it, we are tight on and off the floor. As far as “funky” & “fresh” I guess if that’s how people see us then that’s their perception. We have never tried to portray or get people to see us in a certain light, we were and are just doing us.
For me they were the guys that I was looking for coming up in the scene. For a long time I couldn’t connect with different dancers for all sorts of reasons, whether it be religion/approach to the dance or overall vibe etc.
WHEN I MET THE CREW, GOT INVITED TO RAKINOS FOR A NIGHT OUT AND SAW HOW THEY GOT DOWN, I KNEW I HAD FOUND MY PEOPLE.
Tell us a bit about NAACALS. What does the name mean and how did you connect with them?
NAACALS means “the enlightened ones”, outside of that you will have to do your research, not everything comes for free kids.
For me Naacals are that extended fam and collective. When I moved to Melbourne my Australian day ones were M.O.B.B Step Kidz, then we eventually connected with Kings Only and Fresh Sox. At one point we started reppin’ under random names like Cuban Links, Flesh Mobb, Maze Only etc.
THIS CAME FROM NOT ALL OF OUR CREW MEMBERS BEING AVAILABLE TO REP AT JAMS FOR WHATEVER REASON, SO A COUPLE FROM EACH WOULD DECIDE TO LINK AND REP TOGETHER. THUS NAACALS WAS BORN; A GROUP OF LIKE MINDED INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE DOWN TO REP.
What is your all time favourite jam that you’ve been to?
I’m going to approach this in two ways, favourite jam for nostalgic reasons and actually favorite jam to attend and be a part of.
RSC 30th Anniversary in NY was my favourite jam for nostalgic reasons cause it was dope to travel with the squad to mecca and experience our culture in its birth place, we also met a lot of people from all over Europe who I’m still tight with today.
Radikal Forze Jam in Singapore is probably my favourite ”event” to attend and be a part of as its got a dope balance of competition and chill.
FELIX AND THE SQUAD HAVE FOUND A HAPPY MEDIUM WHERE YOU CAN CREATE YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE BY BEING APART OF THE JAM IN WHATEVER WAY YOU SEE FIT. WHETHER IT’S BEING A ‘STRICT FOR THE WIN, COMPETITION SPIRIT’ OR THE ’CHILL CYPHER AND PARTY VIBE’, IT’S UP TO YOU.
And last, my favourite real “jam” I’ve been to recently was ‘Jamuary’ in London. Dope party, with multiple rooms, multiple DJ’s and people coming from all over Europe and the States, just dancing and enjoying the music, no stage competition.
Describe your style. What makes it uniquely ‘Pace?’
To be honest I don’t know what my “style” is. I have gravitated towards the things I like to do naturally over time, whether it be physical movements specifically or the way I like to react to music.
If I had to categorize it in anyway way it would be “freestyle” cause I have never had “sets” where I have a full combination of moves/movements start to finish. I have individual movements/transitions etc that I will combine in any order however I see fit at the time.
You have one of the sharpest footwork I’ve ever seen. Is your footwork specifically designed to look that way?
I don’t think I ever consciously tried to achieve “sharp” footwork, but as it is one of my favourite aspects of the dance. I guess it’s just come from the time spent learning patterns and drilling movements. I am also aware of my body type and shape, so creating swift movement through footwork is easier for me.
There was a period of time where you were doing a lot more power in your battles. Was that a conscious decision to become more well-rounded?
I’ve never tried to be “well rounded” for competition or even breaking in general, I’ve just always done what I have enjoyed. In terms of power, ground power was always something that came naturally once I understood the technique. But this really comes down to body type; being shorter I felt I’ve always had better control of my centrifugal force.
Also, I was never able to find the true funk in power moves from a personal perspective, so I’ve never truly found a way to incorporate them into my dance as a whole.
What do you do for a living and what are your hobbies outside of breaking?
I have been a Barber for the last 10 years.
Photography, Videography, Film, Calisthenics, Design, Graff, Cooking, Party n Bullshit.
And a bunch of other little things that keep that creative mind active.
How important is style to you? Especially when it comes to your dancing and work as a barber.
STYLE IS PARAMOUNT TO EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE. THE WAY YOU APPROACH AND ROCK ANYTHING FOR ME HAS TO BE ROOTED IN STYLE.
