Breaking
Breaking
Behind the trophy: Red Bull BC One stories from the b-girls who lived them
From virtual battles across three countries to competing through injuries and chronic pain, discover the compelling stories of seven b-girls who earned their places at the Red Bull BC One World Final.
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Reaching the Red Bull BC One World Final requires breakers to go beyond simply training hard. Luma and Isis had to cross borders. Yasmin stepped away from competition after questioning why she danced. Ami’s mum made her own sacrifices to support her daughter. Vanessa and Jazzy battled serious health issues that could have forced them to quit. And Sayora had to grow up fast to achieve her World Final spot. These are the untold stories of what happened before seven very different b-girls stepped onto the world stage.
01
Three countries, one dream: Luma’s virtual road to the Red Bull BC One World Final
When B-Girl Luma had no Red Bull BC One Cypher in her home country of Colombia, she jumped on a plane to Brazil. Red Bull BC One Cyphers are national qualification competitions held in countries around the world. The b-girl and b-boy who win each competition earn a place at the World Final, where they compete in the Last Chance Cypher for one of the open spots in the final line-up.
Luma hoped to win the Red Bull BC One Cypher in Brazil, but she wasn’t allowed to enter because she wasn’t a Brazilian resident. That’s when Brazilian b-boys Pelezinho and Neguin told her about the Red Bull BC One E-Battle – an online competition open to breakers worldwide. The prize was the same: a trip to the World Final and a chance to compete in the Last Chance Cypher.
Living out of a suitcase at the time as she travelled between countries for competitions, Luma entered the E-Battle. She recalls: “I was in three different countries when I was sending my videos. It was a big challenge because I didn’t always find a good place to record, or have a regular internet connection. Also, when you are in other countries, you don’t get the same focus and training.”
B-Girl Luma had to win the E-Battle to progress
© Kevin Molano/Red Bull Content Pool
It’s not about one event, it's about your entire life
Luma made it to the E-Battle final, where she had to beat her best friend, B-Girl Isis, to win. She earned her ticket to the World Final and qualified for the b-girl battle, where she found herself up against defending champion Ami. The pressure of it all caused Luma to doubt herself. As she remembers: “In that moment I felt like I was there because of luck.”
Luma lost, but saw the experience as a lesson in growth. “It was an amazing experience, but India was not the destiny, it was the way, and every year you need to create a new way. It’s not about one event, it’s about your entire life.” Embodying that lesson, Luma has now competed at the World Final four times and was one of the 2025 World Final judges.
Know your battles
02
Isis trading life in Ecuador for a shot at the World Final
Like Luma, Isis had no Red Bull BC One Cypher in her home country of Ecuador. She also travelled to Brazil to enter its Cypher, only to discover that she was ineligible to compete. She entered the Red Bull BC One E-Battle instead, losing to Luma in the final, and then fell short in each of the next two years she entered. That’s when Isis knew she needed to make a change.
Isis moved to America on her own, hoping to take advantage of the wider range of breaking opportunities available there. But she says: “It’s not easy to move by yourself and leave your family, but it made me stronger and gave me more confidence, which I didn’t always have.”
Not only did Isis grow as a person, her skills also improved rapidly. She won her first major breaking competitions before going on to win the Red Bull BC One Cypher USA.
B-girl Isis moved to the US to boost her skills
© Little Shao/Red Bull Content Pool
It’s not easy to move by yourself and leave your family, but it made me stronger
For Isis, it was a happy and unexpected result of her decision to move. “It’s crazy because I always dreamed of these opportunities, believing that one day I could do it, but I couldn’t believe that it happened so soon after I moved!”
Isis didn’t make it through the 2021 Last Chance Cypher, missing out on one of the open spots in the World Final line-up. But the following year she received a wild card – an automatic invitation to compete at the World Final, given to a selection of the best breakers in the world each year. At the 2022 World Final, Isis stepped onto the stage for the first time and became the first breaker from Ecuador to compete as a World Finalist.
03
Inside Yasmin’s two-year break from competition
B-Girl Yasmin emerged as one of the breakout competitors at the Red Bull BC One World Final in 2023 and 2024, captivating audiences with her musical, rhythm-focused style.
Her home country of Japan is renowned for producing high-level b-girl talent, and Yasmin had already built a successful competition career as a teenager. Then she lost her motivation to compete and disappeared from the battle scene for two years.
Yasmin explains: “I quit battling because it became boring for me. I wanted to dance more freely, just getting down at the train station practice spot, or just dancing in the park. That time was good for me to search what I actually liked, and I concentrated on finding what was my favourite feeling in dancing.”
Yasmin took a break from competing to refocus
© Nika Kramer/Red Bull Content Pool
I quit battling because it became boring for me
During those two years, Yasmin questioned why she danced in the first place. “I started to think about why I had passion for dance for a decade in my life and I realised I just love music and expression when I feel it. That’s my pure passion.”
It was that pure passion that Yasmin brought to the World Final stage when she reintroduced herself to the breaking world. Those who didn’t know her from her teenage battle days now knew exactly who she was.
04
The sacrifice behind Ami’s breaking success
B-Girl Ami didn’t become a two-time Red Bull BC One champion without years of practice, dedication and sacrifice. Her mum shared in some of that sacrifice, too.
