From Warehouse Shifts to Worldwide Dance 🕺

“I was already interested in dance,” he said. “Things like C-walk. Breaking was a really good crossover between dancing and bodyweight fitness.”

What started as a university hobby quickly became a lifestyle. Despite studying in what he described as “the middle of nowhere”, Jacek spent his university years training constantly and searching for fellow break dancers to practise with.

“Breakdancing is a sport where you want to practise with other people,” he said. “You get a lot of energy and inspiration from other people.”

Now living in Oxford, Jacek describes breaking as “the most athletic dance you’ll ever see”, as it combines strength, creativity and musicality all into one performance.

Breaking’s global status as a sport was solidified through its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The sport blends a range of elements including power moves, footwork, freezes, flips and top rock. Jacek says every country and dancer develops their own style, shaped by different inspirations and communities.

Unlike many sports, breakdancing competition routines are often improvised entirely on the spot. 

“The advantage of freestyle is you can vibe with the music and flow with different aspects of it,” he explained. “But a little bit of both is optimal.”

Over the years, Jacek has competed in events across Birmingham and Manchester, specialising in ground power moves, as he prefers to rely on strength rather than flexibility. One of the hardest skills he has learned is the “Babymill”, also known as the “Munchmill”.

This move is a variant of the windmill where the legs are crossed and kept close to the dancer's body, creating a fast spinning motion on the back. It involves high shoulder rotation and strong core control and momentum.

Watch this short video below to witness the Top 10 Best Power moves of 2018. How many do you think you can do?

But for Jacek, breaking is about far more than competition results.

One of his proudest achievements has been forming a dance community in Oxford, bringing together people from different backgrounds to train and grow together. Even while travelling abroad, the culture has followed him. During a trip to Cartagena, Colombia, he spotted local breakers performing in the street, introduced himself and organised a group training session for the next day.

“It’s universal,” he said.

Although breaking has existed for decades, Jacek firmly believes the sport is now entering a new era.

“It’s growing,” he said. “People sometimes say, ‘oh, is it still alive?’ but it’s definitely becoming more popular again.”

He believes the inclusion of breaking at the Paris Olympics gave the sport valuable exposure, however much of the online attention focused on viral memes surrounding Australian competitor Rachael Gunn rather than the wider talent on display.

Rachel, also known as Raygun, lost all three of her dance battles at the Olympics in a fashion that was unseen before and quickly took the internet by a storm. Across the globe, Raygun’s performances were mocked and criticised, and an anonymous petition that demanded she apologised for the performance reached 50,000 signatures. 

“There were so many amazing moments that got overshadowed,” he said.

Breaking is not set to return for the next Olympics in Los Angeles, though Jacek pointed out that the decision had already been made before Paris took place. Despite that setback, he believes the future of the sport remains strong, especially among younger generations.

“It’s very appealing to kids,” he said. “The entry level is low. Young children can start by just spinning around and jumping on the floor.”

He also pointed to major growth in countries like China and Japan, where videos of extremely young breakers performing advanced moves regularly circulate online and go viral.

During the Paris Olympics, Japan's breakdancing team had all five of their athletes progress to the finals, with three of the breakers, Ami, Ayumi and Riki earning perfect scores.

Still, he admits that despite break dancing's growing popularity, making a living from it remains difficult. Sponsorships are rare, and many dancers balance training with full-time jobs unless they build a major social media presence.

For Jacek, breaking’s biggest value lies in what it provides for people beyond physical skill.

“Everyone tries breakdancing for different reasons,” he said. “Sometimes it helps people disconnect from struggles in personal life.”

He believes the combination of creativity and physical challenge can help people develop confidence and identity in ways few other activities can.

“Doing something creative and demanding is one of the best ways to develop as a person,” he said. “It helped me massively in finding out who I am.”

His advice to anyone curious about the sport is simple:

“Take initiative and try to be the main character in your life.”

Where to Watch?

“Red Bull BC One” for some of the highest level breaking battles and documentaries

“STANCE” for battle footage, sessions and global breaking culture

“BBoy Pocket / Kaio” for tutorials, training advice and learning the basics

“@redbullbcone” for short clips from elite breakers around the world

“@stanceelements” for event highlights and event media

Jam sessions and local cyphers are one of the best ways to experience breaking properly. Search:

A lot of the culture exists offline, not just online.

Want to Try Yourself?

Learn simple top rocks, footwork and freezes first.

Don’t rush straight into flips or power moves. Control and rhythm matter most early on.

You don’t need a professional studio.

A smooth floor, some open space and comfortable clothes are enough to start.

Everyone struggles in the beginning.

Breaking takes coordination, rhythm and confidence, so progress can feel slow at times. That’s normal!

Use the references above and start learning from other breakers online.

A huge part of breaking is taking inspiration and slowly building your own style from it.

Even short sessions help massively.

Consistency is far more important than exhausting yourself with long sessions once a week.

Breaking is built around community and learning from others.

Search for local classes, dance societies or open training sessions. Even just showing up and watching can help you improve fast.