It becomes the representation of who you are as an individual. Not so that others can perceive you in a certain way but so that you can have a strong sense of self internally.
What did the Auckland breaking scene look like when you first started?
When I was first learning and getting down it was healthy!
I remember going to jams and the crowds were packed, the competitions were stacked with crews and individuals, going to practice spots was also the same, they were always busy and had a good diversity in terms of age of dancers.
Crews that come to mind when I think of Auckland back then are Wicked Wizards, Qwik n Ezy, Faith City Rockers, Aerial Combat, there were more but those are the ones that I remember
My definition of a battle is a test of wits. What is your definition of a battle?
Battles for me happen for 2 reasons:
1: The want or need to test yourself/crew against someone who you think is dope, so you can have a physical conversation in which you go back in forth with your opponent out of respect.
2: You’ve got something to settle whether it be finding out who is truly better at the time, or to air out some kind of beef that has come about.
Competition is not a real battle to me, you enter to win or represent, your brackets are pre-determined and you want to win but outside of that there isn’t real emotional investment, unless there are cats in the brackets that you want to “battle” for 1 of the 2 reasons I mentioned.
What was the most heated battle you’ve ever been in?
This one’s tough cause at a period of time every battle that Fleshmaze was apart of was heated. We believed in our shit and were hell bent on making waves. So with that emotional investment and passion, most battles were heated.
One personal battle I remember was in Melbourne, I battled a cat from France and he threw bite and crash signs, which I did neither of at the time.
SO I LET HIM KNOW WHAT I THOUGHT DURING AND AFTER THE BATTLE. AT THE END OF THE BATTLE HE CAME UP SO CHILL AND WANTED TO SHAKE HANDS, I SAID NAH FUCK THAT WE AIN’T COOL WHEN YOU OUT HERE CALLING ME A BITER.
His response was that he was just throwing signs cause that’s what he had seen other people do in battles, and explained that he didn’t really know the meaning of them.
What’s the proper etiquette to address perceived bad judging?
I don’t really know how to approach this answer because judging in itself is naturally biased, unless all judges are sat down and briefed on how exactly they are meant to judge. Outside of that, if a judge is asked to choose winners on how they feel/preference, then that’s up to them and how can that be perceived “bad”?
Without a standardized judging system how can you call someone a “bad” judge, when all they are doing is picking what “they” like. But I suppose if you have a problem then calmly ask the judges their opinions and thoughts. If you disagree then you can either leave it at that or do the usual call them out thing.
From our (Fleshmaze) perspective we always said let’s just be dope enough so that no one can argue who won. We definitely “lost” a bunch of battles we thought we won, but that just made us work even harder.
In the past you’ve mentioned “participation is a key element to giving back to the culture,” what are some other key elements to giving back to the culture?
Teaching: Each one, Teach one.
You don’t need to teach classes with hundreds of people, it can just be those in your circle/younger generations. Pass on the knowledge and lessons you’ve gained because there is no point in dying with knowledge that hasn’t been shared.
Supporting:
This is slightly different to participation cause that’s just showing up and being apart of something. Supporting is really getting in there and helping out. Whether its logistical/creative/physical/monetary, there’s so many ways to offer support to those who are out there doing things for the culture.
CREATE: PUT THINGS ON! FOR US, BY US.
DO THINGS THAT YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE SCENE, THINGS THAT YOU WANT TO BE APART OF OR ATTEND. IF YOU ARE TALKING WITH FRIENDS AND ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT THINGS NOT HAPPENING, BE THE CHANGE INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR CHANGE.
Love it! At one point you moved from Auckland to Melbourne, was breaking a part of that decision?
I look back on the breaking scene in Auckland with such nostalgia. When I started I feel like it was healthy and there were “crews” and jams were busy.
Part of the reason I/we left for Melbourne is because things were dying down and we felt like we needed a new challenge.
What is your biggest achievement to date?
If I think about this in a breakin’ focus, I guess my biggest achievement is still being able to enjoy the dance after so many years, still being able to rock and catch a groove, move in a way that I’m happy with and also to think that I’ve created a lifestyle for myself that has let me travel the world and experience breaking in different environments is a big achievement for me.
How have your goals for breaking changed since you first started?
