Photo: Red Bull Content Pool
Self-taught dancer John Vaifale, who used to practise headspins on cardboard he scavenged from dumpsters, is New Zealand's reigning hip hop freestyler champion.
Last month, 26-year-old Vaifale (also known as 'Happy Feet') qualified at the Dance Your Style contest, winning the chance to represent Aotearoa at the world finals in Germany in November.
Growing up, Vaifale could not afford dance classes and had no internet access. Instead, he and his friends would make multiple trips to the nearest library to watch breakdance tutorials on YouTube.
"We taught each other how to breakdance outside the library carpark in Clendon Park, Manurewa," he said.
The Lalovaea and Solosolo dancer says he would dumpster-dive to make a homemade breakdancing mat out of cardboard to practise his headspinning moves.
"We would use sellotape or whatever to stick the cardboards together. We didn't have a gymnastic gym, so we used the grass next to the carpark to practise our flips."
Vaifale said he did not think there was anything unusual in what he was doing.
"I didn't think I was struggling at the time. I thought it was normal. I didn't know the concept of dance studios and paying for teachers."
He said this lack of resources meant he had to develop his own style and ways of learning.
"I had no choice but to have a high level of creativity and to think fast on my feet. I had to figure things out for myself."
Vaifale said his dad Sanele, who was a breakdancer in Samoa in the 1980s after watching the New York hip hop film Beat Street, inspired him to start dancing.
"I feel like it is very genetic - since Dad was a dancer, it ran through the blood."
Vaifale's dance name, Happy Feet, has been part of his life since he was about 12 and hanging out at the local pools.
"There was always music playing at the pools and I would always dance my way into the water. Sometimes I wouldn't even get into the water, I would just dance on the sides."
Eventually one of the lifeguards approached Vaifale, saying that he reminded them of the penguin dancing in the movie Happy Feet.
"I kept the name and haven't changed it ever since."
The South Auckland dancer broke into the dance scene as a 12-year-old, when he formed a dance crew called Pacific Rockers with his cousin and seven other friends from De La Salle College.
The group lost their first breakdancing battle at Southside Gig 09, but Vaifale said the experience helped fill his "cup of inspiration and motivation".
Five years later, Vaifale entered New Zealand's Got Talent, where 'Happy Feet' became a household dance name when he made the semi-finals.
"I might inspire someone and if I don't that's okay - at least I tried".
Fast forward to May this year, Vaifale was crowned national champion of Red Bull Dance Your Style, which involved 16 dances around New Zealand with unique styles like hip-hop, waacking, krumping et cetera.
After four rounds of intense dance battling, Happy Feet was an obvious crowd-pleaser, combining his own flair with hip-hop and Polynesian style.
'Happy Feet' being crowned national champion. Photo: Supplied / John Vaifale
"Incorporating siva Samoa has always been my thing... I have been doing this for years and everyone knew me for it."
Vaifale said he had a strong passion for representing his cultural roots on stage, but he also used other Pacific Nations' dances "because I love how we all move differently".
"I've done Tongan lakalaka or Tongan haka… I will also do a bit of Cook Island dance too.
"As a lover of all Pacific Island dances, I feed off all different islands. When I'm dancing around the world I feel like I am dancing for the minority of our people. We are very small, but the pride is so strong."
Working towards the big dance-off in Germany, Vaifale wanted to solidify his name internationally.
His long-term goal was to open his own dance studio for the community to nurture their skills.
"My motivation is to be better than who I was yesterday or the last time I danced. I don't see myself ever stopping. The day I die is the day I will stop dancing."
This story has been corrected on 30 June because the subject's surname was mis-spelt.