C-walk Interview: Rye

The CwalkMedia Team would like to present another interview with a C-walker who was apart of the London 5-way. Some of you may know Rye255 and now you will get to read about his c-walking career and how he got to where he is today.

Tony: Hey man, first off, an introduction of yourself, name, age, location, life, etc…
Rye: Hey guys, I’m Ryan also known as rye225. Currently posted up in London, United Kingdom. Im 19 at the Moment. Life for me is pretty good I’m studying economics at the SOAS and just going from strength to strength whilst trying to keep it gangsta at the same time!
Tony: How did you get the name Rye? or is it just short for Ryan?
Rye: Rye has always been short for Ryan, its a nickname that was given to me by my parents when I was younger and when people meet me in the street they called me Rye (recently people have been calling me O.G. as well lol). The 225 got added to the end because when I first made an msn account in like 1998 rye alone wasn’t available so they smacked on the 225 and thats how I became rye225. Theres no miraculous story behind my name I’m afraid lol
Tony: Haha ! I see, so when and how did you find out what cwalking was?
Rye: Cwalking for me was all about the music videos such as WC’s in the streets and Xzibits ‘Get yo walk on’. I really liked it because it incorporated a lot of O.G. gangsta styles and funnily enough I was firstly attracted to the gangsta old school O.G. crip walk before clowning. I used to watch videos of vietshi3t and the original sick three-way and practice out the moves, this was way back in 2005. I remember when I first started clowning I made an awful video and began showing people they were just laughing at me but when I started getting better and better then I got a lot more attention on the internet and amongst the people around me, especially people at school. People who had been hating were all on my nuts lol, especially with the London 5 way, even people I meet now have seen it!!! Its crazy!!!!!
Tony: Haha yeah, about the 5 way. How did it all begin? How did you get involved in that? And how long had you been cwalking prior to the meet-up?
Rye: Just before the London 5 way I had received SA (i think it was Kyren who granted me SA) so I already had like a year and a bit in the game. The London 5-way just happened as a little gathering really, it was just a bunch of guys who were having a meet-up and just generally clownin! I went down with a friend of mine and we all met up and did our thang. I remember talking and exchanging numbers with Murkee and scrawler and also talking to Gosu for a little but, I remember we all met up in waterloo station. The 5-way was crazy, the hype that surrounds it now is crazy, last time I checked there were over 18 million views, when I tell people about that they are shocked! It took a few attempts to get the opening synchronised bit in the beginning correct and even in the final version we’re a little off! There were a few different takes and a few different locations but it was the edited original by Gosu that took off. Check out the youtube and you can see some of the other locations and other scenes, its the original thats still the best though!
Tony: Haha, yeah I have seen some of the other versions. All big hits on YouTube. So, are you still C-Walking now?
Rye: I’m kind of semi-retired at the moment, I made a few videos about a year/ a year and a half ago, but I’m not really deeply into C-walking at the moment, focusing on getting a good education! I probably will make a few videos now and again though just to show people that I haven’t lost it and so that I’m not rusty anymore. I miss the olden days of the Cwalk, nowadays everyones at it but when I first started it was exclusive, its all good though, cultures have to change and I’m loving all the love that the Cwalk is getting worldwide!
Tony: Yeah that’s what GoSu and Scrawler both said! Has the video gotten you “recognized” at all? Perhaps in clubs, or cwalk meet-ups, if you go to any.
Rye: I’ve never been recognised straight from the video, but I think thats mainly because I’ve changed so much, like I’ve grown a beard and grown my hair out so I look completely different and I was so young in the London 5-way I was 15 and now I’m 19. When I tell people about it though or I give them the link a lot of them are like ‘oh yea!’ or ‘I’ve seen this before!’ So a lot of the people who I’ve talked to have seen the London 5-way before, even complete strangers who I’ve just only met at university. The london 5-way truly was a viral video.
Tony: Yeah, when I first saw your picture, I didn’t even recognize you xD. Just watching the video now, in the video you seem to smiling a lot and laughing xD, were you pretty excited that day?
