Breaking
Meet Squadron, the elite SoCal breaking crew handpicked by MexOne
Dive into the history of one of the most iconic US breaking crews
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Most breaking crews are inextricably tied to one geographical location, and though Squadron crew calls Southern California home base, their superstar lineup is made up of B-Boys from all over the country. Conceived as a national squad meant to represent the best of American breaking abroad, Squadron was founded and helmed by breaking icon David “MexOne” Alvarado. Core members like Red Bull BC One All Star Omar Delgado Macias (RoxRite), and Renato Mardo (Squid Rock) remember how the crew’s fledgling identity firmed up when Mex decided to create his own website instead. He also gave the group their name circa 2007, supporting and sponsoring them through his Biggest & Baddest clothing line.
From Left to Right: Victor, Luigi, RoxRite
© RoxRite
“MexOne is the founder of Squadron in terms of the name and bringing us all under one umbrella,” Squid remembers in a recent phone interview alongside RoxRite about the crew’s origins. “He decided to build his own site, which would become The B-Boy Spot, and the concept of the Squadron was a team or a group of us that would represent his website, and basically be ready to go overseas and represent the U.S. in competitions.”
But early members had already begun forming a loose brotherhood before Mex formalized it. Initially connecting in 2006, RoxRite and Squid cite a mutual respect and friendships between other crew members as part of what drew them together. That summer, Squid came to LA and stayed with Philip Albuquerque, (Speed-E), another early Squadron member. RoxRite and David Shreibman (Kid David) joined up with some fellow Bay Area breakers, and all four B-Boys competed at Hip-Hop International, a global dance battle that included a breaking battle. “I totally forgot that’s where we first met,” Squid laughs. “You just brought it back.”
“That’s where the link happened,” RoxRite confirms. “We started connecting and staying in touch, and the following month me and Kid David went to a battle in Florida, at Outbreak 3, and won the battle there. Once we got on, we started carrying this vibe of mutual respect and admiring one another’s approach. We started winning a lot of international battles, and by 2007, Mex was the one who came up with the name Squadron.”
Founding Members of Squadron at Jam, March 2007
© RoxRite
Kid David remembers the early days, when Squadron was just an idea, and cites his time connecting with Mex as the basis for what would become an incredibly successful career in breaking. “I was there in the beginning, when Squadron was just an idea,” he said. “Mex was making shirts for the B-Boy Spot, and I would go stay with him for weeks at a time. We supported each other as this idea of an east coast/west coast super crew came together. Mex was a key person in the start of my breaking story. He and I really started to connect and he coached me and became an older brother figure to me over the course of the following years, helping me become a world-renowned dancer.”
Those earliest days of Squadron included core members like Kid David, Spee-D,
Squid, RoxRite, along with a couple other founding breakers, Namek and Keebz. Bridging the gap between Florida and California dancers—and eventually B-Boys from all areas—Squadron was a place for the most serious members from every crew to find support and community. Even years later, none of them underestimate the impact the late MexOne had on their bond. “We always say ‘the Squadron is a MexOne production,’” Squid says. “He got everyone together and created this super squad. He bridged that gap between everybody. We all naturally were friends already, but he had the vision before it actually happened, and he backed us with his brand.”
RoxRite echoes those sentiments, noting that as dancers get older, sometimes the focus shifts to different things, like career and family, but Squadron was a haven for those still completely dialed into B-Boy culture. “We were the last guys of our crews that were still trying to be very active,” RoxRite explains. “A lot of us were all in our early twenties or mid-twenties. A lot of our other members had day jobs, were having kids, or they just weren’t really trying to be at that level as heavily as we were on the battle side of things.”
Members of Squadron with the promoters of Reyes del Asfalto in Mexico City
© RoxRite
Because of the level of dedication their dancers were bringing to the craft, Squadron quickly made a name for themselves as the national force they aimed to be. From 2008 to 2010, they won eleven straight battles, building an early legacy that catapulted them into legendary territory. Earning a spot on the Squadron became a badge of honor, and the crew was continually adding new members as they came up and proved their worth
In one year we went through the whole world’s top-ranking groups and beat everybody, from the end of 2008 into the summer of 2010.
“In 2008 and 2009 we were winning every battle we entered, basically,” RoxRITE remembers. “They were the biggest tournaments in the world, Freestyle Session, we won the Warsaw Challenge in front of thousands of people, we won one of the biggest prize money battles ever in breaking, it was like $50,000 and the guys won it in Boston. In one year we went through the whole world’s top-ranking groups and beat everybody, from the end of 2008 into the summer of 2010.”
