The Ruggeds – Emotional Intelligence
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Introduction
If we have asked ourselves about this subject, it is because we are aware of the difficulties of living, creating, undertaking and succeeding in ambitious projects in community. Creating and succeeding with others, while remaining faithful and committed is certainly the greatest proof of humanity that exists. It requires so many qualities and tolerance and listening that it is sometimes much easier to give up and go elsewhere to create. Commitment scares, questions, requires patience and work.
If we went to each member of The Ruggeds and asked, “How does the other person help you to elevate yourself?” It is precisely in order to question the emotional intelligence and functioning of a crew that has proven and affirmed its talent. Beyond the sacrifices and setbacks that paved the way to their victories, it is important to ask how each person’s emotional experience led to these results.
Stepper helped us a lot to organize our visit. It took us several months to find a date when the majority of The Ruggeds members would have been present, and when we could join their rehearsal/training sessions. We arrived in Eindhoven, unaware that we were going to live a strong human experience, which would allow us to learn about ourselves.
We arrived at Eindhoven Station. To reach the place of residence of The Ruggeds, the indications of Stepper led us to have to jump the gates of the station with all our equipment to reach a supposed room located at the end of the platform. Roy came to pick us up with his badge. He was in charge of the rehearsals they had to do during these 3 days. To make sure that it was well organized and to make sure that we did not encroach on their schedule, we had planned all the interviews in advance.
Origins
Roy gave us a tour of the place. A large room, shelves full of victory trophies, several tables, high and low, like a start-up company somehow. A music studio where Jessy and Rico were. Two dance studios, rail view. A few people who were not members of The Ruggeds worked in the main room. It was The Ruggeds’ communication and events team that handled all the administrative and communication part of the work.
Duzk arrived quite quickly, as did Stepper. We moved a sofa, changed the scenery and installed our equipment to do the first interviews. We started with Duzk. We began to learn more about the chronology of the crew, the different members, the diversification of their activities, etc.
“I could feel very early that the relationship I had with these guys was going to last a lifetime, it was strange as a feeling, it didn’t look normal.”
– Jessy
Us
These initial discussions allowed us to meditate. We had already done 4 interviews: Stepper, Dusk, Jessy and Rico. It was impressive because we did almost the same interview with everyone, and the answers, despite some peculiarities, were almost constantly the same. While one would have expected many differences in interpretations, points of view, this was not the case at all. Each, in his own way, said the exact same thing as the other. They answered each other without consultation. They completed each other’s sentences in their own way.
“I feel disconnected from the outside world.
When I come out of this bubble, that of the crew, that of dance, I feel like I am entering a world where people are in agreement with the kind of social matrix in which we are put. That’s why I want to stay in this bubble because it allows me to rise.”
– Skychief
“Sometimes when you win and keep winning, you think, “Okay, what’s the point of going on?”
This is where we start looking for other things to create together. Diversification fills our soul, expanding the cultural scope of what we do.
– Niek
Take the space you need, and let the others do so
The second day, we didn’t have any interviews scheduled. It was a day when the whole crew was rehearsing its show. However, we had access to their room to take pictures while they were rehearsing. Everyone knows, especially Hicham, that sometimes you learn more by watching someone dance than by talking to them. Seeing them interact with each other, working seriously in lightness, as if they were one, reflected a common intelligence with strong experience.
“By supporting someone, you’re supporting the whole crew. Everyone must find the place that suits them to make their projects, and know that they are supported by the whole crew. You never feel alone, you feel powerful in what you do.”
– Roy
Learning from mistakes
In fact, it was enough to read between the lines to understand the major achievement of this crew. As they say and make clear, everything they achieve is of little importance. All their projects are just an excuse to be together. What binds them is the love they have for this relationship, for others.
“This was the first time in the crew that I felt that we really had to work on this flaw, on everyone’s commitment. Now we know that when we commit, everyone must do it fully, 100%, and understand it as a collective mission.”
– Roy
Solutions
It was finally Sebastian’s very last question that allowed us to put a word on everything we had witnessed: emotional intelligence. Fortified by failures, successes, breakups, encounters, experiences, and projects; forged by 20 years of life and joint creation, the emotional intelligence that everyone was able to develop allowed them to build an empire of success, while keeping a uniqueness and simplicity in their way of being.
“When one of us feels bad or feels upset, he can’t hide it. You can see it directly because we know each other so well. We manage to be stronger than our problems by expressing ourselves because maybe in such a situation, it is your own way of seeing things that is not good.”
