I started breaking in early 2000 when I was 12 years old, and now that it is 2014, this marks my 14th year of breaking! Since the age of five, I was always interested in dancing, but when I discovered breaking in middle school with my older brother, we were both hooked right away. We started off imitating b-boys we watched on VHS tapes from Freestyle Session 3 and B-boy Summit ’99. By 2002, I had joined the Lionz of Zion crew and was able to practice and learn from some of the best in the DMV scene (DC, Maryland, Virginia). I never imagined my life with b-boying would come to where it has today – traveling the world breaking and inspiring others to push themselves as I have had the opportunity to do.
While I have competed throughout the world, most recently I have begun doing more work as a coach/teacher, event promoter, and judge. I am currently working at a hip-hop nonprofit organization in Washington, DC known as Words Beats Life (WBL). I coach and teach at WBL and host open practice sessions as an after-school program. I also organize and promote two breaking events for WBL in DC, Top Notch in the early spring and Freshest of All Time during the summer. In addition, in 2012 and 2013 I co-produced the To The Pointz battle in 5 Pointz, NYC alongside Kid Glyde of the Dynamic Rockers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HhE1H74ITI. In June of this year, I will be organizing a prize money event in Phoenix together with Gravity, which will be part of the 2014 Pro Breaking Tour and which will benefit a charity for school children named Playworks.
As my career has progressed, I’ve become increasingly interested in building with the community, because I want to help preserve the history and maintain the integrity of this dance and culture. Working with a nonprofit such as Words Beats Life allows me to give something back to the community without taking anything away from it, which brings me to the topic of UDEF.
I look forward to working together with some of the nation’s top b-boys, b-girls and promoters through the non-profit UDEF to build something great for the competitive breaking scene. For too long we’ve been plagued with a scene that is missing the professionalism necessary to move our events to the next level. With the coordination and structure UDEF is now bringing to the table, we should be able to transition to an increasing number of well-organized and professional events. With some of the nation’s top breakers and promoters as the driving force behind the non-profit UDEF, we also have a chance to gain corporate sponsorships and prize money for the events and endorsements for the b-boys and b-girls. This development will benefit all breakers and promoters without our having to sacrifice the integrity of this dance and our culture. An initiative like UDEF has been long overdue.
I can’t wait to see how the scene will evolve and progress in 2014 with the involvement from UDEF, Silverback B-boy Events and Freestyle Session. It’s exciting times and we have a great opportunity to take this dance to the next level!
Peace!
Bboy Toyz (Geoffrey Chang), Lionz of Zion – Maryland/DC, USA
2014 Trailer: http://youtu.be/dWN4cBC4LiQ
CCFV Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Yak Films: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
To the Pointz Recap 13’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Blog: www.toyzofzion.com
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