When Ami was at school, one of the city’s main practice spots was Mizonokuchi station. A railway hub where breakers and street dancers gathered late every night to practise and battle, it became a historic spot in the Japanese scene. For Ami, though, getting there was difficult because of the location and the late practice sessions. “From my home to that station is like two hours.” Plus, “everyone practised there after work, so like from 11pm.”
Ami would have missed her last train home if she went to practise, but her mum made sure her daughter could get there. Ami says: “My mum always would be driving me to go to that practice place and come back home.”
Ami's mum made sure her daughter made it to practice
© Suguru Saito/Red Bull Content Pool
I don’t think my mum got much sleep when I was in elementary school, and junior high school
She did this even though she had to get up for work the next morning, meaning she gave up her own full night’s sleep. Looking back, Ami realises: “I don’t think my mum got much sleep when I was in elementary school, and junior high school.”
Ami went on to become the first-ever Red Bull BC One b-girl champion and is now regarded as one of the best b-girls ever to lace up a pair of sneakers. With everything Ami has achieved, her mum can look back proudly and know why she sacrificed her rest and sleep to help her daughter train.
05
Sayora’s rise to World Finalist at 16 years old
Imagine being 16 years old, competing in the second-biggest competition of your breaking career and finding yourself up against one of your inspirations. That was B-Girl Sayora when she battled Narumi at the 2018 Red Bull BC One World Final.
Sayora was unknown and the youngest b-girl in the line-up, while Narumi was a world-famous champion and one of the favourites to win. Before the competition bracket was revealed, Sayora had even mentioned in a pre-competition interview that Narumi was one of her inspirations. How Sayora got herself into that position was a unique story in itself.
Sayora earned her spot by winning the Red Bull BC One Cypher Kazakhstan, but getting to that competition wasn’t easy. A week before the Cypher, Sayora wasn’t even old enough to enter, as she was still 15 and the minimum entry age was 16. She also had to deal with her parents resistance towards her competing. As she recalls: “I turned 16 years old on June 12, four days before the Red Bull BC Camp. The camp was in another city and my parents disagreed because I had exams in school. I bought tickets by myself and went alone for one day, only for the b-girl battle.”
Sayora had to sneak out to her local cypher
© Victor Magdeyev/Red Bull Content Pool
The camp was in another city and my parents disagreed because I had exams in school. I bought tickets by myself and went alone
The Cypher was the first major competition Sayora had ever entered, making the win her biggest achievement at that point.
At the first World Final b-girl competition there was no Last Chance Cypher. Instead, Sayora went straight into the World Final line-up, where she found herself facing Narumi. With nothing to lose, having already achieved so much simply by making it to the World Final, Sayora battled fearlessly, going out first and throwing all the moves she had trained for that moment.
Sayora ultimately lost to Narumi, but that day marked the beginning of a career that has since seen her win the Red Bull BC One Cypher Kazakhstan five times. She also competed as a World Finalist for a second time in 2025, in Japan.
06
Vanessa battled through a broken arm to reach the World Final
B-Girl Vanessa has competed at the Red Bull BC One World Final twice, but it was her journey to qualify for the 2024 competition that truly tested her resilience.
While practising for the Cypher, Vanessa suffered a training accident that resulted in a broken elbow and torn ligaments, essentially making her left arm useless. To make matters worse, the Red Bull BC One Cypher was only one month away, while doctors told Vanessa her injury would take two months to heal.
Vanessa qualified for Red Bull BC One despite a broken arm
© Nika Kramer/Red Bull Content Pool
I didn’t want it to define me and be an excuse for not having the results that I wanted
While practising for the Cypher, Vanessa suffered a training accident that resulted in a broken elbow and torn ligaments, essentially making her left arm useless. To make matters worse, the Red Bull BC One Cypher was only one month away, while doctors told Vanessa her injury would take two months to heal.
One month later, with her arm still not fully healed, Vanessa won the Red Bull BC One Cypher Portugal for the third time. “This was to show myself that there’s nothing I can’t do.”
07
Jazzy chasing her dream despite a devastating diagnosis
There was a period in Jazzy’s life when she was in a wheelchair, unable to walk for weeks and needing her mother to dress her. At first, Jazzy and her parents had no idea what was wrong. Doctors eventually diagnosed her with rheumatoid arthritis – a painful condition that causes swelling, inflammation and stiffness in the joints.
She now uses medication to keep the condition under control, but that doesn’t spare Jazzy from the reality and pain of living with it. One hard practice session can leave her body in such pain that she says: “Sometimes I have a week that I cannot walk.” She also needs regular massage therapy, with the inflammation having become worse over the years.
Jazzy has never let this stop her, though. “My mindset is to keep pushing until I can’t anymore, because I don’t know how many years I still have left breaking on a high level, or even breaking at a normal level. I don’t know how long my body will do it, so I’m happy with every year.”
Jazzy's iron willpower carried her to the Red Bull BC One World Final
© Jason Halayko/Red Bull Content Pool
I don’t know how long my body will do it, so I’m happy with every year
Jazzy has now won the Red Bull Cypher Türkiye three times and, in 2025, finally achieved her dream of becoming the first breaker from Turkey to compete at the Red Bull BC One World Final.
“There is a big breaking scene in Türkiye and everybody was dreaming of someone entering the world stage. When I got there it meant a lot because I can motivate the young generation of b-girls in Türkiye, and possibly even the older generation of b-girls. Plus, maybe some new b-girls will start breaking because they saw me. So it meant a lot to show that it’s possible for a Turkish person to be on the world stage.”
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