FLAME ON!

I KNOW there will be disagreement. That's cool. Respectfully leave your comments below:

Every year, several times per year, I get people complaining about our event, exploitation, ignorance, etc.

I have never once found had any of the people who complain actually do some research about the event or me. It appears knee jerk and, IMHO, it's counter productive to the scene. Instead of targeting the real exploiters it's a scatter gun approach and real street dance gets caught in the crossfire.

Possibly worse than that, I have never once seen the people who complain go back and ‘ retract' what they said. They leave the complaint public but might step to me privately to say they misunderstood or were misunderstood. In the meanwhile, the public sees that stuff and think ‘oh ok. It's bullshit so I won't go.'

Most of the people complaining were not around 12 years ago when I was active on the UK Bboy forum saying that we needed to work together instead of burning each other all the time.

Most people were NOT at our first event when I introduced Chimp and Flexy and told people in the UK that we needed to have the battles at events like this because it was representative of what REAL street dance was about.

I believe I am the ONLY person in the UK representing street dance who was born into the culture in New York in the 60's and moved to Cali in 1980 as popping was beginning to hit (no pun intended). I even lived almost around the corner from Popin Pete.

The UK is the loudest voice (for the wrong reasons) but the least represented bboy community in the international scene full stop. That's because UK bboys don't attend tough events. If they do they ‘watch'. Even at local events, there's a ton of looky-loos with cameras and twitter but no cyphers, etc.

I don't consider myself a bboy, but I went to jam run by Timber in Manchester some years ago. Even I got down next to Supa J. Were where the rest of the bboy's? I don't know. But people run like mad to lame events.

I would love to see the UK bboy community stop moaning about an event they've never attended and come down and support a battle. I would love to see UK bboys in America again. it's a waste if I'm spending all my time dealing with burns…. This stuff just about killed the locking community in the UK. I think we need to reconsider and turn it around.

It's a waste if I'm spending all my time dealing with burns…. This stuff just about killed the locking community in the UK.

I think we need to reconsider and turn it around.

What's your opinion?