Rachael Gunn, also known as Raygun, is an Australian scholar and breakdancer who is actively involved in competitions. In 2024, Gunn took part in the debut of breaking at the Summer Olympics but unfortunately did not advance to the next round, earning a score of zero.
Early Life & Education
Rachael Louise Gunn was born on 2 September 1987 in Hornsby, New South Wales. During her youth, she immersed herself in dance and received instruction in ballroom, tap, and jazz techniques.
Gunn studied at Barker College and later at Macquarie University, where they received a bachelor’s degree in contemporary music in 2009 and a PhD in cultural studies in 2017.
The main focus of her doctoral dissertation, titled “Deterritorializing gender in Sydney’s breakdancing scene: a B-girl’s experience of B-boying”, was the connection between gender and the breaking scene in Sydney.
Rachael Gunn’s Career
Rachael Gunn had experience in jazz, tap, and ballroom dancing and had even competed in the latter before she started learning breakdancing. Her partner, who she eventually married, had been breakdancing for a decade and convinced her to give it a go.
She started breakdancing in her mid-twenties during the early 2010s. However, she took a break from competing to complete her PhD and returned to competitions in 2018.
Also known as Raygun, Rachael Gunn is mentored by her husband, Samuel Free, and shares that she dedicates three to four hours to daily training.
In 2022, Gunn achieved the second position in the Open Bgirl Ranking, and in 2023, she secured the highest rank in the same category in Australia. Moreover, she has consistently placed within the top three at numerous breaking competitions in Australia over the past five to ten years.
In 2021, 2022, and 2023 World Breaking Championships, she represented Australia in Paris, Seoul, and Leuven respectively. Additionally, she triumphed in the 2023 Oceania Breaking Championships, which earned her a spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics as per the qualification criteria.
At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Rachael Gunn failed to earn any points from the judges and was eliminated during the round-robin stage. Following criticism on social media, she posted a quote on her Instagram account.
“don’t be afraid to be different, go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that’s gonna take you”.
In addition to facing competition from the USA, France, and Lithuania, she acknowledged that she could not compete physically with her younger opponents. In a subsequent interview, she elaborated on this statement.
I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves, so I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative… I was always the underdog and wanted to make my mark in a different way.
Aside from her breakdancing career, Rachael Gunn works as a teacher at the Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language and Literature within the Faculty of Arts at Macquarie University. Her area of study is centered on breaking, street dance, hip-hop, youth culture, and the intersections of gender and politics.
She is a part of the Performance and Expertise Research Centre at Macquarie University. Her teachings cover a broad range of subjects, such as media, creative industries, music, dance, cultural studies, and work-integrated learning.
