Q: How did you get into krumping?
A: It was just love at first sight. Just being on the internet and looking at different trailers from the old documentary, “Rize” when it was coming out. Just watching that, that just got me into it, and I taught other people how to do it once I learned it myself, and it just spread.
Q: How old were you when you first discovered krump?
A: I believe I was 16.
Q: What were your goals when you first tried out?
A: I just was hoping that America would change their views on krump and what it is about, so they could be more familiar with it. And I just knew I was going to be able to get that message across. But winning was a big bonus.
Q: Have you had any formal dance training in something other than hip-hop?
A: I’ve been doing hip-hop all my life, and so I figured if I was going to take on any big dance projects later in life, that I would have to learn other things to be well-rounded in the dance field. I did four years at Boston Arts, and I did a year at University of the Arts, so I got a good amount of training in.
Q: So you’ve done most of these art forms before. Were there some that you’ve never done, though?
A: With most of them, I’ve never done before. Actually, all of them were real new, so it was very hard. Luckily, I did take classes, so I would be able to get through them, but they definitely were challenges. Adjusting my body to that low ceiling.
Q: You really seemed to blow everyone away in all these other styles that were outside your own. Which of those styles was your favorite to dance?
A: The Foxtrot, definitely. It was my toughest challenge and I feel like I got closer to it because of that, and I learned more because it was tough.
Q: What was your favorite dance of the season that you got to dance?
A: I would have to say the Afro-Jazz “Frog Dance.”
Q: And why was that?
A: It was just real exciting, and it kind of brought me back to my roots a little bit, and it felt natural doing it.
Q: Are you interested in doing some choreography, either maybe for the show or in another venue?
A: Oh, definitely. I would love to come back and choreograph a krump routine or hip-hop routine, or anything. It would be an honor.
Q: Have you been talking to Adam Shankman about what you’re going to be doing on the Oscars yet?
A: No, not exactly. We haven’t really gotten into too much detail, but you know, anything is good.
Q: How did you hurt your ankle?
A: At the end, I was pretty much running off adrenaline. But the way I injured it is after I jumped off the stage into krump, when Kevin and Legacy pulled me back up I had come down on my leg wrong. And something shifted over my ankle and it caused it to swell up and it was real tight. So I wasn’t cleared to be able to dance for the rest of the night. But I could walk.
Q: You didn’t feel it at first, it was when they were pulling you up that something hit wrong, or something?
A: Yeah, once they pulled me up it was fine, but when I landed from being pulled up was when it was a hard impact on my leg.
Q: How did your mood change with the injury and everything?
A: Yeah, it was very stressful after that because I wasn’t able to do the final performance, which to me was one of the most important things of the season. But, I got … dance that dance that I injured myself on and my dad came back stage and was just talking to me and calming me down and said everything was going to be okay, and I just went out there with my head high.
Q: So, what were you thinking heading into the finale? Compared to the other five finalists, did you think you had a shot of winning?
A: Oh, yeah, we all definitely had shots of winning. It was all in the air at that point in our eyes. I felt like everybody that was there deserved to be there. Everybody worked hard, and it was nobody’s fault that they were there. America made them there, so everybody deserved it.
Q: If you could see another routine performed on the finale, what would it have been?
A: I would have really, see it’s funny; the routine I would’ve chose would’ve been a group piece, actually. It would’ve been the group piece by Nappytabs, when we were actually basically like Alice in Wonderland. That was one of the most fun routines ever.
Q: What are your plans for after the tour?
A: I’m just going to invest my money and I’m going to try to get into a lot of movie projects, try to get into dance movies.
Q: In past seasons, you’ve got guys like Twitch and Joshua, who have shown that hip-hop kind of guys can do the ballroom and the contemporary, and really excel in those. Do you look at them as kind of the role models who paved the way for guys like you?
A: Oh, yeah, most definitely. Anybody that’s come before me has opened a new road for this season, or for the next season coming up, so I definitely see them as role models because they’ve been through it. They went through it even before me, so they know exactly what I’m going through.
Q: Do you feel like you can be an inspiration to other krumpers out there?
A: Oh, yeah, definitely. I know looking on TV and seeing something that you love is always inspiring. So I know that the kids out there that are watching that get inspired. They have hope now, hopefully, and know that they could do the same thing or even better.