ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE SILVERBACK OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS.
Silverback supported breaking showcases beginning in 1983 and structured breaking competitions beginning in 2011. The Silverback Bboy Events platform was formed by Silverback in 2013 as a philanthropic initiative to support the competitive breaking community with funding for breaking events and competitive breakers, as well as business advice and legal resources for breakers. See archive of Silverback Open event recaps from 2014 through 2018 here.
Formation of UDEF and the Pro Breaking Tour
In 2013, Cros1 of Freestyle Session aligned with Silverback to form both UDEF and the Pro Breaking Tour. The Tour was formally launched in January 2014.
The basic idea behind the formation of the Pro Breaking Tour was to provide the breaking community with a well-organized series of prize money breaking competitions, which would attract a general audience following both online and in-person, appealing to major corporate sponsors, media partners, and broadcasters, bringing an infusion of capital into a community in need of capital.
The objective was to help to create a mini-industry and job-producing ecosystem around breaking, with the Tour’s prize money events being the initial magnet to attract corporate, media and spectator interest in breaking. The Silverback Open in Philadelphia was a major event on the Tour from its inception in 2014 through the final installment of the event in 2018. Silverback’s support of breaking events was philanthropic with the majority of the support directed to UDEF and the Pro Breaking Tour’s events.
UDEF is a non-profit entity and a 501(c)3 public charity with a board comprised of breakers, event organizers, and business people with domain expertise in various areas. The Pro Breaking Tour is wholly-owned by UDEF through a taxable subsidiary.
