How B-boy Victor Made Paris 2024 Olympics History By Channeling the “Essence of Breaking”

After you made it out of the round robin, which you got to prepare for, how did you deal with those final matches? What was going through your head?

I had a lot of relief once I made it into the top eight, because my bracket was actually one of the hardest. So the three dudes I had in the round robin, I had Lithe-Ing from China, and Hiro10 and Shigekix from Japan. All three are little terminators—they just keep on going. I don’t have half the moves they have, but I do have the experience, and I have the originality and the feeling—the essence of breaking.

But I also had a lot of doubts. I had a lot of pressure on me, and I was just like, Man, am I still capable of doing it? So I just kept on thinking positive. I’m like, You’ve done it before, this is just another event. That’s your dance floor. Take your time, enjoy it. It’s about trying to do your best every round, giving it your all. I don’t care if you pass out. In the semis, I lost against Dany Dann, which was pretty difficult because he had the hometown advantage. The crowd was going crazy for every little [move] he was doing.

In that battle, I thought your originality was just off the charts compared to him, but I do feel like he was drawing off that hometown energy. Why do you think that match turned out the way it did?

Every judge has a different idea, and every battle has a different outcome because of the judges. But it was an amazing battle. And I remember just being on stage and hearing “U-S-A! U-S-A!” Everybody started chanting “USA,” and then out of nowhere, France comes in. People are just screaming “France!”

After you lost that round, how did you find the energy to come back and keep competing? Do you just say, Okay, that was then, and this is a different round?

Yeah, I was just in shock because I’m so used to winning, and it was a humbling experience. But that’s what happens in breaking. It’s always someone else’s turn, and you’re not always going to win. I’m like, Alright, at least I can get a bronze. Let’s try to get the bronze. I was bummed out about it, though. I didn’t have as much energy as I did for the semifinals. But, I don’t know, somehow I just got a second breather!

I could see it while I was watching. You really picked it up in the end, and it was amazing.

I was like, Man, come on, you can do it. Fight for bronze, but just have fun. Enjoy it. Bring that breaking essence back. You got these three minutes of your life, and that’s all you need. And I brought it back home!

What are you looking forward to next?

I have one more one-on-one competition in two weeks. So I’m staying prepared for that, keeping healthy. After that, I just want to relax, take time off, focus more on team battles. Because these individual battles are really tough and time consuming and mentally draining. So it’s like time to step away for a bit, focus more on team battles, and enjoy the dance.

I was thinking about moving to Thailand for a bit and just learning Muay Thai. I’ll come back and then—I don’t know! Maybe throw an event? I’ll throw an event for the community.