Breakdancing, in and of itself, is difficult to master. It requires great upper body strength, coordination, and rhythm. Not to mention that its arenas are highly competitive, almost to the level of boxing, pro skateboarding, and Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Now, imagine trying to compete at such an event with only the limited use of your legs. Impossible, you say? Luca “Lazy Legz” Patuelli, a disabled breaker from Bethesda, MD, wants to convince you otherwise. Born with arthrogryposis, an illness that limits movement in the joints and is characterized by muscle weakness (according to Medterms.com), Patuelli is every bit as competitive as his peers, with ten times the dedication.
“Most of my growing up was done in Maryland,” he elaborates, “and considering the amount of money [people have], it’s a very upper-middle-class neighborhood. It has over two hundred restaurants; every year they hold Taste of Bethesda, a major food promotional event.”
With his physical limitations, Patuelli was given two choices: either become a victim of his circumstances…or work twice as hard and prove everyone who doubted him wrong. “I was born with my legs really stiff,” he elaborates, “I could bend them only 90 degrees. But I refused wheelchairs; my parents got me a tricycle to get my legs moving, and I tried new things every day.”
In 1999, at age 15, Patuelli began “breaking” in high school, due to a continuing knee surgery that kept him from skateboarding, his first love. “The surgery changed the angle of my knees; my feet drag on the board now. But I’ve gotten so involved in dancing that I’ve stopped skateboarding.” His friends, who noticed his incredibly muscular arms, thought he would enjoy breakdancing and took him to his first competition. After returning to Montreal in 2002, he became involved with its fast-growing hip-hop community and honed his skills as a breakdancer.
Those unfamiliar with Lazy Legz’ name can easily find him on sites like YouTube and MetaCafe, with a simple search. Among the videos you may come across is a competition called “Battle de Sevigny”; in the video, Patuelli competes against a French b-boy with an amputated leg named Petit Freez, a.k.a. “Hourth.” Both b-boys display some incredible moves, to the delight of the enthusiastic (but tough) crowd.
“[Hourth] took the battle very seriously,” Patuelli says. “I just wanted to have fun, but Hourth felt like he was defending his honor, {and therefore} had to beat me.” While he takes his competitions seriously and puts in an incredible effort, Patuelli never pushes it over the edge. “In every competition, in the back of my head, I figure out what to do to beat them,” he says, “but it’s better not to give myself the pressure of beating someone. It’s like studying; I need sleep more than I need to pull an all-nighter.”
On the subject of school, Patuelli thinks for a moment, then says, “Whatever you learn in school is not what you learn in real life.” He cites the hip-hop artist Deltron Zero as one of his inspirations, and outside-of-school education. “He does a lot of funny tracks…the messages teach you how to turn [your outlook] positive.”
Lazy Legz is a former member of a breaking crew known as Illmatic Styles, which recombined with another crew, Redmask, in 2005. Together, they called themselves ILLMASK and represented Montreal at Chicago’s City vs. City competition, according to Lazylegz.com. As a group, they have made tracks all across the U.S., Canada, and throughout the world.
You may have had a chance to see Illmatic Styles (prominently featuring Patuelli) on the second season of America’s Got Talent, with judges Sharon Osbourne, David Hasselhoff, and Piers Morgan. The crew performed an incredibly inspirational (and flawlessly executed) routine to the Jackson Sisters’ “I Believe in Miracles.” The lyrics, fittingly, proclaim, “I believe in miracles, baby/I believe in you.” Host Jerry Springer was even shown saying “This is great!” backstage during the group’s performance.
Though their act didn’t ultimately take them to the winning spot, it highly impressed the judges and got Patuelli and his crew as far as Vegas. Now on YouTube at America’s Got Talent – Lazy Legs, the clip has been viewed more than 1 million times, and has received such awards from the site as #18 Most Discussed of All Time (in Poland), and #4 Most Viewed.
It may surprise you to learn that Patuelli, at one time or another, has been acquainted with major hip-hop artists such as Kanye West, Talib Kweli, K-OS, and The Roots, all of whom have performed in Montreal at one point. “At Concord University, [these artists] held really big concerts; it was the first year I’d moved to Montreal. In 2003, Talib Kweli performed a free concert, and asked any b-boys to get onstage…I did it, and got really good applause.”
“Kanye West did [the same idea]…he gave me his assistant’s phone number, and I got a role in the video for ‘Jesus Walks’…but that video never came out. He ended up doing ‘Through the Wire’ instead.” Still, Patuelli stresses that he enjoyed the experience and doesn’t regret it at all.
As stated earlier, Patuelli also danced onstage with Toronto-based rapper K-OS (an acronym for “Knowledge of Self”) at one of his concerts. “Some of my friends were hired to be onstage [for the show]…I was able to make it onstage and ended up doing a little show…soon, the bouncer threw me off.” The epilogue to this experience is that Patuelli is now in touch with K-OS and some of those who work with him. For those unfamiliar with this rapper, see one of his videos at YouTube: K-OS – Superstarr, Pt. Zero. In reference to the breakers in the video, Patuelli says, “Some of those people are actually my friends from the scene.”
In addition to dancing, Patuelli also does motivational speaking at schools and hospitals. “I get nothing but positive responses,” he says of the experience. “I’ve gotten used to it now; I have to perform for 20-30 minutes, so I throw in a lot of jokes, and make it entertaining.” As a hint to other motivational speakers, he says, “[The key] is knowing what to say at the right time….speakers like Anthony Robbins can get a bunch of businessmen to get up and jump around.” NBC’s Matt Lauer, according to LazyLegz.com, said “Luca is the perfect example of motivation and determination overcoming all!”
To see more of Luca “Lazy Legz” Patuelli and ILLMASK, see the YouTube links below, or visit his website. He hopes to inspire you, as he has so many others.
