BBOY MORRIS
When BR3AKERS met up with BBoy Morris in July 2023, he was fresh off a plane from Korea where he had competed with Rock Force Crew at BBIC (Bucheon BBoy International Championship) taking second place. Morris, who currently ranks as the #4 BBoy in the USA and #34 in the world (as of August 2023), was a little disappointed in their results.
"We could have edged it out. We could have done a little better in the finals, but it was a good trip."
BBoy Morris (Morris Edward Isby III) AKA "The Fresh Prince" comes from Sacramento, California. At 39 years old, Morris is the oldest BBoy on the USA's Olympic breakdance team.
"I feel like age will be a negative factor [when competing in the Olympics], because these kids use the older generation as templates when they start. So whatever we create they just pick up like this: 'bam!'... that's a negative. The positive is I know 90% of the stuff they're trying to attempt, because we've either created or practiced it ourselves. Do I have the stamina to beat them? That's the question."
Morris started dancing in 1999 while he was in high school. He had asked his Mom if he could buy a VHS copy of Battle of the Year 1998 from a streetwear shop formerly located in downtown Sacramento called Get a Clue. That video served as Morris' instruction and inspiration.
"I was a cocky little kid, and I saw a guy who got to go to Germany from the States and he wasn't that good. And I was like, 'if that guy could go to Germany, I can go to Germany... I could do that.'" He laughed and added, "This was with no training."
Morris didn't come from a dance family. His father was a truck driver and his mother worked for a federal probation.
"There was no dancing. I had literally two left feet when I started. People hated me... They told me I sucked and told me to stop. But I didn't. I used it as motivation... I started winning particularly fast, because I really loved it."
Morris discovered his future dance crew, Rock Force Crew, on the same 1998 Battle of the Year tape.
"There were three teams I really looked up to: Phase Two, Rock Force, and the Family."
Rock Force Crew was from Morris' hometown, and he credits his current success to the preparation he did with that crew setting goals and going to battles. One of his biggest influences was Rock Force Crew member Gerald Casterlow.
"He was from Sacramento and he actually knew my older sister. I had met him quite a few times, but he was one of the guys that actually made it big on that Battle of the Year tape. I kind of tried to follow his timeline when I was battling."
Morris' influences, training and dedication paved the way for a 25+ year career in breakdance. With 122 competitive titles and counting, Morris is ready for the Olympic competition that lies ahead.
"I don't have to toot my own horn, but I'm known for being one of the best, I guess you could say, battlers or persons who can compete under pressure."
The most difficult part about being a professional breaker, according to Morris, is not winning which some athletes might take five, ten or fifteen years to do. It’s winning and then being bold enough to come back even better. Few breakdancers have the consistency and longevity to achieve over 100 titles in their career.
“If you stay in breaking long enough and have the right people around you, you can become a champion…. it’s not as hard as people think. Staying a champion - that’s what’s hard. Now everyone wants to see you at that standard and level it up in a short amount of time.”
Many breakers have what the community calls a ‘signature’. This is a signature move created and/or perfected by a breakdancer. Morris' signature is "the elbow tip spin", a move he created that was captured on video and went viral years ago.
"It defies gravity in my mind. Other people have done it as well but not like me."
The competition getting into the 2024 Olympics is significant. No more than two male and two female athletes can represent each country, and they are selected by their cumulative performance at national and international qualifiers. It's not a guarantee that each country will participate. A total of thirty-two breakdancers will compete at the 2024 Olympics which means many countries won't compete in breakdance at the Paris games. When asked if Morris thought Team USA will compete, he responded,
"There's no guarantee but we have so many phenomenal dancers. For sure we are going to make it on the girls side... I've known Sunny for years. This is the best she's ever been. She's so confident. I'm like, 'I need to step up!'"
The outlook for Team USA is good. On the women's team, BGirl Sunny ranks #1 in the US and #7 worldwide. On the men's team, the top 3 BBoys in the USA rank top 10 worldwide. Morris places just below at #4 in the USA (as of August 2023); however, he is optimistic about his own chances to make it to the Olympics. The upcoming international qualifier in Belgium gives him an immediate spot in the games if he wins.
When Morris isn't training for competitions or attending qualifiers, he's dedicating his time to supporting breakdance at the Olympics through two organizations: Breaking for Gold and the WDSF Athletes Council.
"I'm definitely trying to go for gold, but I'm here to help everybody have the opportunity. Part of my dream is to make sure that people have a chance. I don't care if they make it. If you don't have a chance, you can't make it to the Olympics. We want everybody to at least have a chance to get there, because what if we have a hidden gem who's just ridiculously talented?"
According to Morris and other Team USA breakers, there are several roadblocks that might prevent the best athletes from having a chance to compete at the Paris Olympics. Infrastructure for breaking as a sport is being built in real time leading up to the Olympics. Specialized support like coaches, managers, physical therapists and nutritionists are already established in other sports but just beginning to emerge for breakdancers. Qualifier rules have evolved which can lead to confusion for athletes focused on their training and performance and put them at a disadvantage in comparison to athletes who have strategy support from a coach.
Morris referenced the 2018 Junior Olympics as an example of how lack of support can prevent the best talent from competing.
“Crazy story. America wasn’t full ready for the process [for the 2018 Youth Olympics]… we had two athletes. But we didn’t have the paperwork properly done, so America didn’t get to compete in the Youth Olympics. It was a missed opportunity.”
Seemingly the biggest challenge of all for American breakdancers is funding. With dozens of national and international qualifiers throughout the year, most athletes pay their own travel and lodging to destinations in Asia, Europe and South America in addition to cities across the US. Not only can the travel be cost prohibitive, the qualifier schedule can make it challenging for dancers to hold a full time job to fund their travel.
As August 2024 approaches and the twelve month countdown to the Paris games has begun, more sponsors are supporting breakdancers, particularly those already on Team USA. In Morris’ case, recent collaborations have included a spot with Sabra Hummus and a promotion for Jon Batiste’s new summer single “Drink Water”. The latter collaboration received nearly 1MM views and over 20K engagements.
”It would be really nice if we had more support coming from America especially given it’s the 50th anniversary of hip hop. We’re in the final stretch so we need [brands'] to come now.”“We’re accessible to work with anybody who’ll make a better, easier path for us Americans. Ultimately we want medals. We want to go gold. This is our sport. We want to be a part of history.”