My Thoughts on Raygun and Olympic Breaking

So the Olympics ended last week and I've been sorely missing it. But I've been glued into the drama around the breakdancing event all week. If you haven't been living under a rock, then you've probably heard about ​Raygun​, the 36 year-old Australian b-girl who went mega viral and ​became a meme​ for her "cringe" performance.

I have my own breakdance cringe moment. But I'll share that later in this post.

I'm not here to rehash the entire situation, it's too much to go into. It's hard to find a good ​explainer video​ that doesn't have some bias, misinformation, or misunderstanding. Nor is it easy to find video of her actual performance and not just random clips or ​supercuts of her worst moments​.

Due to her virality, she's been the target of ​mockery and ridicule​. In her first public post since the Olympics, she say ​it's been devastating​. It's sad.

But aside from the Raygun situation, the rest of the Breaking event was outstanding. I loved it. Both the b-girl and b-boy events featured some of the best breakers in the world, including several former world champions. Here's some ​footage of B-Boy Victor​ (USA) who won bronze.

So now that I've basically caught you up, here's my thoughts:

My Thoughts and Backround in Breaking

First, I loved the fact that breaking was in the Olympics. I have been looking forward to it since it was first announced like 3-4 years ago. I was so hyped to see it live. The music was so good, featuring tons of b-boy classics like ​Organ Donor​, ​The Mexican​, ​It's Just Begun​, and ​Superstar Part Zero​. I had to shove the couch to the side and bust out some top rock in my living room with a big smile on my face.

I used to break. First got into it around 2001 when a friend showed me the six step at a party. Then I started looking at videos on sites like bboy.org or bboyworld.com. I was hooked. I started making my own music and brought it to my friends basement parties and we taught each other top rock, freezes, and various moves.

In college at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, I made my ​final animation project​ about breaking. I designed and animated a CG b-boy and composited him into a ​music video​ for one of my songs. It was some of the most fun I've ever had with my friends.

My Reaction to Raygun as it Happened

During the b-girl event, I saw Raygun perform live in the round robin portion. She had to face off against some of the top b-girls such as Logistx, Syssy, and Nikka (2023 world champ). I remember Raygun's performance was kinda quirky. Slow and unorthodox. She looked outmatched out there.

I did feel a bit embarassed for her. I cringed a bit. I laughed a bit because some of her performance was actually funny. Having comical bits in your breaking routine is not uncommon. Having unorthodox moves is encouraged.

But she did the sprinkler. She did a kangaroo hop. She rolled around on the floor like Homer Simpson. She pretended to be a snake. Her dance moves looked like something your kid does when they first try to breakdance. Or they looked like that stereotypical "white person" who attempts to break and it comes across as corny.

There's a way for these moves to not be corny. If b-boy ​Jeffro​ or gold medalist ​Phil Wizard​ did the sprinkler, it would probably be perceived as dope. Because they would have included it the flow of other traditional footwork and power moves.

I looked online at some live comments on Reddit, X, and even 4chan. Everyone was talking about it. Nobody knew what to make of it. Was she serious? Was this a joke? A satire?

Then it came out that she has a ​PhD in Cultural Studies​ and writes and lectures about the ​cultural politics of breaking​. She's written some ​serious think pieces​ on gender, inclusivity, and masculinist meritocracy in breaking and hip hop. She wrote a paper on the Olympics and ​sportification of breaking​.

It put her performance into a new light. Now people thought she might have purposely made a mockery of breaking as a form of protest. She did bad "on purpose" to prove that putting breaking in the Olympics was a bad idea and was some sort of cultural appropriation or gentrification of black culture.

Online Bullying and Social Media

Once word got out that she was a "woke academic white woman" that turned the ridicule into politicized hate. You started to see influencers and rage baiters using her to support their culture war arguments.

Then disinformation and conspiracy theories started getting bandied about, saying she rigged the system and conned her way into the Olympics. Using her white privlege or academic status to take spots away from marginalized people. Or saying her husband was a judge and set up the qualifiers to basically get herself chosen to represent Australia in the Olympics. A change.org petition was even started to "hold her accountable" for fraud. None of this was real, but people took the bait and ran with it.

I can't imagine what Rachael, the actual person, had to have been going through. Seeing everyone talking about her and criticizing not just her performance, but caricatures of what she supposedly represents.

Suddenly everyone had an opinion on breaking. Suddenly people are embarassed because she didn't uphold "Olympic values." Suddenly she's a shining example of "participation trophies" and what happens when "women are never told no."

I could go on.

