Meet Donnie “Crumbs” Counts | BreakBoy “Bboy”/Dancer/Choreographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Donnie “Crumbs” Counts and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Donnie “Crumbs”, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I decided to pursue a artistic career at age 14. I believe when you truly find your purpose/passion in life, you should put your heart and soul into it. I never wanted to feel like I have a job. I don’t consider my career path a job although it is how I make a living financially. For me, life should be about doing and pursuing what you love. What motivates and drives you to get up everyday happy and grow to be better. It was the one of the easiest decisions in my life that I’ve ever made.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
There has never really been any big money to be made in my career path. It was definitely not easy to be able to sustain financially throughout my career without thinking outside the box and being able to adapt to all the many different types of performance situations that came my way. I started out as a straight battler. I would compete in big Breaking competitions world wide.

That lead me to move to Los Angeles and pursue the entertainment industry. I started dancing/choreographing right away for artists like Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Black Eyed Peas and Missy Elliot to name a few. I also danced and played small acting roles in movies like You Got Served, Step Up 2 and Battle Of The Year. Did lots of commercials, music videos etc.

I also started teaching and judging Breaking competitions globally as well as still competing. Being able to adapt to all these routes and do them simultaneously is what helped me sustain my career financially. If I would have just stuck to one area of the art, I wouldn’t have been able to survive financially. You gotta be a hustler for sure.

I started Breaking in 1993. The art has been slowly growing every decade since. Now it is the first dance to ever be accepted in the Olympics which will first take place in Paris, France 2024. We’ve worked so hard consistently to help get this artform on major platforms like the Olympics and it’s finally coming to fruition. When the rest of the world finally gets to see Breaking in it’s raw battle form uncut in the Olympic games, I believe the skies the limit after that.

My personal brand is me. Bboy Crumbs. My website is www.BboyCrumbs.com. I also have another brand entitled Sick Step. You can learn all about it from my website.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well I recently moved here 2 years ago from Los Angeles so I’m still learning where all the cool spots are here. My best friends are also dancers so we would probably go to some good training spots. Take them to MJQ club to dance. That is one of my favorite club spots here.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would have to give recognition to some of the people who have inspired me in my career path. Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee have shown me the type of energy, creativity and passion it takes to be one of the best in the world in your field. Other Breakers/Hip Hop Dancers that came before me such as Ken Swift, Crazy Legs, Flo Master, Storm, Mr. Wiggles, Orko, Little Cesar, Remind, Quali-D and the rest of my original crew members from Style Elements Crew. These guys have paved the way for artists like me to continue a career path in the field of Breaking. They are some of the most innovative and skilled game changers on the planet.

Website: www.BboyCrumbs.com

Instagram: BboyCrumbs

Facebook: BboyCrumbs

Youtube: Youtube.com/BboyCrumbs