As the crew expanded, and the impact of their bond became more apparent, new members were slowly but surely added over the years. 2008 saw the addition of Luigi and Beastmode, Nasty Ray and Lean Rock joined in 2009, and El Nino joined in 2011, followed up by Victor’s entrance in 2014.
In 2013 and 2014, Squadron won the Freestyle Session titles back to back, and added their last member while MexOne was still alive, Victor Montalvo, aka B-Boy Victor, from Orlando, Florida. He joined the crew in 2014 and went on a solo streak of wins that made him an integral and respected part of the crew. “Mex believed in me so much that I started believing in myself subconsciously,” Victor says. “I didn’t know what he was doing at the time but he was planting seeds in my head, which definitely gave me more confidence, and got me to the next level — not just in breaking but life.”
“Having Mex by my side in 2015 gave me that extra push and determination to win all of those World Championships,” he continues. “Becoming part of Squadron was natural. I would take a bunch of road trips with Mex, and I guess as the years went by, he saw the potential I had and vision in breaking that was aligned with Squadron’s values and bond.”
Over the next several years, breaking began to gain a foothold in mainstream culture. Since its inception in 2004, Red Bull BC One finally began to gain media attention a decade later, and though Squadron remained tight, the superstar crew’s core members were growing in stature and establishing their own careers. When the Pro Breaking Tour started helping local events get more attention, and establishing bigger cash prizes, it also led to increased awareness of the scene. Still, over 2015 and 2016, things were a bit slower for Squadron crew, until the untimely passing of MexOne led to a resurgence for the mourning members.
Every single member of Squadron met back up to celebrate Mex’s life and mourn his passing, and reconnecting in person led to a vow that they’d start seriously competing once more. “At Mex’s funeral, I said to Rox, ‘Hey, we’ve got to do Freestyle Session this year,’”Squid recalls. “Mex passed, and we chose to honor him by getting everybody back together from the original squad. We did Freestyle Session and lost in the finals, but it was an epic battle, and all the original people were there.”
RoxRite and Victor at Circle Industry in Austria, 2018
© RoxRite
“From then on, that brought everyone back together in a way that we were really pushing again,” Squid continues. “Not reviving it, because it never died, but it made us see that we had to and push it to the next level.” Recruiting in a new way, but always with Mex’s guiding principles in mind, Squadron began to draw in younger members once more, and their energy helped usher the crew into this next phase of breaking. The latest members to join the crew, following Mex’s passing, were Pnut in 2017, and Phil and Prada G in 2018.
“We all decided to carry on what Squadron represented and his legacy, through us,” RoxRite says. “We felt like the Squadron left a lot of impact on the community, so we felt like we can’t let that fade, in his name. That’s our way to carry on his legacy. And now we have new members. After he passed we put down Elijah Delgado (Pnut), whose father, J-Boogie, was a close friend of Mex, and we put down Philip Svirshch (B-Boy Phil).”
Nasty Ray, El Nino, Kebbz, Kid David, and RoxRite battling, May 2013
© RoxRite
As Squadron becomes an intergenerational crew, the importance of legacy also takes on new meaning. The modern era of a crew that’s been around for fourteen years is unfolding in a world where breaking is getting official recognition across the globe, as a once frowned-upon subculture is taking its place on the world stage.
“It was really cool to be raised in the breaking culture,:” Pnut said. “My dad is also a B-Boy, so he taught me early about the artform, and music, and how to carry myself as a B-Boy. I never had to second guess it either; I was born into it so I knew from jump that this was what I wanted to do. Getting down with Squadron was really dope too, because I grew up with a lot of the members and built with them, so they were already fam even before I was officially put down.”
MexOne’s impact on Squadron is indelible, but the foundational members who have chosen to carry the crew on in honor of his memory have also become stewards of the group’s story in their own right. “I would consider Squid, myself, Speedy and David to be the four that started this whole relationship of what we ended up becoming,” RoxRite says. “The other guys were there as well, but outside of Mex, who was the originator, those were the co-founders.”
Though plenty of crew members hailed from Florida, because of the focus on dance industry that major cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco bring, most of Squadron is currently based somewhere in Southern California. They’ve also been hosting and organizing local events to help the breaking scene stay connected and thriving—though COVID put a pause on those gatherings, just like it did for live music and sports.
Looking to the future, Squadron is ready to keep hosting events and growing the B-Boy community, especially as they are approaching their 15th anniversary as a crew next year. “We want to bring back Styles No Joke and Underground King and do more with that,” RoxRite says. “We want to keep putting together events for the community. In a time when the scene is still growing and expanding to new horizons, Squadron is here to preserve and represent breaking and hip-hop culture beyond the competition.”
Check out RoxRite & KidDavid at Red Bull BC One Los Angeles 2021:
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