Interview: Red Bull BC One Finalist Sunni Brummitt

December 6, 2012

B-Boy enthusiasts from all over the world are preparing for one of the most important battle events of 2012. A total of 16 (break dancers) B-Boys from 11 nations will be taking part in the B-Boy world championship, the Red Bull BC One, Saturday (Dec 8) in Rio de Janeiro. Representing the UK is 17-year old B-Boy Sunni Brummitt of Soul Mavericks. He’ll be competing for the first time in the Red Bull BC One, and ahead of his big day we caught up with him to find out how he’s coping.

How does it feel to have made it into the final of Red Bull BC One – Breaking World Championships?

It feels good, it feels great! You’ve made the top 16 B Boys in the world. It feels amazing to be in Rio!

What do you think most impressed the judges?

I don’t really know! Me and my crew, Soul Mavericks, have been doing a lot recently. I made the final of UK Champs with them a couple of years ago, we’ve been doing pretty well in other competitions – it’s just all about being original really. This year there’s a lot of other upcoming talents as well.

How long have you been preparing for this?

I’ve just had a solid 2 week schedule, training 6-7 hours a day.

What was your motivation for doing Red Bull BC One?

Simple, it’s the best competition in the world.

The competition seems daunting. How do you deal with the pressure at such a young age? How do you hang in there?

The pressure is what you make of it really, but there is a lot of pressure. I mean at the moment, we’re all just chilling, hanging out with the B Boys we see a lot of the time in the circuit. I mean everyone is in battle mode at the moment but we’re also managing to have fun, and we’re doing loads of shoots with Red Bull which is great. I don’t know what I’m going to do on Saturday though when it all kicks off!

What makes you standout compared to your other opponents?

Er, my English accent! [Laughs] I’d also say probably the fact that I like to dance, whilst also spending a great deal of time listening to the music and top-rocking. I don’t really like to do foundational power, I like to put my own twist on everything. You won’t often see me doing foundation stuff which I think makes me different. Even if’s it not as high level as the rest, it’s all mine which I’m proud to say.

What values did your parents instil in you?

I don’t know – just enjoy yourself, life’s not as serious as everyone makes it seem. I mean they didn’t really instil any values as such; we just had a good 17 years. I mean my family is incredibly supportive of me and my dreams. I owe it to my mum more than anyone, even more than my coach and my crew. She was the one that used to drive me to practice, let me take days off school to train. I can’t say that about anyone else.

What’s your daily routine like?

Over the last 2 weeks, I’ve been training 6 or 7 hours a day especially for this competition but since I’ve been in Rio, I’ve been rushed off my feet with all the Red Bull stuff and all the press stuff so it’s all been turned upside down. I mean, a normal daily routine is going to school 9 until 3 everyday which makes things kind of hard sometimes but I always just try and train as much as possible.

What’s your New Year resolution?

Stop crashing my moves! [Laughs]