They have definitely changed as my maturity and approach to the dance has changed. I guess originally I was hell bent on making a name for myself and being the “best”. When I linked with Fleshmaze my mentality was also the same, I wanted our crew to be recognized and to be the top of anything we put ourselves up against.
Unfortunately with that type of mentality comes arrogance and to much egocentricity. I can honestly say that once I started to achieve the things I was striving for a level of arrogance and stand offish energy developed.
NOW I APPROACH BREAKIN’ IN A WAY THAT IS COMPLETELY FOCUSED ON PERSONAL CONNECTION. I DO NOTHING FOR THE RECOGNITION OF OTHERS BUT FOR THE LOVE AND ENJOYMENT THAT I GET OUT OF IT WHEN I DANCE.
I no longer practice to win, I get down because I still enjoy the groovement and it has also become somewhat of movement meditation of sorts. Instead of entering comps to win, I enter to support or for a chance to rep my way of doing things or my crews approach to the dance.
You’ve moved across the globe at this point. What cities have you lived in and what has been the biggest lessons you’ve learnt from your journey?
So far, outside of Auckland I have lived in Melbourne, London, Amsterdam, Berlin and Toronto.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt is that there is so much more out there, and if you’re willing to get out of your comfort zone you can experience it. I’ve also learnt that everyone has a story and it pays to listen more than it does to talk. It also lets you know more about yourself and how you carry yourself in situations that you’re not normally used to.
How long does it take you to typically settle into a new city and what have you done with your belongings every time you’ve needed to move?
Moving so much I have learnt to settle in pretty fast, but I think it all depends on how quickly you can set yourself up so that you can get into a “living” routine.
To feel settled I find you need to do a few things,
Find a “permanent” place to live, if you keep bouncing from couch to couch or move from sub let to sub let you will never feel at home or at ease, so finding accommodation that is more of a permanent feel is key.
Lock in your methods in which you make a living, being broke or not having funds to live the lifestyle you want will also lead to an unsettled feeling, so lock down the ways you are going to make your consistent paper.
Throw yourself into everything that you have interests in, eg: find the local practice spots, this will help you connect with like-minded individuals and also make friends/connections quicker.
In terms of belongings, I basically sold everything that didn’t hold true value to me, when I first left Auckland for Melbourne. I basically got rid of everything I owned that I didn’t need.
I went from having a sneaker collection of 40 plus to owning like 2 pairs of kicks I would wear on the daily.
SINCE THEN I HAVE TRIED TO KEEP MY BELONGINGS LIGHT BECAUSE MOST AIRLINES HAVE A MAX CHECK IN BAGGAGE LOAD OF 2 X 23-30KG BAGS, SO IF MY LIFE DOESN’T FIT INTO THOSE, IT’S GOING TO BE A HASSLE.
Have you seen anything outside of the New Zealand that the Auckland breaking scene should adopt?
Because I haven’t lived in New Zealand for around 10 years it really is hard for me to comment on what you should or shouldn’t adopt. In terms of things that I’ve seen abroad that I think are dope, it would probably be the connectivity of most scenes in different countries to each other.
Obviously when countries are connected by land or are in close proximity distance wise to each other it makes it easier, but it still requires people to make the effort.
Some of the homies in UK were travelling every weekend into Europe for jams on their own dime just to connect and level up, same goes for homies around Asia. I feel because we tell ourselves that we are so far from everyone else, we put barriers up that in reality can be overcome with planning and effort.
I also liked the way that the support for grass roots events was the same as big corporate style events.
I also think instead of spending 10k on running a big corporate/commercial style event, lets spend 10k on 4 grassroots events, or use the 10k to bring more guests/knowledge from abroad to our shores, so instead of paying licensing fees and other overheads, lets invest directly into our community.
I always like to end on a bit of advice. What tips can you give to people that are interested in making that jump, to living abroad? What are the pitfalls that we should look out for?
Whenever I speak to someone about living/working/travelling overseas, my advice is do it. Whatever you’re leaving will most likely be there when you return if you choose to do so.
PLAN, VISUALISE, PLAN.
Moving costs money so have a financial plan in place that will allow you set yourself up and have money to get you going. You’re going to need plane tickets, 1st months rent, bond, possible set up costs like buying furniture etc, and then you will need cash to get you through till your steady income starts coming through. Start speaking to contacts you have if you have any, or start having conversations with people you know to get you in contact with people that can help you once you arrive in a new place.
