Latest entry in Unspeakable documentary series, Raygun: Broken badlyIt introduces a new kind of story. This 72-minute documentary tells the story of Olympian Dr Rachel Gunn, the Australian break dancer with a PhD who caused a stir with her disastrous shot (the famous 0-point race) during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Some see her as a courageous force to be reckoned with; Others view it as a travesty and an embarrassment to their country. But now, after the dancer has broken down, she has to tell her story from her point of view. But what did the doc reveal that wasn’t already widely known about the kangaroo-hopping, machine-gun-deploying breakdancer?

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She got into breakdancing through her husband, a Breakin’ fan.

Gunn met her husband Sam Frye (aka showrunner Sammy Sixx) in 2008. He was always fascinated by 80s film break in’ Like the novel’s protagonist, Kelly, he made breakdancing his entire personality. Unlike every other woman he dated, when Samuel showed Rachel his world, she didn’t run in the opposite direction. Instead, I fell in love with it, mostly because of its intersectionality.

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Australia doesn’t have much of a B-girl scene.

Free dancing was a niche activity among Australians. In this doc, leading Australian b-girls, Tinylox and Flex, discuss how this has been a hobby among a select few, with many – including Gunn – having practiced it for over a decade. Flex expressed that she was at the end of her career by the time of the OFC qualifiers, having been in the scene for over 15 years.

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Gunn was the standout on the day of the Oceania regional qualifiers.

Contrary to online misinformation, which alleged conspiracies that Sam Frye’s involvement as a judge aided favoritism on her way to the Olympics, Gunn won her competition fair and square. She was among 15 B-girl competitors, and her performance and positive results from the judges earned her a place in the Olympics.

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Rachel studied her competitors by participating in other competitions, where she also lost.

When she won her heat, Gunn had nearly 200 days to train before the Olympics. Although she trained with her husband’s coach, she also competed in the Undisputed Masters tournament, where she faced Nika, the soon-to-be 2024 silver medalist, for the first time – losing in the preliminary rounds.

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Gunn had limited training.

Rachel Gunn didn’t have anyone in her orbit to coach her moves other than Sam Frye. Her head coach was supposed to be Louie Nabalan, president of the Australian Breaking Association. However, the document reveals that he barely trained her, working strictly on the administrative side. “I was just there to help… a few times, I’m not entirely sure,” Nabalan admitted. “Less than 10 lessons for sure.” Less than 10 days during the remaining 200 days of training. Who actually trained Gunn? “Yes man”, her enabling husband – who has never received proper training for himself again. I went everywhere except a real break coach.

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The mediocrity enabled by the Australian Dance Commission led to her humiliation.

Although she has a doctorate in breakdancing, Gunn’s delving into the scene is like watching a renovation worker start out in Brooklyn without acknowledging the roots and culture that shaped his identity. The subject of the doc never addresses the architects of the street dance form, which originated in the Bronx during the 1970s — the only extent of its history being Sam’s love of break in’. Breakout was largely a science at first, rather than a ceremonial form of self-expression rooted in African American and Puerto Rican culture. But because no one in her neighborhood offered anything but “easy props” or genuine helpful criticism, she operated on false confidence (despite her brutal imposter syndrome) and failed to make it all the way to the Olympics. It’s a reflection of how easy it is to raise mediocrity, and the lengths to which it can take you not just to the Olympics, but to a serious doc about you on Netflix.