On November 26, 2018 I publicly announced on my Instagram that I was planning to create the best sneaker for Bboyin, asking people what were the top qualities and features that are important in a sneaker that is used specifically for Breakin. I took the top 10 qualities, send a detailed document to a factory partner who invested a lot of time and money to create the 1st prototype sneaker designed specifically for Bboyin called “The Numbawonz”. But the looming question was, is the Bboy culture even ready for a Bboy sneaker? A lot of people brought up some very interesting points such as:
- Majority of Bboys & Bgirls are mindlessly loyal to big brands that don’t care about Bboyin, but still would never switch because those brands already spent a lot of marketing money to be “ingrained” in the culture
- Bboys don’t support other Bboys until their gone. While someone might have a few fans who are willing to support, the vast majority would not only be against it, but would root for it to fail.
- There simply isn’t enough demand in the world for a Breakin sneaker
- A durable good quality sneaker would make the product too expensive for the average Bboys because, majority of Bboys are broke
However, being a Bboy for a quarter of a century, I know how Bboys think. We are always looking for the perfect sneaker to Break in. While we like wearing nice brands, we usually don’t match our shoes with our clothes, it’s the other way around. We usually find the right shoes to break in, then get clothes that match.
While it’s true that most Bboys don’t usually support other Bboys, but I do believe that we do support brands and entities that support us first, which is exactly what I want my brand to be all about, a Bboy sneaker company that’s here to serve the community. Plus, when I’m gone or if something was ever to happen to me, the stocks of the company will definitely go up!
So the last question I had to answer to my business and factory partners was, is there a global demand for quality Breakin sneakers and could I actually get the Bboys to support, despite the higher than normal price due to quality control?
This is where I got the green light to not only prove my theories correct, but also use the fundraiser for the culture to purchase a significant stake in the start up company with myself as the first director, who will ensure that the culture’s interest will always be put first. Little did I know that this would the beginning of a journey that would be a significant moment in Bboy history.
Now people who know me deeply, know that I’m not an “on the whim” type of guy. I have trouble making decisions and although I seem very positive on the outside, I am very skeptical and like to analyze things. On one side, I’ve been heavily invested in both time and finances in the Bboy Battle Business (aka The Plan), and I was wondering if I should even divide or possibly waste my time with this sneaker brand should it not work out? However, I knew that this opportunity was too great and if I didn’t try for at least the culture, I would regret it, and plus, the business person I met was from my little church in Chiayi city, I felt my heart telling me to trust in the one who’s never let me down. It’s funny because I have been lead me down many rough paths that at the time, I thought was a failure but in hindsight, was a very significant lesson that i needed to learn in order to bring me to where I am today.
So it’s at these moments in my life that I take the time to meditate, pray and leave it up to The One who’s brought me this far. It took a few hiccups and learning curves to finish setting up the official Indiegogo page but finally on August 21st, I finally launched the campaign which would end exactly 40 days later, on September 30th, the day right after my 40th Birthday. Many people might not know the significance of the number 40, but it’s a re-occurring number of days in the bible; 40 days and 40 nights. I could of taken this as a coincidence but instead, took this as a sign from above… but could this really be accomplished? $15000 USD was the goal and it is quite a bit of money to raise, especially within the Bboy community.
It was at this point that I realized that it is not I who is raising the money, but rather WE AS A CULTURE are doing this together, I am just the one who is tasked to rally the community to support this movement.
In the first 2 days of the campaign, 30 percent of the goal was instantly reached! I was utterly shocked how fast it was selling, but by the 3rd day, everything began slowing down. For the next 2 weeks, I began putting out a series of promotional videos in the form of mock infomercials to keep the crowdfunder pre-sale in the minds of the community. Very slowly did the pre-orders come in, i began worrying that everyone who really wanted the sneaker already got it and there was nobody left.
Approaching the halfway point in the campaign, there were 4 straight days without one single purchase. When we finally reached the halfway point on September 10th, we still didn’t yet reach 50% of the funding. I began to worry, and began wondering if my haters were laughing at me. I actually heard from a few sources the types of things my haters were saying and consequently, I was wondering if I was intentionally being sabotaged.
