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Breakdancing B-Boys
Summer job is all about fun

Berlin B-Boy Rob, 17, changes into his breakdancing clothes on the steps of Berlin's landmark bombed-out church, Kaiser Wilhelm Gedachtiskirche. (1/9)
 

         Germany is the second largest consumer of hip-hop culture in the world. Breakdancing, a popular form of hip-hop culture, combines music, dance and athleticism to express personality and individuality. In Berlin, known as a breakdancing hub throughout the hip-hop community, it is not unusual to see people of all ages enjoying the sport.
         The Berlin B-Boys - Rob, Rudi, Felix and Jamel - are a group of high school friends who breakdance together on the streets as a summer job. Unlike most summer workers, they have the ability to make their own hours and decide if they will show up or not. For most 17-year-old students on summer vacation that would mean less work, but these four friends love their form of expression and the camaraderie of working a crowd so much that only a rainy day can stop them from performing.
         Their day begins around 1 p.m., when most tourists begin to show up in front of the bombed-out church, Kaiser Wilhelm Gedachtiskirche in Zoologischer Platz. It ends between 10 and 11 p.m. at the youth house (Jugendhaus) on Zille Street where they practice afterward.
         Their days are long, but to them it is not work - they simply get paid to do what they love.
         "TV is crap," B-Boy Rob said. "Here we do what we love and work hard all day.   We don't sit around."