You can do things on a whim and hope everything will turn out fine, and it probably will but if you have a plan and strategy you can avoid making your life harder than it needs to be.
Give yourself time to adjust; a lot of people give up in the first 6 months. Things take time and nothing happens overnight so give yourself time to learn to adapt and get use to your new surroundings.
BUT.
There is also nothing wrong with ending an experience early, don’t feel disappointed if a place isn’t for you, fuck what people think, do what is right for you, some cities or countries may just not be a good fit for you, so leaving earlier than expected on planned is not failure, just make sure you gave it your all and leave on the knowledge that you did everything to your best ability, or don’t leave and try that first.
Every experience is knowledge gained and lessons learnt so whether it be a month or a year you will take away what you need to progress forward in whatever you decide to do next.
So Im going to add to it and keep these thoughts flowing.
Here's a interview I did for the homie Copper who has been running a wordpress blog cataloging and picking brains from dancers and capturing a Aotearoa perspective.
https://recordbreaks.wordpress.com/portfolio/pistol-pace/
Hey Pace! Thanks for taking part in this blog. So first thing’s first. When did you start breaking and what got you into it?
I started to see and acknowledge breakin’ 98/99, then started breakin’ around 2000. To be honest, seeing it in video clips like ‘Run DMC vs Jason Nevins – It’s like That’ on Juice TV kicked things off for me. I had tried things like skating, which a lot of my friends growing up were doing but nothing clicked till I found breakin’.
I was trying to teach myself how to windmill on the grass at my grandparents crib and one of my uncles came out, schooled me and said I needed to take a step back and learn my foundation. He then taught me my first six step variation.
Props to Retrospekt for putting me on the right path!
How did you get your name Pace and Pistol Pace?
‘Pacerok’ was my first and original name in breakin’. It was given to me by my homie
‘Phoe AKA.’
We learnt to break together and would battle at school against other homies who were starting out.
After a lunch session he said to me, “man you got the pace, that’s what you should call yourself”. At the time I had just learnt windmills and they were my signature move, we called them “rocks” (which in retrospect seems to be Aotearoa specific terminology). So I put them together but dropped the “C” for extra style points.
Since then, I played around with variations of “Pace” & “Rok/Rawk” but landed on Pistol Pace. Out of all the variations I felt that it represented my style/growth/maturity in my dance. The name was derived from Pistol Pete, the basketball player, for no reason except for the way the alliteration worked.
What crews have you represented past and present and when did you form/join them?
Questionable Teknicians was my first crew, reason being I created it, I used it from time to time with homies from school but that’s as far as it went.
FLESHMAZE – Is my one and only “crew”. I am the 9th member of the squad and was invited to join in 2006 which was the same day as Stretch & Spell’s ‘Wheel of Fortune’ event in the Tron.
NAACALS – This is my extended familia! I want to say 2013 is when I got put down.
Tell us a bit about Fleshmaze. I’ve often heard people referring to Fleshmaze as the ‘funky’ and ‘fresh’ guys. What is your own impression of your crew?
We have 10 official members to the squad.
Samu
Mayhem
I
Nature
Matmatix
Jay Perfect
Hugga
Colour
Pacerok
Pash
My impression of my crew is that we are the fuckin illest in the room at all times! But for real, we are just a family that bonded over the love of breakin’ and the way we like to do it, we are tight on and off the floor. As far as “funky” & “fresh” I guess if that’s how people see us then that’s their perception. We have never tried to portray or get people to see us in a certain light, we were and are just doing us.
For me they were the guys that I was looking for coming up in the scene. For a long time I couldn’t connect with different dancers for all sorts of reasons, whether it be religion/approach to the dance or overall vibe etc.
WHEN I MET THE CREW, GOT INVITED TO RAKINOS FOR A NIGHT OUT AND SAW HOW THEY GOT DOWN, I KNEW I HAD FOUND MY PEOPLE.
Tell us a bit about NAACALS. What does the name mean and how did you connect with them?
NAACALS means “the enlightened ones”, outside of that you will have to do your research, not everything comes for free kids.
For me Naacals are that extended fam and collective. When I moved to Melbourne my Australian day ones were M.O.B.B Step Kidz, then we eventually connected with Kings Only and Fresh Sox. At one point we started reppin’ under random names like Cuban Links, Flesh Mobb, Maze Only etc.