– Duzk
The others
Having a good form of self-awareness, knowing how to identify your feelings and express your emotional needs. Demonstrating empathy, recognizing the emotional state of the other while knowing how to react to it. In the end, that is their engine, which allows them to master, to have confidence in each other and to continue to evolve.
PART 1
Breaking is like a character that accompanies you in order to discover yourself. It is a tool that helps you explore yourself through the relationships you have with others. It is something you cannot do alone; the question of sharing and community is central. It is no wonder that the word “community” has lasted through the ages, despite changing trends.
We tend to define breaking and the hip-hop community with their motto: Peace, Love, Unity, and Having Fun, but in reality, the way we evolve in breaking makes us experience as many positive things as negative things. The fact that we are confronted with the functioning modes of others who live the same art we do allows us to position ourselves unconsciously and to form personal opinions on a set of subjects and values: the ego, honesty, loyalty, sharing, our way of acting in the face of injustice, etc. It is a philosophy that we will enter that will define us and that we will refine according to our mistakes, experiences, encounters, to give a version of ourselves, our identity. It is our identity that will then define how we want to invest ourselves in this environment for our art: whether we want to consume it or make it grow; whether we want to be a participant, follower, or leader.
We also tend to think that we are a community that manages to free itself from society and remain marginal. It is true that we have our own rules, but I do not think that we really have immense freedom in our art. It is something that we live in a community, and we just have a different way of understanding society with our own codes. The values that I see in bboys and bgirls according to their respective generations remain closely linked to today’s society, as does the mode of consumption of breaking and culture: individualism, standardization of things, over-marketing, and consumption reign today. Demands and aspirations have changed, and the “why” we are in this culture has also changed.
I do not think my definition and my way of living breaking are representative of a particular era. Only, I have an ideal of society and community, so I remain faithful and uncompromising on certain values. In more than 30 years of active presence in this scene, I have observed that the values that bind the community do not fundamentally change; they just translate differently. The truth is that between today and 30 years ago, nothing separates us. We are all looking for the same thing: to be respected, to have fun, to dance, and above all, we look for meaning in what we do. We are the same generations, just operating in different contexts that influence us. Wanting to over-consume culture, movements, wanting to be invited, followed, etc., reflects a certain form of suffering, a lack of meaning. Genius and talent have become trivialized and seem to be accessible to everyone, when in fact they are not given to everyone. Not everyone has the opportunity to see it. As a result, today the ordinary is praised.
PART 2
It is an art, it is a lifestyle, it is something that cannot be detached from its base. You can’t define breaking without having an overall appreciation for hip-hop as a whole. It is not a problem if things become popular and specialized as long as everyone knows where it comes from and what values it must carry.
I am of Algerian origin. At home, we love our flag, and from a young age, we are told about our roots, our country, our heritage, and culture. We are told stories about these things, so at a very young age, I was made aware of politics, the notion of belonging, and more.
When we embrace hip-hop and breaking, a culture that is not our own and comes from a place that is not home, the least we can do is try to understand who the people are who created this movement and what gives us the impression of having a connection with all of it. Hip-hop has welcomed everyone, regardless of their background, so what makes this energy speak to us all?
If today I judge, dance, and travel, it is because people who have sacrificed much have invented something much deeper than simply being a judge or being invited to dance. That’s what we need to ask ourselves—the meaning of it all. What matters is not fame or popularity but the art itself.
PART 3
Beyond all this, in a much more down-to-earth way, what is breaking? It’s footwork. It’s the relationship to music, the party, and the aesthetics. In what environment do bboys and bgirls find themselves among culture enthusiasts to create and evolve? Breaking blossoms and is created in jams, that’s where it’s the most spontaneous. Breaking is a dance, an attitude, a way of expressing one’s spirit in movement. It is an endless dance. Breaking is a way of standing, moving, and asserting oneself.
Thanks to everyone for watching. Thanks to the talented team that worked on it.
Interview : Roy. @roytheruggeds
Zoopreme. @griimsentheruggeds
Stepper. @steppertheruggeds
Niek. @niektheruggeds
Duzk. @duzktheruggeds
Jessy. @jessytheruggeds
Skychief. @skychieftheruggeds
Texte par : Tom Chaix. @tomrockk
Photos par : Hicham Boulehfa. @jeuneflingue
Sebastián Esguerra. @__aburridx__