One of the gold medal favorites for the Olympics' newest sport says he's entirely self-taught and never even had an official coach.
Breaking, a battle style of dance that involves acrobatics and precise musicality, is making its debut at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris as the sport grows increasingly competitive worldwide.
Breaking was first introduced on the Olympic stage at the 2018 Summer Youth Games in Buenos Aires. Its success led the International Olympic Committee to include it in the 2024 line-up, part of a larger mission to appeal to "young people and reward creativity and athletic performance," according to the Olympics website.
Victor Montalvo was the first American to qualify for the breaking competition in Paris, which took place Aug. 9 - 10. Montalvo ultimately went home with a bronze medal, being beat by Canadian B-Boy Phil Wizard (Philip Kim) who took home gold, and French B-Boy Dany Dann who landed with the silver medal.
Montalvo first started learning to break when he was about 9 or 10 years old, after watching his cousin perform head spins to Argentinian music in front of a small TV in the living room.
Breaking and its rich culture is ingrained in Montalvo’s family history. In the 1980s, Montalvo’s father and uncle used to break as teenagers growing up in Mexico although there wasn’t an official “breaking scene,” he says.
Most breakers, also known as b-boys and b-girls, are completely self-taught, he tells TODAY.com.
"Nowadays, there's more coaches getting into breaking. Whether it's a father or a teacher that used to break back in the day," he says. "But for me, I never had a coach."
During an interview that aired July 10, Montalvo told TODAY’s Craig Melvin that his dad built a “training house” for him in the back of their home in Florida.
“My dad did that for us and for my friends just for us to stay out of trouble, you know, and just focus on this dance,” he said. “And yeah, I feel like it helped my career a lot, because I was there all day, every day, training.”
Breaking first hit the international competitive stage in 1990, when the inaugural Battle of the Year was held in Germany, a breaking competition that has been considered a World Cup equivalent for b-boys and b-girls.
When Montalvo hits the Olympic stage in August, he says he's bringing with him not just a desire for gold but a mission to represent the larger culture of breaking, one that goes all the way back to 1970s New York.
"I got my ticket straight to the Olympics. That's a stepping stone to the main goal, which is to win gold and to represent breaking, my family and my people," he tells TODAY.com.
Breaking vs. breakdancing
The sport of breaking is likely familiar to many as “breakdancing.” And while breaking is a form of dancing, many in the community see the term “breakdancing” as a clear indicator that the speaker doesn't know much about the sport or its history.
Breakdancing was a term created by the media, Montalvo says.
"A lot of breakers didn't like it, especially underground breakers, the ones that weren't commercialized," he says.
The original term to refer to someone who breaks is "b-boy" and "b-girl," which is how many Olympic hopefuls identify. The "break" comes from the term breakdown, the part of a song where the percussion takes over. DJ Kool Herc, known as one of the founding fathers of hip-hop, is credited with giving the dancers the name "break-boys" and "break-girls," which evolved into "b-boys" and "b-girls."
To those in the sport and within the hip-hop community, the term breakdancing was seen as "corny." Because it was seen as culturally inept, those who used the term were given a special nickname.
"They call them toys, people that don't know anything about the dance," Montalvo says.
Breaking as a ‘full-time job’
The introduction of breaking at the Olympics comes with a specific culture and identity, one some spectators may be discovering for the first time this summer.
But breaking has been Montalvo's "full-time job" since he was 11 or 12 years old, he says.
He started out winning prize money through "straight battling," he says.
"I started winning $50 in an event here and there traveling throughout Florida," he says. "And then from there, $100, then from there, $1000. And I just started going up and up and up."
Then in 2015, he won "every breakers dream" — the Red Bull BC One World Championship.
"Then I got sponsored by Red Bull, which was a big help," he says.
Montalvo, though self-taught, knows that while he has his own unique "fingerprint" on the breaking community, he's been influenced by b-boys from his upbringing and throughout history.
"It's all about creating your own fingerprint," he says. "Getting influenced by the people... that you're inspired by, but creating your own path from that, not copying their style."
Montalvo says he's known for "old school" fundamentals with a "new school flavor." He says his "new school" mentality is more "dynamic," with moves that are bigger and better while his breaking character and style are more traditional.
"I'm known for being well-rounded, creative, original... it's hard to even say for me, I guess you've got to ask someone else," he says with a laugh.
How is breaking scored?
Breaking is judged in five categories: vocabulary, technique, execution, originality and musicality, with each aspect representing 20% of the overall score, according to the 2024 Olympics website.
Competition is a one-on-one battle, and judging is a comparison between the two competitors. The battle consists of three rounds, and the athlete who wins two out of the three rounds wins the battle.
"Breaking is all about undermining your opponent," Montalvo says.
Most competitors have signature moves that they can pull out in each round.
"I just pick three signature moves for each round and then in between, I improvise," he says. "Sometimes you forget what to do, so you've got to improvise and adapt in the moment... You have your signature sets, but then you have to be ready to have a plan B, because anything can happen."
Montalvo says he can usually tell when he's a winning or losing a battle.
But what should audiences look out for?
"The biggest thing is repetition," he says. "Because there can be someone that is doing amazing moves. But if you're doing the same move every round, and it still looks amazing, that doesn't count."
"The person that's coming up with new material is winning, not the person that's repeating the same move over and over and over," he adds.
Musicality, or the ability to stay right in the pocket of the beat, is also a key factor of a successful performance.
"If a person is offbeat, automatically, they're losing," he says.
Each battle is overseen by a DJ, and breakers don't know what they are going play.
"Sometimes you don't like the song, but you've got to go in there like it's the best song ever," he says.
But Montalvo has an edge going into Paris.
"I’m gonna debut a bunch of new moves," he told TODAY's Craig Melvin. "I’m reinventing myself and just, like coming up with, like, new signatures, new moves, new styles. Like, a new Victor."
As for his goal in Paris, the breaking athlete says it's pretty simple.
"My goal is to win gold," he said. "But my main goal is to showcase this beautiful art form, this beautiful sport to, you know, a different audience."
Who’s competing in breaking for Team USA?
In addition to Montalvo, three other athletes qualified for Team USA at the Paris breaking competition.
- Jeffrey Louis, B-Boy Jeffro
- Sunny Choi, B-Girl Sunny
- Logan Edra, B-Girl Logistx
