After her unorthodox breaking performance at the Paris Olympics, Australian breaker Rachel ‘Raygun’ Gunn is looking to make something positive out of a viral moment that generated so much criticism and mockery, according to media reports.
Paris marked the debut of breaking – sometimes referred to as breakdancing – in the Olympics, with the hip-hop dance style developed in New York City in the 1970s joining international sports’ greatest stage. It was bound to draw headlines and Raygun’s performance – scoring her zeroes across the board in her round-robin breaking battles – landed the 36-year-old academic on internet and news outlets across the world. While some celebrated and defended her creativity, others were quick to mock and ridicule, even making up conspiracy theories as to how she qualified to represent Australia.
The joke could be on them, Raygun recently announced she had signed with Born Bred Talent, a high-profile management team specialising in TikTok talent, social media stars and Instagram influencers. Experts weighing in on the Olympic sensation’s future say she could make millions on her newfound fame.
[See more: Which sports have been added to or removed from the 2024 Paris Olympics?]
Australian broadcaster Network 10 are rumoured to be “very interested” in casting the breaker in the next season of I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!, saying Raygun “would be the ideal campmate” for the jungle-based celebrity survival show. Dee Madigan, a branding and advertising expert, said there’s also a good chance that Raygun would appear on Channel 7’s Dancing With The Stars and any number of commercials, including Australian Bananas’ “Make those bodies sing,” one of the country’s longest running ad campaigns.
Max Markson, a famed marketing authority, told 7 News that Raygun will likely net contracts with popular global companies as well. “She will get international offers from sports shoe brands, like Adidas or Puma, food companies like McDonald’s or KFC, electric cars like BYD, and she will get a phone company like Telstra or Optus or Vodafone,” Markson said. “There will be other international companies that want her as well.”
All of these opportunities could add up to millions – Markson said US$500,000 is the going rate for large companies like McDonalds – for the breaker. If so, it would be some compensation for the organised hate she faced following her performance at the games.
