Goodbye 2013 and welcome in the new year!!! Wow, 2014 is going to be fire.
I go by the bboy name of Kid Glyde. My father’s bboy name was Glyde and he passed down the legendary crew Dynamic Rockers to me to carry on tradition. In my 18 years within the dance culture of breaking, I have been involved in many ways as a competitor, instructor, promoter, performer, crew leader and an entrepreneur.
The year 2013 was one of learning for me, both through successes and failures. The Dynamic Rockers traveled a lot nationally, competing in many battles. We also organized a number of events within the New York area, including our 34th year Dynamic Rockers Anniversary. Next year is the big 35 and it is going to be big for us!
During 2013, we also started an educational program for kids and adults named the Dynamic Rockers Academy, located in Brooklyn. It is a great feeling to share the knowledge and traditions of our crew, which has now been passed down three generations.
Additionally in 2013, several partners and I co-founded a new company named Rep Your Style, which supported numerous community events and charity benefits in our region. The mission of Rep Your Style is to support theurban arts community as leaders, encouraging individuality and creative expression in the arts, dance and education. Lasting memories were made with events at the legendary 5 Pointz. May she rest in paint!
And to top it off, I could not have accomplished all of this without my wonderful lady Melanie! I just turned 30 and am a proud father of a beautiful daughter and a son is on the way. It is not easy being a bboy and maintaining a life to support your family, but I am finding the path and pushing forward with the choice 100 percent. No turning back now.
As I step back and reflect, I see that many of the dreams I have had for our community are unfolding one-by-one. I am especially excited to see the development of the $100,000 Pro Breaking Tour organized under the non-profit UDEF. It has been a dream of mine to see a professional bboy tour ever since attending my first prize money events, such as the Miami Pro Am, Breaker’s Delight and Back To Mecca! In those events I first met many of the world’s best bboys, who I have since gotten the chance to know personally and of course, competitively.
Now here we are entering 2014 with the launch of a professional bboy tour that can help spark a new era for bboys and bgirls and take it to greater heights. I know this development can be scary for some bboys, but if the Tour is run by the bboys/bgirls and for the bboys/bgirls, which is the case with the UDEF non-profit, then we can be excited about the potential.
Just last week the crew and I attended a Pro Breaking Tour-sanctioned tune-up event in Philadelphia named the “Going Away Jam,” held in honor of three bboys who are joining the U.S. Army (Knuckles, Lem and Juan). Let me tell you, there was nothing but cyphers the whole night from the beginning to the very end. Over 40 bboys and bgirls earned prize money, including ten for the cyphers. Believe me, in the events we are organizing in 2014, which will also be sanctioned by the Pro Breaking Tour, there will be the cyphers! UDEF and the Pro Breaking Tour are here to help bring the bboys and bgirls to the next level, so keep yourself connected.
You might wonder, how does a non-profit like UDEF and the Pro Breaking Tour help us as bboy and bgirls? Well first, the competition is the best part. We are going against the best in the U.S. and with $100,000 on the line for two events in 2014, quite possibly the best in the world. Second, we can have a voice in the future of our dance culture. Third, our crews have something to look forward to – they have a reason to train and become great in the dance. Fourth, through good organization under a non-profit, we finally have the chance of attracting corporate sponsorship and TV into bboying, creating not only prize money opportunities for bboys and bgirls, but endorsement opportunities as well.
Thanks for reading what I have to say, DYNAMIC OUT!!!
Kid Glyde
President of the Dynamic Rockers
Co-founder of Rep Your Style
Here are some links to the Dynamic Rockers crew:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Kid Glyde teaching:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Website for Rep Your Style:
Dynamic Rockers Anniversary trailer: