Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Luis “Lprad” Prado. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Luis “Lprad” thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Every project feels meaningful in its own way. Currently, I am producing the Red Bull BC One San Diego Cypher event. For context, this is a qualifier that will eventually feed into the World Finals for competitive breaking. (Breaking is short for breakdancing) Personally, I’ve been a breaker for 13 years and it has been a life dream of mine to be involved with Red Bull to any degree. Obviously, I would love to be a competitor at the events and be competing at the highest level under the spotlight but it seems like my path to Red Bull was carved out behind the scenes. (Which is 1000% okay with me!)

This project feels like a culmination of 7 years of my small wins, careless errors, unexpected connections and unrelenting determination within the realm of event production. San Diego has not been a destination city for Red Bull’s cypher events since 2012 and it feels like both an immense honor and a heavy responsibility to be leading this event. The BC One events are the mainstream public’s easiest way into the world of hip hop and the way these events are produced have everything to do with the perception of hip hop. My job here is to make sure that the prolific reputation of a globally known brand doesn’t interfere with the authenticity of what we do here in San Diego as a hip hop community.

Events, to me, are opportunities to create a core memory. The aesthetics, the energy, the environment, and even the people that are a part play a huge role in the success of the event. I focus on every minor detail for every event that I do because it all matters to me. The DJ, the way the flyers look, the format of the competition, the vendors, and even the time of the year that the event takes places all play a factor into the experience. The diamonds are created in the details.

At the end of the day, I want to bring out the best that the city has to offer in terms of talent but also in representation. We have amazing creatives, movement artists and community leaders that make up the hip hop scene in San Diego. Without their support, the community wouldn’t be half of what it is today and I want to make sure that they receive their shine now that the spotlight is back on San Diego.

Luis “Lprad”, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Luis “Lprad” Prado and I am the Creative Director for Break New Ground, a platform dedicated to spotlighting local hip hop artists through community events, multimedia content and community collaborations. Additionally, the brand has occasional merchandise releases that help fund each aspect of our initiative to create a somewhat self sustainable cycle. San Diego has a deep wealth of artists in various avenues and the exciting part of getting to know them is that there is always something to learn from every individual.

Break-NG is known best for the events that we produce. Each event is a completely different experience built from the ground up. These events are typically competitive dance events but the collective unification of the hip hop community is what most people attend for. We have had people travel from the East Coast, Mexico, and various states all around the United States to attend a Break-NG event.

There are likely other brands that do what we do across the landscape of the community that we exist in but I think the one thing that really sets us apart is the cohesiveness and quality of work that we do. Nothing feels like it is being executed at less than 110%. Personally, my biggest motto is “Work as hard as you can as if you were retiring tomorrow” and I hope that it translates into everything that has a Break-NG logo on it.

To “break new ground” is to do something new, innovative, or different from the norm. I feel like anyone can break new ground every single day. It can be as small as figuring out a better way to map out your day or it can be as big as creating the next big project in their perspective field. Anyone can do it, at any capacity. My favorite question to ask anyone that knows the brand is, how are you breaking new ground?

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media is such an incredible tool that I feel is still massively overlooked by so many people. A lot of people have this misconception that being on your phone a lot is often detrimental but in my opinion, a lot of time spent doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing if you’re using your time wisely.

I love social media. It has allowed me to connect with people all over the world and it simultaneously allows me to share everything that I’m up to. Sometimes I’m competing at a local or national dance competition and there are highlights that I like to share for the people that follow me for dance content but there are also many day-to-day activities that involve Break-NG that a different crowd might be following me for. The way things are trending, social media will eventually become a really fast and easily-accessible portfolio for artists or small business owners to allow people to look into their world. It’s the modern day resume.

My one piece of advice is to take social media as seriously as you want people to take you. Memes and funny videos are an equally good reason to be on social media! But sometimes if you want to establish a credible presence for your brand, creating a distinction is incredibly important. Don’t let the digital world consume you, make sure you’re always in control of who might be consuming who.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I love creating. The thrill of bringing an idea to life is unmatched. When there is something you’re working towards, every step forward feels like a huge accomplishment. For me, the goal is simply satisfaction. I want to look back at the end of it all and be really happy with everything I did. There have been people who were introduced to breaking through a Break-NG event and it may have changed their life trajectory entirely! Maybe there are people who see Break-NG as an inspiration for something that they want to do with their creativity. I’ll never know how deeply my impact will be as a creator but I do know that any small impact will be treasured so deeply in my spirit.

At the end of the day, I feel like my one goal that I have yet to accomplish is to inspire the next generation. The cycle has to continue and I hope that before I finish up as a creative in this space, I am able to inspire someone to create their own impact in the community.

Contact Info:

• Website: breakng.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_lprad/ | https://www.instagram.com/breakng/