How Rachael Gunn is breakdancing her way to the Paris Olympics

The Aussie trailblazer opens up

Lizza Gebilagin

3 min read

March 11, 2024 - 10:17AM

Rachael Gunn dishes on her Olympics prep. Image: Supplied

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The university academic and breakdancer (AKA Raygun) dishes on what it took to secure her place at the Paris Olympics in breaking and the benefits of doing things that surprise you.

You’ve only been breakdancing for 12 years and now you're heading to Paris for the sport’s Olympic debut. How did you get into it?

My boyfriend introduced me – I didn’t even know there was a breaking scene in Sydney until I met him. He took me to one of his training sessions and I was the shy girl sitting in the corner watching the guys train. But I'd always been a dancer – I'd done jazz, ballroom and tap – and I was interested in learning.

My boyfriend, who's now my husband and coach, was very encouraging but it was a really intimidating space to start. I'd always learnt to dance in studio environments with a mirror and 20 other people are doing the same moves. But in breaking, it's a very individualised process and it's freestyle-based.

It was a really challenging thing to learn and it took me a few years to start training seriously.

What was the turning point when you decided to overcome your fears and take breaking seriously?

I can tell you exactly when it was. We were at the 2011 Australian B-Boy Championships in Melbourne. Everyone was freestyling in circles, called cyphers, and taking turns dancing in the centre. I saw a girl standing at the edge. I was watching, thinking, ‘How does anyone get in?’ and she jumps in the middle. She gets down. She kicks and spins and twists and does her thing. And the guys respected that. She amazed me; I didn't know that girls could do that. That's what sparked it for me. In breaking, you constantly see things that surprise you. You see things that you didn't think the human body could do. It's about pushing these boundaries, either creatively, stylistically or athletically. That's what makes it so exciting and what makes me so drawn to it.

What does your training for the Olympics involve? I imagine it must be intense.

I train three or four hours a day, doing a mix of strength and conditioning, cardio, and flexibility work in addition to focusing on the different aspects of breaking: top rock, footwork, power, freezes, as well as preparing for battles. We train outside on the street at night – and I love that breaking has got that accessibility even though it's part of the Games.

Rachael Gunn, destructive steps dance festival. Image: Instagram

You work as a lecturer at Macquarie University and are also part of their research centre where you deep dive into the cultural politics of breaking. How has being an athlete strengthened your professional career?

The confidence that you need to compete in breaking certainly seeps out into other areas of my life. Breaking is so much more than just a physical activity. You have to be okay with being uncomfortable, being in new spaces and trying new things. That's what's helped me in my academic career: just that discipline, working hard, and not giving up. Breaking is also part of my research and creative practice.

For those of us who are apprehensive about trying a new hobby, or doing something we’ve never done before, what advice do you have?

Just try it. Don't overthink it. I'm the kind of person that signs myself up for stuff and then lets Future Rachael worry about how to deal with it. I did waterpolo for a term in high school, and I almost drowned, but I tried it [laughs]. Do you know what I mean? Try it and see what happens. You're not going to lose anything. You might discover ‘that's not for me’ and it’s great to have that knowledge. But yeah, sign yourself up and let your Future Self worry about it.