With all these negative thoughts going through my head, I realized that I just needed to continue having faith, and that if this is truly destined and God willing, then I couldn’t do anything to stop it, even if I tried. In the end, I don’t have any control over anything except over my own actions and my own positive or negative thoughts, and that I would continue to be professional and keep pushing till the very end.
Five days later on September 15th, we finally hit 50% funding. With just a day and 2 weeks left, I decided to drop one of my most controversial promos which is based on a rumor that the Olympics won’t be allowing burners and rude gestures. Click here to watch
This video got a lot of views and I knew that the upcoming pre-sale deadline was now fresh in the minds of the community. That would be my last major promo video that I put out and now it’s about posting regularly and having enough dignity to not beg or use pity tactics.
However, everyday i would continue to average only zero to two pre-sales per day which really wasn’t enough. Despite finally reaching 60%, at this rate, I knew I wouldn’t be making the goal and that this Breakin Sneaker dream may come to an end. To make matters worst, I launched a referral campaign for all the existing backers to win extra swag and sneakers, and not one person replied or was interested!
But still, I decided to keep positive and professional and would not only see this to the very end, but give it my all. I often posted on my social medias, reminding my followers the time that was left, and often stated, what’s impossible for me is possible with God.
Finally by the 3rd last day of the campaign, we reached 70% funding, and although I knew that we were still a far way to go in terms of funding, I figured, if we had done 30% in the first 2 days, it could be possible to do another 30% in the last 3 days.
The very next day, I was super busy celebrating my 40th Birthday with my family, I didn’t find the time to check how the campaign was doing. I just wanted to be surrounded by the love of family and the next generation of babies, toddlers and kids. In the evening after the party, I surprisingly saw that we were just over 80% funding, and had a total of 35 hours left in the campaign. I thanked everyone who supported thus far and reminded everyone they have just one day left to join. That evening I filmed one last birthday vlog to give my last and final thoughts.
The next day, the last 24 hours of the Bboy Sneaker Crowdfunder Presale campaign, I witnessed a miracle as one by one, purchases rained in non stop. I know that it wasn’t just me, but countless other Bboys, Bgirls, friends and family around the world that were actively watching and praying as the crowdfunding percentage climbed its way up to 95 percent with the last 12 hours remaining.
Then BOOM, 3 hours later we surpassed the goal to 105% funding with still 9 hours left!! No words can explain the mixed emotions of relief, happiness, joy and the stress from the upcoming job to fulfill the 185 pre-orders with timely and quality satisfaction.
In the end, we reached 124% funding, which if you take away the indiegogo fees and bank transfer fees, I’m left with roughly over $15,000 which is the exact number I needed!
My wife said that it’s funny because time and time again in my life, the few times that God speaks to me and tells me he will provide, the number is always exact but the means is always not what I think.
Anyway, of all the various crazy visions and dreams that I have for the Bboy culture, creating a Bboy sneaker was the first on my list of “least likely to accomplish”, but it’s funny how God always works things out how we least expect it. This journey of life we try to create our own paths to arrive at our destiny, but when we decide to let God take control, he takes us on a crazy ride on a different path to our destiny, but better than we could have imagined.
In retrospect, I realize that the success of this campaign is even bigger, a game changer and more significant than I had previously imagined. Nobody has ever attempted a Bboy community crowdfunder before, because no one thought that it would be possible. But now that we have successfully proven that our culture can do it, we have shown the world that our culture is ready to not only create our own industry, but take the power into our own hands.
Whether or not my sneaker succeeds or not, this successful Bboy crowdfunder has shown the world that our culture is ready to support a Breakin industry. It’s only time before big brands and other “Bboy entrepreneurs” create specialized products or services for our culture, which is on course for another mainstream explosion with the inclusion of Breakin at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Now is the beginning of the next level where I will be heading back to Taiwan in one month to continue with the Bboy Battle Business and at the same time, starting up the first ever Bboy Sneaker Company, for the culture by the culture!
Big thanks and love to all the Bboys, Bgirls and Hip hop heads who supported the crowd-funder presale, all over the world. My promise is to not only continually develop and design the best sneakers in the world for Breakin but also a company that will serve the culture. Another huge thanks to my family and friends who supported me and my dream. I love you guys!
