Breaking
The three-time Red Bull BC One World Champion is an accomplished multi-disciplinary artist. Discover more about his passion for breakdancing and painting in the film above.
When b-boy and tracksuit entrepreneur Menno Van Gorp isn’t travelling the world rocking his award-winning brand of fluid and innovative breakdancing skills or taking care of his daughter, he somehow manages to find time to create stunning paintings.
The 2014, 2017 and 2019 Red Bull BC One champion has had long-held ambitions to be an artist and can often be found painting, drawing and doodling. But it was only when he acquired his personal studio in Rotterdam a year ago that the creativity really started to burst out of him.
“I always told myself if I have my own place, it’s game over with everybody,” he says. “I’m here every day, if I’m too tired to break I can paint. When I’m injured I’m always painting.”
Working under the moniker Mennopoly, his painting and graphic design work reflects the passion he uses to succeed in the world of dance – with explosive energy very much a hallmark of his work.
“My art and my breaking are quite similar,” he says. “It’s loose, you can see a lot of movement in the art. It’s all about how I connect things, how I connect movements [in my breaking] and in my paintings how I connect my lines and colours.”
Menno’s need to create is clear to see and there’s a real connection between the twin passions: “My dancing is very abstract and so is my art,” he says. “To become a great b-boy or painter, it needs a lot of hours and a lot of dedication. You need to need to enjoy that dedication or it’s not going to work.”