Paris Olympics Update: Plumber by Day, Breakdancer by Night, 30-Year-Old Enthusiast’s Mega Games Dream Crushed Leaving No Hope for Fulfillment

Breakdancing, which might be making its Olympic debut in 2024 in Paris, is a graded event, much like figure skating, martial arts, and gymnastics. The tournament brings participants against one another in a contest-style match, without the complicated point system that determines who advances higher.

B-boys and B-girls, the term for men and women who compete in breaking, have long been associated with a yearning for something high, bringing their own subversive character to the Mega Games this year. In the same vein, a thirty-year-old man from Hong Kong, concerned about his edge from the breaking team headed to Paris, traces another route for the sport’s unknown future.

Neon-sign aspirations of a man meets an untimely end

The World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) included breaking as its newest sport to the 2024 Paris Olympic timetable after its successful debut at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As the competition got intense to make the first roster, unable to cover funding, formal training, and receive professional coaching, Cheung Cheuk, a plumber from Hong Kong who dedicated 15 years of training to his passion was hell bent on scoring the bullseye at the Games ahead but alas, fate had other plans in store for him.

According to SCMP, Cheuk, a plumber moonlighting as a breakdancer, is famously known as ‘Ex’ and is not ready to give up on his commitment to the sport just yet. He placed 52nd in the World DanceSport Federation Olympic qualification event held in Hong Kong in December and 130th overall. “If I could enter the Olympics, it would be even more amazing,” but there’s also his Kwai Chung district apartment rent, which requires him to continue his day job. He also acknowledges that he can no longer push himself as much as he once could as he grows older.

His transformation from fixing taps to a nighttime-breaking practitioner underscores the commitment needed to succeed in this cutthroat industry. Cheung wants to improve the local breaking scene and encourage breakers to follow their aspirations with the same zeal by imparting his skills and experience with his tutoring initiative while the future of breaking remains hanging in the air.

Keeping the breakdancing fever alive

Cheung, who competed as a representative of Hong Kong in events ranging from Brazil to Japan, pointed out that the sport needs maximum exposure to thrive. He stated, “It’s important we have the opportunity for others to see it. It’s important for promoting the culture.” While not intending to give up dance entirely, he quite surely mentioned moving on to the next phase, which is coaching and preparing the next generation.

READ MORE “Nobody Saw It Coming”: Team USA Break Dancers Talk New Sport for Paris 2024 Olympics