THIS CAME FROM NOT ALL OF OUR CREW MEMBERS BEING AVAILABLE TO REP AT JAMS FOR WHATEVER REASON, SO A COUPLE FROM EACH WOULD DECIDE TO LINK AND REP TOGETHER. THUS NAACALS WAS BORN; A GROUP OF LIKE MINDED INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE DOWN TO REP.
What is your all time favourite jam that you’ve been to?
I’m going to approach this in two ways, favourite jam for nostalgic reasons and actually favorite jam to attend and be a part of.
RSC 30th Anniversary in NY was my favourite jam for nostalgic reasons cause it was dope to travel with the squad to mecca and experience our culture in its birth place, we also met a lot of people from all over Europe who I’m still tight with today.
Radikal Forze Jam in Singapore is probably my favourite ”event” to attend and be a part of as its got a dope balance of competition and chill.
FELIX AND THE SQUAD HAVE FOUND A HAPPY MEDIUM WHERE YOU CAN CREATE YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE BY BEING APART OF THE JAM IN WHATEVER WAY YOU SEE FIT. WHETHER IT’S BEING A ‘STRICT FOR THE WIN, COMPETITION SPIRIT’ OR THE ’CHILL CYPHER AND PARTY VIBE’, IT’S UP TO YOU.
And last, my favourite real “jam” I’ve been to recently was ‘Jamuary’ in London. Dope party, with multiple rooms, multiple DJ’s and people coming from all over Europe and the States, just dancing and enjoying the music, no stage competition.
Describe your style. What makes it uniquely ‘Pace?’
To be honest I don’t know what my “style” is. I have gravitated towards the things I like to do naturally over time, whether it be physical movements specifically or the way I like to react to music.
If I had to categorize it in anyway way it would be “freestyle” cause I have never had “sets” where I have a full combination of moves/movements start to finish. I have individual movements/transitions etc that I will combine in any order however I see fit at the time.
You have one of the sharpest footwork I’ve ever seen. Is your footwork specifically designed to look that way?
I don’t think I ever consciously tried to achieve “sharp” footwork, but as it is one of my favourite aspects of the dance. I guess it’s just come from the time spent learning patterns and drilling movements. I am also aware of my body type and shape, so creating swift movement through footwork is easier for me.
There was a period of time where you were doing a lot more power in your battles. Was that a conscious decision to become more well-rounded?
I’ve never tried to be “well rounded” for competition or even breaking in general, I’ve just always done what I have enjoyed. In terms of power, ground power was always something that came naturally once I understood the technique. But this really comes down to body type; being shorter I felt I’ve always had better control of my centrifugal force.
Also, I was never able to find the true funk in power moves from a personal perspective, so I’ve never truly found a way to incorporate them into my dance as a whole.
What do you do for a living and what are your hobbies outside of breaking?
I have been a Barber for the last 10 years.
Photography, Videography, Film, Calisthenics, Design, Graff, Cooking, Party n Bullshit.
And a bunch of other little things that keep that creative mind active.
How important is style to you? Especially when it comes to your dancing and work as a barber.
STYLE IS PARAMOUNT TO EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE. THE WAY YOU APPROACH AND ROCK ANYTHING FOR ME HAS TO BE ROOTED IN STYLE.
It becomes the representation of who you are as an individual. Not so that others can perceive you in a certain way but so that you can have a strong sense of self internally.
What did the Auckland breaking scene look like when you first started?
Who were the big names around at that time?
When I was first learning and getting down it was healthy!
I remember going to jams and the crowds were packed, the competitions were stacked with crews and individuals, going to practice spots was also the same, they were always busy and had a good diversity in terms of age of dancers.
Crews that come to mind when I think of Auckland back then are Wicked Wizards, Qwik n Ezy, Faith City Rockers, Aerial Combat, there were more but those are the ones that I remember
off the top.
My definition of a battle is a test of wits. What is your definition of a battle?
Battles for me happen for 2 reasons:
1: The want or need to test yourself/crew against someone who you think is dope, so you can have a physical conversation in which you go back in forth with your opponent out of respect.
2: You’ve got something to settle whether it be finding out who is truly better at the time, or to air out some kind of beef that has come about.