I just felt awful about it. In ​her video response​, she said she gave it her all and was devastated by the online hate mobs. I'm a big fan of Jon Ronson's book ​So You've Been Publicly Shamed​ which dives deep into the early cancel culture. In his latest podcast ​Things Fell Apart​ (which I love), he tells stories of how innocent people's lives are ruined by social media culture wars. Rachael is definitely a victim for this.

But when she makes a video about how she's devastated and asking people to stop harassing her and her family, that only adds fuel to the fire. People get meaner and say ​she's playing the victim​ as this one "mental health expert" describes. People say it's "just criticism" and she's the one who is wrong for "getting her feelings hurt." I read the comments and it's like people aren't even living in reality. They're attacking a made up idea in their head of what they think she represents.

People demand that she "take accountability" like she did something terribly wrong. They want her to "own it" like the ​Hawk Tuah girl​ and laugh at herself, make merch, and monetize her moment as a "successful" way to handle this situation. Like she owes any of these people anything.

It made me feel sick following it, but I couldn't stop reading about it.

But why am I personally invested? Why do I care?

I could relate. I felt like an outsider sometimes in the scene. Not feeling like I fit in.

Like I said, I have a history with breaking. I was more seriously involved from 2009-2014 where I took classes from respected b-boys in the Cleveland scene. I wanted to get better and learn from real mentors instead of just watching videos online and practicing in my basement.

My own breakdance cringe moment

In my very first breakdance class, I found myself standing out. I was 28 years old. Around me were kids ages 5-15. My teacher was 32, but that's okay because he's the teacher. But hey, it was advertised as "all ages". I already felt like an outsider, doing something I haven't really done before in front people I didn't know.

The class was going well, following the steps from the instructor... dripping sweat as my body hadn't worked this hard in years. But then came the final cypher at the end of class. Where a circle opens up and each dancer takes turns going off in the center.

The instructor encouraged me to get out there. So I went in and did a few moves that I knew from my college days. I did some okay top rock and footwork, and some basic freezes.

But then...

I did this front hand-spring into a headstand front flip. Straight into the chest of a five year old boy. Sending him flying backwards into the wall where he prompty started wailing in tears. Everyone in the room gasped and stopped. I ran over to check on him and apologize, but he looked terrified. I feel absolutely horrible.

Fortunately, he was fine, just a little shaken up. He rejoined the group and we all finished the cypher. But I was mortified.

This was my first impression. On the other side of the window watching were moms and dads practicaly the same age as me. That was someone's kid that I just hit. Fuck. I felt terrible.

Afterward, I spoke to the instructor and the owner of the dance studio. I apologized multiple times in shame, but they told me it was okay. That accidents happen. We're glad everyone is okay. Next time just be more aware of my surroundings.

I wasn't sure I even wanted to come back. Or if they'd even have me. But they encouraged me to come back and give it another go. I did.

Sticking with it

Four months later I was invited to perform with the kids at the local mall. Here's a ​video of it​. I'm the one with the white shirt and hat. Go ahead and laugh, cringe, or clap along lol.

Some of you will say, "dang, good on him for giving it a go!" It's something many people just wouldn't dare do. Getting out there and dancing in front of strangers is freaking scary. Especially when you're not really practiced or confident in your moves. Especially if you didn't grow up doing it.

I'm someone that can be quite in his head and prone to social anxiety. But I just love the music and dance so much that I had an inner passion that inspired me to do it.

Over the course of the next few years I'd get better and do some more performances. Every time I felt nervous as hell and in disbelief that they'd even let me out there. But maybe I wasn't as bad as I thought. Maybe it was kind fun having me out there.

I enjoyed myself and would love to get back into it, just as a way to stay in shape and keep my body moving. I have no aspirations to battle or perform

Raygun will probably be remembered in a few years as a legend. Making breaking go mainstream. Inspiring a new generation of kids to get into it after doing her Kangaroo Hop move. That's awesome.

Most b-boys I've heard comment on the situation say it's sad she's getting so much hate online, but are supporting her. They say her original moves are part of what breaking is all about. She qualified for the Australia team fair and square and shined a light on her country's lack of support for breaking. But it will only grow from this.

Raygun brought millions of eyeballs onto the breaking scene. While her videos overshadowed some of the awesome performances at the Paris Olympics, eventually her time in the spotlight will fade and the good stuff will rise. I feel like this will be a positive for the breaking community overall.

But I really feel for Rachael as a person. I hope she is doing alright.

Thanks for reading. Have a good weekend. ✌️

Jeff