Native Houstonian Jeff Louis on cusp on making inaugural Olympic break dancing team

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- He's currently ranked as one of the five best break dancers on the planet. Yet, moments before a performance, Jeff Louis is not quite sure how it's going to go.

The video above is from ABC13's 24/7 livestream.

"I never know exactly what I'm gonna do," Jeff admitted to ABC13. "Even 30 seconds before the music starts."

However, when he get going and his skills start showing, it's breathtaking.

The 29-year-old, known as B-Boy Jeffro during competition, credits his older brother for helping get his breaking career off on the right foot back in middle school.

"I like to describe my style as a vibe of explosions," Louis shared. "And what I mean by that is, the vibe? You're gonna feel it. It doesn't matter if you're my opponent. You're gonna feel it. I'm gonna feel it. The crowd is gonna feel it."

Despite his current success, it wasn't long ago when Jeff felt the walls closing in on his craft.

The alumnus of Westside High School and the University of Houston said that when he realized that his chosen career path was not going to be profitable and that his parents didn't support his passion, he felt that all too familiar uncertainty.

"When I was in high school, that's when I really realized my parents were against it," Louis recalled. He thought to himself, "All right, I'm gonna stop for sure. Because I know my parents, they wanted better for us. It was not for them. It was for us."

But before he could quit, breaking broke out.

Louis landed a sponsorship to compete internationally, changed his degree plan, and now runs a dance-based fitness business out of the same Houston studio where he's training to make Team USA.

Late in 2020, the International Olympic Committee announced breaking as an official Olympic sport in this summer's games. In a 16-person bracket-style competition, judges will declare winners of head-to-head battles featuring three, minute-long rounds. Louis is one of two men competing for the final spot on the U.S. team for the Paris Olympics. One-on-one battles in May and June will determine his fate.

"I feel confident about those next two competitions," Louis said. "And even if I'm confident, I'm still gonna get nervous the day of the competition. It's just in me."

He's become comfortable with the questionable involving his craft: the doubt in the dance. Not being quite sure how it's going to go is what has Louis ready to go to the Olympics.

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