Any Bboy or Bgirl who hasn't heard the name Thomas Hergenröther probably hasn't competed in Battle of the Year. Hergenröther is synonymous with BOTY because he was the man that created it.
As a fan of many BOTY's and of course the stellar 2007 documentary Planet BBoy, I knew I had to talk to Thomas about creating an event that has gone on capture the worlds attention.
Thomas was very generous with his response and his story encapsulates what happens when you have a great idea, a little motivation and an inclusive attitude.
Most big undertakings start from humble beginnings with a few creative and motivated people, so my question was to find out what or who inspired Thomas to create Battle of the Year in the first place?
I was a Bboy and in the end of the 80s it totally died out in Germany/Europe. I kept on dancing and finally found few other Bboys who were still left. We sat down, discussed and then decided to try to bring it back and show the public that to us Hip Hop including Bboying is more than a fashion but passion. That was my/our first motivation to start the BOTY without knowing of course that in the future it will last so long and will grow so big.
In the end of the 80s we also met Battle Squad with Storm and Swift and they probably were our main inspiration at that time encouraging us to do something.
Creative people challenge the status quo, knowing that our best as human beings is always still ahead of us. Thomas found that although popular culture at that point had chewed up and spit out breaking, the spirit of the culture was still young and there were people crying out for a unifying event, not just in Germany, but around the world.
Creating something is only half the battle, as you have to keep working on it day-in and day-out. I wanted to know what kept Thomas motivated to keep pushing year after year, especially in the early days?
Motivation especially in the early years was easy. It was all a big adventure during the age of no you tube, facebook and emails. You never knew what will happen and every BOTY from 1990 to 2000 was kind of unpredictable in terms of knowing which dancers and crews and also how much crowd will show up. Especially the first five BOTY editions (1990 – 1995) still had that original jam character, it was a very close and interactive atmosphere, very original in terms of the true meanings and vibes of hip hop culture.
It was more in and after 1999/2000 that I questioned our ideas a lot since we got quite some negative feedback in terms oft hat BOTY got too big and commercial, saying that we sell out the hip hop culture, which from my side really never was the case. My heart was and still is always with the culture and dancers of course with adapting to time and in the end of course business.
But I totally got over it since today I am totally convinced of our event and philosophy we spread for BOTY, plus nowadays we have so many BBoy events and the scene and audience for everything is so big that everybody can choose were to go and where not to go.
My main inspiration and motivation up to today still are important people keep on pushing us such as Storm, Mode 2, Crazy, Vartan / Flying Steps and also my brilliant team which is like family, with some we work together since 1995.
Youthful enthusiasm and having low expectations can provide motivation when you're starting out, but the inspiration you get from others you've met and work with because of your creation is what keeps you working on it.
Battle of the year is over 25 years old, and Thomas is a veteran of the scene now, so I was curious to ask Thomas if there are specific things that he does that helps him get in a creative state of mind?
I travel a lot all over the world watching different kinds of dance events, not only Bboy event but of course mainly Bboy events. I think we can learn from younger/new events sometimes. If we would still do the same things with BOTY as we did in the early 90s it would not work, time is running and the kids and also the Bboys change in attitude, needs, behaviour …
Beside that I do a lot of sports especially outdoor activities in my life and this keeps me down to earth plus calms me down a lot to think about new ideas and concepts for our events.
Although BOTY is Thomas's focus, he has other hobbies and sports that allow him to take time out from his work. Sometimes when you work in your business, you are so concerned with the day-to-day operations you forget you need to work on your business, and some of those business decisions require a clear and creative mind. The time away from work gives you the opportunity to think differently and more broadly, helping create new ideas and to remind you why you started in the first place.
Thomas has worked hard to create an event that has stayed as true as it can to the original spirit of the Hip Hop culture whilst still growing and changing with every generation. If you're looking to stay relevant creatively and culturally for the long run, taking Thomas's example is a good start.
Battle of the Year website
2014 BOTY Final on Youtube
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