Raygun’s bid to ‘cash in’ on fame cops mega blow amid brutal Halloween detail

Raygun’s bid to cash in on her fame in the wake of the Olympics has hit a major roadblock as she looks to capitalise on the saga.

Rachael Gunn’s bid to cash in on her fame has hit a snag.

Gunn sent social media into a frenzy with her breaking performance in Paris as the sport made its debut at the Olympic Games.

She came under fire for kangaroo hopping, doing the sprinkler, sliding around the stage and wearing Australia’s team kit instead of streetwear.

The focus of countless memes, Gunn became the subject of international ridicule and one of the biggest stories of the Olympics.

There was also widespread disbelief at how Gunn had qualified to represent Australia. She won the 2023 WDSF Oceania Breaking Championships in Sydney, earning the prize of becoming an Olympian.

Debate has raged since her performance where she failed to score in any of her three battles at the Olympics.

Gunn’s nickname ‘Raygun’ has since become synonymous with the breakdancer, but a bid to trademark her B-girl name has now failed.

The Daily Telegraph reports an application to register the name Raygun was filed by Gunn with the Australian trademarks office in August 23, just a week after her Olympics performance.

Rachael Gunn’s B-Girl name Raygun is one of the most famous words of the year. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

The report claims Gunn was attempting to secure the name for use across “a range of goods and services, including software, NFTs, clothing and entertainment”.

But Gunn’s application clashed with pre-existing trademarks, including one filed by Raygun Limited in July 2017, which was later registered and published in 2019.

There are several longstanding clothing and software businesses trading under the name Raygun, so the bid to trademark her name appears to have come unstuck.

The blow will add an extra layer of difficulty for Raygun to cash in on her fame, but she is already making moves to capitalise on her relevance.

This week the 37-year-old this week appeared in an advertising campaign with comparison site Finder, challenging the public to dance “better than me”.

As part of the Raygun Challenge, Finder is offering up a cash prize for the best breakdancing clip sent in by the public.

“I’ve heard some of you can do better than me,” Gunn said in the video.

“Really? Let’s find out, shall we?”

She then dances to a beat of Finder’s “beat track” jingle, which punters must also dance along to in their dance video submissions.

“Think you can do better? Let’s find out,” Gunn said at the end of the video.

The best solo dancer will win $5000, and $10,000 is up for grabs for the best dance crew of two or more people.

In an interview with Nova 96.9’s Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie on Thursday, Gunn said of her Finder campaign: “I’m looking forward to seeing some amazing dancers we have around Australia.”

NOVA host Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzergald urged Raygun to “cash in” on her fame.

“I don’t care what anyone says,” he said.

“If you’re in the position that you are, you went global, people know who you are.

“I don’t care what people say, you need to cash in on this. You need to monetise this, you do.

“This is your moment. If you do it the right way, I think anyone else would make the same decision. It’s a perfect thing to do.”

There had been speculation Gunn had accepted a lucrative offer to appear on Channel 10’s reality TV show I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! — a program countless Australian stars have successfully used to restore their reputation.

But Gunn shut down those rumours, saying she wouldn’t be featuring on reality TV.

“There was a lot of reality TV requests,” she said.

“No. Look, as someone that went viral for their performance on the Olympics, I think I’ve got a very memeable face, it’s very expressive, and I just feel like going on reality television is just not the right move.”

Can you dance better than Raygun? Photo: Instagram.

Olympic Break Dancer "Rachel Gunn" Raygun has been spotted as a Halloween decoration in Sydney. Picture: Supplied

Costume outlets are making a fortune of Raygun’s likeness as countless people in Australia and around the world dress up as the breakdancer for Halloween this week.

Shops like Amazon, Spotlight, Etsy and Kogan are selling green tracksuits labelled “Australia’s women’s breakdancer costume” on their website.

Skeletons draped in Ragun’s iconic green tracksuit have also popped up around neighbourhoods in Australia and the US.

“I love it,” Raygun said on NOVA. “It is absolutely amazing. The skeletons, the other statues I’ve seen around.

“There’s been all kinds of merch, art, I saw a drag queen dressed as me. It has inspired so many different areas of life and culture, which I just think is so cool.”

NOVA host Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli joked: “Rach, I would love you to get in your tracksuit and go do some trick or treating tonight just to see how many people go ‘Oh my god you’ve nailed the Raygun look’.”

She replied: “I’m tempted.”

B-Girl Raygun does her kangaroo hop at the Paris Olympics. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

In September, Gunn apologised to the breaking fraternity, telling The Project: “I am very sorry for the backlash that the community has experienced.

“But I can’t control how people react. Unfortunately, we just need some more resources in Australia for us to have a chance to beat world champions.

“I don’t think I’ll be competing for a while. Not really wanting to be in the spotlight, breaking, competing.”

Gunn, who has previously explained she wasn’t as capable of acrobatic flips as other breakers, told Stellar her age has became a lightning rod for criticism.

“Our culture is very obsessed with age,” the 37-year-old said.

“I think it’s been a real sticking point for a lot of people: me essentially not knowing my place, what I should be doing with my time at this age; (in their view) it’s certainly not participating in that environment, even though I wasn’t the oldest there.

“I had a few people tell me on Facebook and on Instagram what I should be doing … that I should be picking the kids up from school.

“I saw a great meme that was like, ‘The world is hard on silly women’, with a photo of me.” “Women aren’t allowed to be silly,” she added.

“But I think if I was a man, I would have very quickly been given the larrikin title and people would have rallied behind me a lot more.”

Originally published as Raygun’s bid to ‘cash in’ on fame cops mega blow amid brutal Halloween detail