Competition is not a real battle to me, you enter to win or represent, your brackets are pre-determined and you want to win but outside of that there isn’t real emotional investment, unless there are cats in the brackets that you want to “battle” for 1 of the 2 reasons I mentioned.
What was the most heated battle you’ve ever been in?
This one’s tough cause at a period of time every battle that Fleshmaze was apart of was heated. We believed in our shit and were hell bent on making waves. So with that emotional investment and passion, most battles were heated.
One personal battle I remember was in Melbourne, I battled a cat from France and he threw bite and crash signs, which I did neither of at the time.
SO I LET HIM KNOW WHAT I THOUGHT DURING AND AFTER THE BATTLE. AT THE END OF THE BATTLE HE CAME UP SO CHILL AND WANTED TO SHAKE HANDS, I SAID NAH FUCK THAT WE AIN’T COOL WHEN YOU OUT HERE CALLING ME A BITER.
His response was that he was just throwing signs cause that’s what he had seen other people do in battles, and explained that he didn’t really know the meaning of them.
What’s the proper etiquette to address perceived bad judging?
I don’t really know how to approach this answer because judging in itself is naturally biased, unless all judges are sat down and briefed on how exactly they are meant to judge. Outside of that, if a judge is asked to choose winners on how they feel/preference, then that’s up to them and how can that be perceived “bad”?
Without a standardized judging system how can you call someone a “bad” judge, when all they are doing is picking what “they” like. But I suppose if you have a problem then calmly ask the judges their opinions and thoughts. If you disagree then you can either leave it at that or do the usual call them out thing.
From our (Fleshmaze) perspective we always said let’s just be dope enough so that no one can argue who won. We definitely “lost” a bunch of battles we thought we won, but that just made us work even harder.
In the past you’ve mentioned “participation is a key element to giving back to the culture,” what are some other key elements to giving back to the culture?
Teaching: Each one, Teach one.
You don’t need to teach classes with hundreds of people, it can just be those in your circle/younger generations. Pass on the knowledge and lessons you’ve gained because there is no point in dying with knowledge that hasn’t been shared.
Supporting:
This is slightly different to participation cause that’s just showing up and being apart of something. Supporting is really getting in there and helping out. Whether its logistical/creative/physical/monetary, there’s so many ways to offer support to those who are out there doing things for the culture.
CREATE: PUT THINGS ON! FOR US, BY US.
DO THINGS THAT YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE SCENE, THINGS THAT YOU WANT TO BE APART OF OR ATTEND. IF YOU ARE TALKING WITH FRIENDS AND ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT THINGS NOT HAPPENING, BE THE CHANGE INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR CHANGE.
Love it! At one point you moved from Auckland to Melbourne, was breaking a part of that decision?
I look back on the breaking scene in Auckland with such nostalgia. When I started I feel like it was healthy and there were “crews” and jams were busy.
Part of the reason I/we left for Melbourne is because things were dying down and we felt like we needed a new challenge.
What is your biggest achievement to date?
If I think about this in a breakin’ focus, I guess my biggest achievement is still being able to enjoy the dance after so many years, still being able to rock and catch a groove, move in a way that I’m happy with and also to think that I’ve created a lifestyle for myself that has let me travel the world and experience breaking in different environments is a big achievement for me.
How have your goals for breaking changed since you first started?
Also, what are the biggest changes to your own mindset, then and now?
They have definitely changed as my maturity and approach to the dance has changed. I guess originally I was hell bent on making a name for myself and being the “best”. When I linked with Fleshmaze my mentality was also the same, I wanted our crew to be recognized and to be the top of anything we put ourselves up against.
Unfortunately with that type of mentality comes arrogance and to much egocentricity. I can honestly say that once I started to achieve the things I was striving for a level of arrogance and stand offish energy developed.
NOW I APPROACH BREAKIN’ IN A WAY THAT IS COMPLETELY FOCUSED ON PERSONAL CONNECTION. I DO NOTHING FOR THE RECOGNITION OF OTHERS BUT FOR THE LOVE AND ENJOYMENT THAT I GET OUT OF IT WHEN I DANCE.
I no longer practice to win, I get down because I still enjoy the groovement and it has also become somewhat of movement meditation of sorts. Instead of entering comps to win, I enter to support or for a chance to rep my way of doing things or my crews approach to the dance.
