Participants of the Red Bull BC One workshop with All Star Roxrite in Ku

Local B-Boys were once again pumped up for the return of one of the world’s top one-on-one B-Boy competitions – the Red Bull BC One Cypher, which was held last Saturday at Chin Woo Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.

One of the highlights of this event was the opportunity for breakdancing fans to watch the Red Bull BC One All Star(s) in action.

Last year’s competition saw Red Bull BC One All Stars B-Boys – Pelézinho, Cico and Wing gracing the event here. Back then, they gave workshops around Malaysia and were also the judges of the competition, where B-Boy Juicy rose as champion.

This year, All Star B-Boy Roxrite, was the pick to come to Malaysia. He came alone, but Roxrite definitely was the life of the party.

Red Bull BC One All Star B-boy Roxrite was in Penang to run a workshop for local B-boys. Photo was taken at Chew Jetty, Penang.

Hailing from San Diego, United States and born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Roxrite (meaning rocks right) has been B-Boying since the age of 12.

Despite his years in the scene, the crafty chap showed experience and fresh mastery counts in the long run. His competition collection of 82 championship titles from around the world is staggering.

B-Boys from Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Penang, who converged for the event, were in for a treat as they were given a personal workshop by the All Star himself.

“Breaking (breakdancing) is not just about what moves you do, but how you move. It’s about originality and personal style, not following whatever you see on Youtube.

“It’s important to develop your own style. It’s all about going into a battle with your own style,” explained Roxrite.

Over 150 B-Boys from all over the country gathered for the competition last Saturday. Everybody held out for a chance to compete in Tokyo, Japan for the Asia-Pacific qualifying round.

Brothers B-Boy Khenobu, 20, and B-Boy Juicy, 23, made a battle encounter in the semi-finals.
Khenobu eventually came up as the winner and champion of the cypher.

Champion B-boy Khenobu with the judges B-boy Sabamon, B-boy True Colours and Red Bull All Stars BBoy Roxrite at the Red Bull BC One Malaysia Cypher at Chin Woo Stadium.

Khenobu, who frequently trains with his brother, said that they are both familiar with each other’s strengths and weaknesses, which was probably why Khenobu could outplay his older brother.

“Japan’s B-Boy scene has a very good reputation, and the competition will be very tough. I’m happy that Malaysia is also getting known internationally for B-Boying; many international B-Boys are coming to Malaysia,” said Khenobu, whose real name is Mohd Faridh.

Roxrite, whose real name is Omar O. Delgado Macias, 31, said he is thinking less about competing nowadays, and more about imparting knowledge to the future generations of B-Boys.

“I want to spend more time touring and teaching classes. Battling around the world can be really fun, but I also want to do something for the (breakdancing) scene,” said the All Star.

Roxrite said most of the participants were shy and timid, but he believed that all of them walked away gaining something from the workshop.

In fact, many of them are not just self-taught, but learned their skills from the Internet.

Be it street savvy moves or improvised routines, Roxrite reckoned an individual can improve with hard work.

B-boy Roxrite giving a demonstration to participants at a workshop prior to the Red Bull BC One Malaysia Cypher at Centre Stage Studio, Penang.

He emphasises on the process it takes to become a skilled B-Boy, which is through time and practise.
“B-Boy beginners may look at videos and think that they can achieve what they see right away, but it doesn’t work that way. It’s a process, and part of the process is about learning what your own style is.”

At the end of the interview, Roxrite also gave more advice for Malaysian B-Boys: “I always tell people, ‘when you do something, you gotta know where it came from and what it represents, so you will know what you represent. You don’t do it just because it’s cool.’ Many countries don’t educate on hip hop and provide opportunity for kids to learn about it.”