We’re looking forward to introducing you to Luis Prado. Check out our conversation below.
Hi Luis, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
When you live in San Diego, it’s hard not to be proud of the weather during the summer. I give partial credit to the weather for a lot of my joyful moments lately. Being able to step outside into the perfect mix of gentle warmth and a light breeze is an underrated luxury that I will never take for granted.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Luis Prado otherwise known as Lprad and I am a community event organizer operating under the brand known as, “Break New Ground” or “Break-NG”. Break-NG was established in 2018 as a website, then we expanded into the podcast space, then the hip hop event scene and now we currently do a little bit of everything with a strong focal point on giving back to the hip hop community that has supported us from the very beginning. The term “break new ground” means to do or try something new and often times revolutionary. It’s a fitting term for everything we have done under the brand and we continue to try to push the envelope for what is possible as a small operation within a small community.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
Early on in life I had an abundance of unearned confidence to make up for my lack of skill in the spaces I was in. Confidence is definitely necessary for a lot of various avenues in life, but having an excess amount and not having enough substance to back it up has been a recurring lesson in my life that I had to learn the hard way. As I type this now I realize how far I’ve come and hopefully, how far I will continue to go.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
As cheesy as it may sound, I would go back in time and tell my future self that the journey is worth it. All of it. The highs, the lows, the lessons, the negative buzz, the compliments, the hours of work that have no immediate payoff – it all amounts to something. Part of growing up is realizing that gratification is not always immediate, despite having an expectation for it to be immediate with certain things. My younger self was driven by the “what ifs” in life and throughout the course of the last 16 years a lot of those “what ifs” were definitively answered. The process simply required a lot of patience. (Emphasis on a lot)
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
Respecting the roots and the history of the community you are in.
Existing in the hip hop space is a blessing because there are deep wells of history to indulge in at a local level, a national level and of course – on a worldwide scale as well. Without the foundations of hip hop and the community to keep the culture alive – we do not exist. Break-NG would have never existed and I would likely be doing something completely different.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I have always preached the idea of “If I don’t want to do it, I’m not going to do it”.
One of my favorite traits about myself is doing everything whole-heartedly. Very rarely do I find myself in positions where I feel like I’m taking orders from someone and following them because I’ve been told to do it. This isn’t a lack of belief in authority but more of a statement that lets people know that if I’m doing anything, it’s because I fully believe that it is the right thing to do. There is no greater feeling than knowing that what you’re doing is part of your lifelong mission. For me that mission has always been to give back to the spaces that I’m in at varying capacities.
Currently, Break-NG is developing a new generation of event organizers through a mentorship program titled “On Deck”. This program grants (3) individuals with all of the tools necessary to organize their first-ever dance community event. Each individual is granted with sponsorship funds, a venue to tailor to their liking and 1:1 mentorship to guide them every step of the way. Each one teach one is very prevalent in what our mission looks like moving forward.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_lprad/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lprad
Image Credits
A majority of photos taken were by Insage Productions, Seagge Abella
