How did Junior (Wanted Crew) become the B-Boy Rick Astley?

Posted on January 28, 2009

If you spend more than a few hours a week casually browsing the web then you’ve probably been Rick Rolled. If you’re into breaking, you’ve probably had the equivalent done with B-Boy Junior of Wanted.

I don’t know how he became the b-boy archetype but his Red Bull BC One highlight clip is one of the most shared breakdancing videos around. Marketers should be scratching their heads trying figure out how make something go that viral. I’ve had it shared with me countless times and since his name is often forgotten, I unsuspectingly click the links. The scenarios are usually along the line of…

  • In person: “Oh, you breakdance? I saw this one dude who was amazing. I can’t remember his name but I’ll send you the clip!”
  • IM/Email: “You gotta check this out! This guy has got to be the best breakdancer around!”

Etc. Don’t get me wrong, I think Junior is talented. I’m just perplexed over how he became the poster boy for breakdancing. Everytime I click a link and see that French b-boy’s familiar highlight clip, I think to myself “Dang…I just got Juniored”

Over-shared clip of Junior at Red Bull BC One:

Coming in at second place is the over-shared clip of Elsewhere (”Dang…I just got Elsewhered”) at Kollaboration:

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  1. haha, the “b-boy rick astley” — that’s genius. the notoriety of that one clip always struck me as odd as well. and most people don’t realize he’s missing half a leg either.

    Comment by calvin — January 29, 2009 #

  2. Hahaha nice, I think I’ve seen that video as a featured clip on YouTube and MySpace at least once a month for the past 4 years.

    Comment by Paul — January 30, 2009 #

  3. Any guesses as to how he became a world-wide web phenomenon?

    Comment by Ebun — January 30, 2009 #

  4. [...] Ebun over at Celebreak has posted a really insightful and hilarious article about Junior here. [...]

    Pingback by Celebreak Asks: Is Junior the Rick Astley of B-Boying? | More Than A Stance — February 8, 2009 #

  5. He ain’t missing half a leg. It’s more thought to be polio that gave him that limp.
    It blew up when a guy named ?Scott Willis? used that clip as a promo vid for his website(I think, forgot the exact reason.) Since it was used as a promo vid I’m assuming that it’d have more exposure to the mainstream/non-bboy area. It was also featured several popular websites one being “Ebaumsworld”. More people know the song in the video than the bboy…”I know you got soul” But it’s seen by its more common titles like “Best breakdance” or “Amazing Breakdance” or something along the lines of that.
    It’s sad though that most non-bboys who see that clip don’t go outside of that video and is stuck with the thought that he’s the best bboy out there. Or when they meet a legit bboy and the first and only thing they can talk is about Junior and embarrass themselves.

    Comment by Tim — February 11, 2009 #

  6. funny (and extremely frustrating) story, a guy i met once tried showing me both clips back-to-back, he called them by their actual names so i had no idea what i was getting into until he told me to search “amazing breakdance” and “robot dance.” and this was after he tried convincing me that popping and locking were one dance style.

    Comment by tom from instant — February 26, 2009 #

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