Stephen Fleg has been training much of his life for his Olympic moment.
Except he hasn’t. Well, not really.
Like many Olympic athletes, Fleg, known as DJ Fleg, has devoted years to perfecting his craft. But he is not an athlete in pursuit of a medal. Fleg has been tasked with creating the soundtrack for the Games’ newest and most hyped event: breaking. And that role comes with more power than you think.
Unlike gymnastics or figure skating, where performances are honed over months and sometimes years of practice, breaking lets the D.J. pick the music, and competitors have to react to it. The music comes from an Olympic-approved playlist of more than 400 songs. But in each head-to-head battle, the breakers have no idea what’s coming.
“It’s very odd, feeling like we have this middle role sort of thing, but it’s a very important role,” Fleg said. “It’s the backbone of hip-hop and dance. There’s no dance without the music.”
Fleg, who notes that he is technically an “official” rather than a participant, is no stranger to the Games’ newest event. He started breaking as a teenager before shifting to D.J. work in his late teens. Now 38, he has become a well-known figure and is frequently called on to D.J. major international events like Red Bull BC One, Outbreak and recently, Olympic qualifying events.
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