You’ve moved across the globe at this point. What cities have you lived in and what has been the biggest lessons you’ve learnt from your journey?
So far, outside of Auckland I have lived in Melbourne, London, Amsterdam, Berlin and Toronto.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt is that there is so much more out there, and if you’re willing to get out of your comfort zone you can experience it. I’ve also learnt that everyone has a story and it pays to listen more than it does to talk. It also lets you know more about yourself and how you carry yourself in situations that you’re not normally used to.
How long does it take you to typically settle into a new city and what have you done with your belongings every time you’ve needed to move?
Moving so much I have learnt to settle in pretty fast, but I think it all depends on how quickly you can set yourself up so that you can get into a “living” routine.
To feel settled I find you need to do a few things,
Find a “permanent” place to live, if you keep bouncing from couch to couch or move from sub let to sub let you will never feel at home or at ease, so finding accommodation that is more of a permanent feel is key.
Lock in your methods in which you make a living, being broke or not having funds to live the lifestyle you want will also lead to an unsettled feeling, so lock down the ways you are going to make your consistent paper.
Throw yourself into everything that you have interests in, eg: find the local practice spots, this will help you connect with like-minded individuals and also make friends/connections quicker.
In terms of belongings, I basically sold everything that didn’t hold true value to me, when I first left Auckland for Melbourne. I basically got rid of everything I owned that I didn’t need.
I went from having a sneaker collection of 40 plus to owning like 2 pairs of kicks I would wear on the daily.
SINCE THEN I HAVE TRIED TO KEEP MY BELONGINGS LIGHT BECAUSE MOST AIRLINES HAVE A MAX CHECK IN BAGGAGE LOAD OF 2 X 23-30KG BAGS, SO IF MY LIFE DOESN’T FIT INTO THOSE, IT’S GOING TO BE A HASSLE.
Have you seen anything outside of the New Zealand that the Auckland breaking scene should adopt?
Because I haven’t lived in New Zealand for around 10 years it really is hard for me to comment on what you should or shouldn’t adopt. In terms of things that I’ve seen abroad that I think are dope, it would probably be the connectivity of most scenes in different countries to each other.
Obviously when countries are connected by land or are in close proximity distance wise to each other it makes it easier, but it still requires people to make the effort.
Some of the homies in UK were travelling every weekend into Europe for jams on their own dime just to connect and level up, same goes for homies around Asia. I feel because we tell ourselves that we are so far from everyone else, we put barriers up that in reality can be overcome with planning and effort.
I also liked the way that the support for grass roots events was the same as big corporate style events.
I also think instead of spending 10k on running a big corporate/commercial style event, lets spend 10k on 4 grassroots events, or use the 10k to bring more guests/knowledge from abroad to our shores, so instead of paying licensing fees and other overheads, lets invest directly into our community.
I always like to end on a bit of advice. What tips can you give to people that are interested in making that jump, to living abroad? What are the pitfalls that we should look out for?
Whenever I speak to someone about living/working/travelling overseas, my advice is do it. Whatever you’re leaving will most likely be there when you return if you choose to do so.
PLAN, VISUALISE, PLAN.
Moving costs money so have a financial plan in place that will allow you set yourself up and have money to get you going. You’re going to need plane tickets, 1st months rent, bond, possible set up costs like buying furniture etc, and then you will need cash to get you through till your steady income starts coming through. Start speaking to contacts you have if you have any, or start having conversations with people you know to get you in contact with people that can help you once you arrive in a new place.
You can do things on a whim and hope everything will turn out fine, and it probably will but if you have a plan and strategy you can avoid making your life harder than it needs to be.
Give yourself time to adjust; a lot of people give up in the first 6 months. Things take time and nothing happens overnight so give yourself time to learn to adapt and get use to your new surroundings.
BUT.
There is also nothing wrong with ending an experience early, don’t feel disappointed if a place isn’t for you, fuck what people think, do what is right for you, some cities or countries may just not be a good fit for you, so leaving earlier than expected on planned is not failure, just make sure you gave it your all and leave on the knowledge that you did everything to your best ability, or don’t leave and try that first.
Every experience is knowledge gained and lessons learnt so whether it be a month or a year you will take away what you need to progress forward in whatever you decide to do next.
