Benito J. “BJ” Gallardo
Hometown: Las Cruces, Mexico Age: 25 Profession: Living statue and B-Boy (break-dancer) Profile: BJ picked up the only acceptable forms of dance where he was from—breaking and popping and locking—and immediately started battling. The very first day the former gymnast practiced with the KOS crew he ended up battling and winning. Moving to Vegas in 2000, he joined the Knuckhead Zoo crew, and today you can find him at Super Slide Sundays at Tabu or in the Freeze Frame at Studio 54 as a living statue. Why I Do What I Do: “When I take a body movement, and I’m able to manipulate and contort it and push it into a position nobody’s ever seen before, it’s a feeling of creativity you have to be an artist to understand.” Personal Tidbit: When BJ tore his ACL and meniscus two years ago, friend DJ David Christian gave him two Technics 1200 turntables, and the rest is history. BJ taught himself to spin and now enjoys playing occasional sets at the ER and at private parties. Though he spins soulful house, reggae and funk, his specialty is turntablism—live production of songs using raw beats and loops. Last book read: The Egyptian Book of the Dead. Latest Accomplishment: Was central to a documentary chronicling the Knucklehead Zoo’s journey to the Battle of the Year in Germany, the World Cup of break-dancing, in which they took first for America and fifth overall. The film, Planet B-Boy, premiered at Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Film Festival in April. Quote: “It makes me feel close to God when I’m able to create.”