Rye: Yeah I was really excited that day I think because I was young and everyone around me was older but I was also very excited to see everyone it was crazy! Like I had been waiting and waiting for the day to come and when it did it was crazy, there were quite a few people in the background that you don’t see as well so it was a really great atmosphere coming from everyone so it was just brilliant. It was also the first time which I’d seen other C-walkers in real life so it was just nice to be around other people who shared the same passion as me and who were interested in the same things as me, it was really cool.
Tony: Yeah I remember my first meet-up! Exciting stuff haha. When you first started C-Walking, how did you learn? What kept you motivated? Any inspirations at the start?
Rye: When I first started C-walking I could just see everyone moving really really fast and when I tried to replicate it, it just didn’t work so I used to get real frustrated and just get mad at myself, then I discovered the c-walk tutorials and tried to slow things down a lil and once I got the hang of the basics it all just came together! I remember trying to learn the heel-toe that was such a bitch to get down but once I got it I was like the coolest kid around lol. I just literally learn by spending hours and hours just copying what I saw happening on the computer screen, I was motivated by all the OG’s like Vi3tshi3t, Kyren and the other old school sick ass c-walkers who I’ve forgotten the names of now!, everyone was just so sick and I was in awe of how fast they could go but at the same time how controlled their C-walks were, it was just amazing for me to see that! So by wanting to become better and better I kept up with the C-walking.
Tony: Man, I know the feeling. The heel-toe took me a while! Haha. So, what do you do nowadays?
Rye: Nowadays I just chill out and enjoy life! I met my girlfriend Chantelle about 7 months ago and its a trip because we both went to the same primary school and ended up hooking up at university quite randomly! Just focusing on getting good grades and bettering myself in life. I wanna definitely get out more and see more countries and what the world has to offer. I do quite a bit of volunteering and try and help people who are less fortunate than me to better themselves through teaching basic english, and I’m off to Morocco in a few weeks to go and volunteer in an orphanage with young children, its all about giving back to the community definitely!
Tony: Wow man, such a great person and generous! What do you want to do when you’re older? Future career?
Rye: Well my plans are to go into finance, banking I’d love to be up there with the best, just wanna be around really intelligent people and I love the challenges faced everyday and just keeping on top of things. When I’m older I’d love to just have quite a modest and peaceful life, I don’t really want mad jewels or chrome rims, I’d prefer to keep it all stock lol so just a comfortable life with enough money to enjoy myself and go on holiday when I want but not ridiculous amounts would be wonderful!
Tony: Sounds like a plan man. Switching back to C-Walking, are you up to date with the C-Walk scene nowadays? Or a bit behind haha.
Rye: I’m really behind lol, I literally haven’t been on TheCwalk.com for ages, I still sign in about every six months though and surprisingly I’ve still got SA hahahahahahaha!!!!!! Yeah I don’t really know who’s hot in the streets right now its crazy! Everything’s just a trip, I think people have really stepped up their game nowadays and there are a lot more cats who are hot. Before there was everyone who was okay and then there were the elites who were just on another level but I think everyones a lot more equal in regards to skills so its looking good for the C-walk scene at the moment!
Tony: Yeah, so what do you think of the new evolved C-Walk scene? A lot of the old schoolers don’t like it, how about you?
Rye: I loved the old scene and the new scene can never be like the old scene. Its a bit like hip hop where the gangsta rap era was so sick and classic and then hip hop nowadays is quite terrible in comparison but it has to be said that everything has to change. I embrace the new C-walk scene and I think its good for the C-walk and the C-walking community that more people hear about it and more people see what its about, without that it won’t get out there and it won’t get an audience, I mean its great to walk into clubs and places and see people getting their C-walk on.
Tony: Yeah, being a new generation myself, I think C-Walking ain’t doing too bad! Although some older generation may disagree haha. Well you got anything else to add before we conclude? Any shout outs?
Rye: Yeah Fo sho, I just wanna give a big shout out to my amazing girlfriend Chantelle who holds it down, I wanna give a big shout out to you Tony for putting this together and doing your thing with Cwalkmedia, and I wanna give a big shout out to the original London-5way peoples: Kynam, Gosu, Murkee and Scrawler, a big shout out to everyone C-walking across the world and finally to the crazy fools up in International Hall holding it down!!!
Tony: Haha thanks so much man, and thanks for taking the time to do this interview! It was a pleasure

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