Shine Magazine Original B-Boy Series: Mr. Freeze

By Lisa Dumas
Co-Editor

You can catch Mr. Freeze, one of hip-hop's most original b-boys, on an upcoming episode of MTV's Made. Find out what else is poppin' with one of Rock Steady Crew's finest, and what his plans are next...

Shine: You're originally from France?

Mr. Freeze: I was born in New York, raised in Paris. We moved to Paris when I was one year old, then we moved back to New York in 1970 when I was seven years old.

Shine: How did you get into b-boying?

Mr. Freeze: One day I was fooling around doing some little moves I used to do, when these guys with crew shirts approached me and asked me if I wanted to battle. After I did my simple moves, he did neck moves, swipes on the floor--I couldn't believe it, I was mesmerized.

Shine: How did you end up in Rock Steady?

Mr. Freeze: I met Crazy Legs at the end of '79 or early '80, which is how I also ended up meeting Ken Swift. That was after the original crew. When I met him, the original crew wasn't doing anything anymore...

Shine: Were you surprised that it became as popular and mainstream as it did?

Mr. Freeze: Yes. In my opinion, it didn't get too big until sometime in the 80's. It never got to the point where it was something that swept the world.

Shine: What about movies like You Got Served, or Breakin' from back in the day?

Mr. Freeze: You Got Served was just some actors who were dancing. Don't get me wrong, it was a good movie, but they did not do a battle scene the way a real battle goes. Breakin'...they called it breakin' but there was no breakin' in it. So it's funny that they called it that. The only movie that had okay breakin' in it was Beat Street.

Shine: What has been the best part for you about being a b-boy?

Mr. Freeze: The best part is actually being in a circle and knowing there's some amazing breakers in it--as well as not knowing whether there are some amazing breakers in it.

Shine: Are you still involved with Rock Steady today?

Mr. Freeze: Absolutely. The only one that has the group going actively is Crazy Legs. I am Rock Steady Crew as far as Mr. Freeze representing a group.

Shine: Are there any b-boys today that you think stand out from the rest?

Mr. Freeze: There are second and third generations of guys that are amazing. There's Storm from Berlin Germany...there's Meritzio...they are the second coming of amazing b-boys. Everyone loves me from the new generations because I give them props. A lot of older generation b-boys think the new generations don't have style. I'm like 'What are you talkin about, that was amazing!' The third wave of breakers want to learn the old original style and mix it with the new.

Shine: What do you think is the most important element of being a successful b-boy?

Mr. Freeze: You have to have your basic fundamentals to the dance. More than anything. Besides the style.

Shine: You've been in a number of music videos and even been Michael Jackson's personal dance trainer. Where can we see you next?

Mr. Freeze: I've just been chosen to teach somebody on an MTV show called Made. There's a little kid in Seattle. He's never done it before, so I'll be working with him for five weeks, two days out of a week. I'll be his mentor...teacher...it'll be fun.

Shine: What are your plans for the future?

Mr. Freeze: I've had an idea for some time called Dance Masters. I want to have three of the top street dancers, and have three other dancers pick one of the three to battle. That would be exciting.

For more information on MR. FREEZE visit:

www.concretemasters.net

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