It is 6 pm on October 8, 2009. A day and an hour that Kazakhstan B-Boy Amir he says he will never forget. It’s the day it started breaking.
“It’s my second birthday,” Amir tells Olympics.com. “Everyone knows their birthdays.”
It is no coincidence that the 25-year-old Kazakh regards that moment as a kind of rebirth because, in many ways, the sport has saved him from a very different life.
Recently crowned February winner 2023 Breaking for Gold World Series (BfG) in Kitakyushu, JapanAmir has built a reputation as one of the world’s most creative and innovative break dancers since bursting onto the scene in 2020.
The speed and power with which he twists and contorts his body allows him to create shapes that his rivals cannot match, setting him apart as an athlete to watch as the Paris 2024 The Olympic Games are getting closer and closer.
But the path that eventually led Amir to the 2023 world title was clearly not cut out for the breaker; it was one that had to fight to keep going.
B-Boy Amir: “It wasn’t the beginning of a world champion”
Growing up in a small town in northern Kazakhstan, Amir always knew what he wanted to do.
“I just remember being a kid and wanting to break. I don’t know why. It wasn’t like a moment where I saw some B-Boys and then I was like, I want to dance. I didn’t have that moment. I just remember being a boy and wanted to dance,” he says looking back.
The lack of outlets for the young aspiring dancer, however, meant he had few places to channel his restless energy, and with problems at home, Amir found himself led down a path he wasn’t happy with.
“When I was little, I smoked, drank alcohol. I was in a very bad community,” he explains. “I didn’t know it was bad because my dad didn’t explain it was bad because he also drank a lot. And for me, it was like an example.”
Torn between the difficult environment he found himself in and the desire to do something productive with his desire to dance, Amir began by teaching himself to take to the streets, first starting with parkour before trying handstands and the rolls
Then one day, as he was walking home from school, he saw a sign advertising a broken school. Sensing that this was his chance, he tore the poster off the wall and took it home to his parents.
“I stole this poster so that other people wouldn’t see it,” recalls Amir, recalling how the discovery meant to him.
When he started learning the basics of breaking with a coach, the B-Boy says his lifestyle began to change: “When I started breaking, I changed my community. I had new friends who understood that smoking and drinking were not good and I stopped communicating with my father.
“I began to understand what is bad, what is good, and I changed my thinking, my focus in my mind.”
The financial problems after the separation of his parents meant that in order to continue attending the recess classes he decided to stop eating lunch, using the money to continue dancing:
“I just wanted to break more than eat. That’s why, for me, it wasn’t easy”, reflects Amir.
“It was not the start of a world champion.”
B-Boy Amir beat Jeffro for the title in Kitakyushu, Japan at the 2023 Breaking for Gold World Series (JDSF)
Opening new paths to be unique
The sense that the break saved Amir from a different kind of outcome, and the appreciation he has for the sport as a result, is reflected in the way the Kazakh now approaches his art, with complete and utter investment. .
Attracted by the way the multidisciplinary nature of breaking gives him everything he says he needs, he spends hours every day practicing and perfecting himself.
His dedicated place, called ‘The Basement’, built with the help of his crew, has become a home laboratory where he works. An open door policy means you’re surrounded by a community of breakers who come from far and wide to practice, struggle and inspire.
His goal every time the beat sounds is to push the mental and physical limits that have always been a source of fascination for the breaker.
“For me, the most important thing is always to show something new,” says Amir.
“Battle is like a shop window. And I always want to show something unique. I always want to surprise people. That’s why I prepare for battles. I try to create something new, always. don’t stop Always evolve. Always moving forward.
“People tell me [my style] it is something unusual. So now I have this level that I want to do something unusual for me. I try to surprise myself on purpose to create some moves that can surprise me.
“I try to be unique. For me, the most important thing is that I can say that I am unique. It’s just my goal. I want to be unique.”
The Kazakh’s drive to do what no one else is doing also permeates his work as a visual artist, where he says he is free to defy even logic while trying to produce new and innovative content.
“We have some limits in this world. For example, gravity. I don’t like gravity. So in the video with my brokenness, I can show the brokenness in another way. For example, no gravity.”
Other experiments have included creating clips to imagine how it would break if the dancer had four legs or three arms. The idea, he explains, is to push beyond the possible into the realms of the impossible.
“This world is not enough for my shattering vision. That’s why I tried to put it on video. What we can’t see in life, I can realize on video”.
B-Boy Amir: On rivals, mentality and his fiery determination
Speaking about his win at the BfG earlier this year, Amir admits he still finds it hard to believe he achieved the feat because of the “boundaries” he’s always struggled with in his mind.
In his early days, he wouldn’t practice certain moves because he believed they were impossible. He says it’s hard for him to have ever imagined that he would one day beat the best in the world.
To those who watch B-Boy in battle, the idea that Amir has ever struggled with mental blocks may seem surprising: On stage, he exudes conviction as he executes his seemingly endless range of moves.
“I don’t know, because in life, I’m not like that,” says Amir, speaking of his apparent confidence. “Maybe I have two characters. Like one character is me in life and the second character is me when I break down. .”
One thing the breaker is sure of is that when it comes to fighting and competing, there’s only one person he gets his fight from, and it’s not any of his rivals.
“I always fight with myself,” Amir says without hesitation.
“For me, the most important thing is to show what I want. If I’m wrong, if I don’t like my dance, to me it means I’ve lost. The rival is not so important to me, it is important to do what I like.
“Often, I remember all my problems in my life, and I just understand that I want the world and now is my time to get it. And when I understand that I have some power and that just keeps getting better.”
Paris 2024 Olympic ambitions: “I want to show my vision”
With its Olympic debut in Paris 2024, there is a strong feeling among B-Boys and B-Girls that the Games will be an opportunity like no other to shine a light on their sport and its intricacies.
“I think when people look at the break, they really understand how difficult it is,” says Amir, who agrees with his peers about the platform the Games will provide.
“Not only in terms of physics and tricks, but also how mentally tough it is. To stand against your opponent, look them in the eye and win the battle.
Having boosted his chances of qualifying for Paris with his win in Japan, Amir has now set his sights on becoming Olympic champion, keen for the recognition that usually follows:
“I want to win these Olympic Games because the B-Boy who will win will be the reference for a new generation of B-Boy, and will also show breaking to a large audience for people who don’t know about breaking. That’s why I want to win. I want to show my vision. I want to break to be artistic. It’s very important to me, and that’s why my goal is to win.”
When asked how he is preparing for the battles ahead, Amir gives an answer that underscores both his drive and his inextricable bond with his sport:
“I’m always ready because, for me, it’s not the competition first. For me, always, the most important thing is to be a good dancer.
“And that’s why I’m always ready.”
