Today we’d like to introduce you to Luis Prado.
Luis, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My roots come from the breaking community. Breaking, or the commercially coined term “breakdancing,” has been the biggest influence on who I am as a person and who I’ve become as a community leader/brand owner. I began breaking in 2009 and began attending hip hop events that same year. After some time, I gathered the confidence to begin competing at these events and through that, I became more familiar with the San Diego hip hop community. In 2015, I was given the opportunity to co-organize an event for the city of Chula Vista named Battle at the Bowl. That was my first step into community leadership and contribution. While the event was small and very grassroots, it planted a delicate seed that would grow into what I do today. Throughout the years, I continued to independently organize events with the city of Chula Vista, San Diego State University and eventually, I decided to go independent. Currently, I am the head of a brand named Break-NG (Break New Ground). The brand was started with the idea of continuing to contribute to the community I love. The term “break new ground” is defined as doing something new or innovative that creates positive benefit. With that in mind, Break-NG found an identity in so many mediums. Those mediums include a podcast where local artists are brought on to talk about their process and their journey, an affordable clothing brand that continues to grow every seasonal drop, a social media platform where local artists are highlighted through video spotlights and an organization that puts together community hip hop events for Southern California.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Admittedly it has not been the smoothest road. I believe that as an artist and a small brand owner, I set myself up for a lengthy journey of learning. While I have been incredibly happy with the end products of everything that has been released under the Break-NG name, I always struggle with self doubt in regards to not doing enough. The doubt pokes its head at the most inopportune times and sometimes it prevents me from acting on ideas that I believe would be great. Another challenge has been making a name for my brand in a community that is already comfortable with who I am as an individual. Creating a brand of any sort is essentially starting over on your identity from zero. Who are you? Why do you exist in this community? What do you offer? What makes you stand out? Answering all those questions and making sure they translate through what I put out into my community has been one of the more complex challenges because as an owner, you can only do so much. People have to meet you half way and believe in your brand. Thankfully, I have encountered so many supportive individuals in my short journey that have supported me in so many different ways. Without that group of people, I’m not sure Break-NG would have survived after the first six months.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Break-NG is a brand that I believe exists in its own lane. It’s not the first clothing brand to exist, it’s not the first podcast to publish content, it’s not the first brand to spotlight local artists but it could very possibly be one of the very few brands that does all of the above. Since Break-NG began in the breaking community, it can also be considered a dance brand. The name itself is a play on the word “breaking.” I came up with it after thinking up various ideas on how to take myself out of breaking to represent a more selfless effort for the community. I came up with Break-NG by literally taking myself out of it. (I took the “i” out) I believe Break-NG is best known for truly being integrated in the hip hop community. We aren’t a brand that came into the community from the outside. We were built through the community and continue to cater to that same community while still reaching out and expanding elsewhere. As a brand owner, I am incredibly proud of the amount of support that I continue to receive with Break-NG. It is felt through the attendance numbers at Break-NG events, through the people that wear the clothes we put out on a daily basis and through even the small but significant gesture of following the brand on social media.
What were you like growing up?
I think the first word that comes to mind when I think of growing up is “ambitious.” I wanted to do it all and I never took “no” for an answer. I dabbled in everything from making my own hand drawn comics to skateboarding to sports to making YouTube videos and finally settled on dancing in my teen years. My childhood consisted of living in fantasy. I loved the concept of character development and classic stories where the underdog prevails. There was one particular Mexican film titled “Atletico San Pancho” that moved me deeply and changed my outlook on being an underdog. This film is about a group of kids who love soccer but have school sanctioned team. They’re very gritty and street-raised but they ultimately have the ambition to play on a team so they create their own and go on to compete at a national tournament. That movie inspired me to create my own opportunities instead of waiting for them to fall in my lap. (Highly recommend that film to anyone) Additionally, as a kid, I was also really stubborn. Which was probably a huge pain to deal with as a parent but I believe it made me who I am today. That same stubbornness carried on to my adult life and has allowed me to transform it into perseverance. Refusing to give up and move on because I know that if I keep trying, I can succeed in what I do. I grew up in a family of four in southern areas of San Diego. I have two wonderful parents and a brilliant sister who I consider my bestfriend and an automatic member of my team for life.
Contact Info:
- Email: luislpradprado@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Cover photo photography credits to Dominic Holmes (@darh.jpg on instagram)
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