Raygun is once again back in the spotlight with her new documentary, “Untold” Raygun: Breaking Badly. Photo: Netflix.
For two years, millions of people have been left bemused and shocked by Raygun and her iconic (?) performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In just a handful of minutes, Raygun managed to kill any future the sport of Breaking had in the Olympics with her strange kangaroo-inspired moves and over-the-top bravado.
Many who watched were embarrassed, and even more confused about how she even managed to qualify.
The ridicule reached astronomical levels worldwide, leading to rumours that her husband was on the Australian selection panel or that it was all just one big practical joke.
Up until recently, we had very few answers to how Raygun ended up on that stage, but now we’ve been given our best insight yet with Netflix’s new documentary “Untold” Raygun: Breaking Badly.
The docu series “Untold” has a history of diving into novelty athletes and their ridiculous stories.
In the past, they’ve covered the likes of Jake Paul and his boxing, the controversial Liver King and his PT program and, in the future, it will cover Mr T.
Here, they dive into Dr Rachel Gunn (Raygun) and her husband, Sam Free (Sammy Sex), and their lead-up to and fallout from the games.
With all documentaries, you want the subjects to be honest and truthful, and fortunately that’s Breaking Badly’s biggest strength.
With hindsight on her side, we see a very honest side to Raygun and her reaction to the 2024 Olympics’ most infamous moment.
Whether it be from her parents, her friends or even herself, we finally hear the dancer concede that her performance was awful, but instead of bashing her for 90 minutes, we lean into the circumstances around it.
For me, the biggest takeaway was just how underprepared Raygun was for the biggest stage in world sport. She was nervous, and because the sport was at the Games for the first time, she had little experience to draw on.
There are scenes early on where she discusses with her therapist, ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’ It’s here that we get a clear image that, while she didn’t treat the experience as a joke, she had no clue what a beast the Olympics was.
What is unique in the doco is the juxtaposition in reactions to the performance.
Raygun’s parents v her husband is the clearest example.
To this day, Sam (her husband) is still adamant that she was the best possible athlete for the games. Meanwhile, her mother and father can’t help but laugh at the entire thing.
Even Raygun herself concedes it was a poor showing.
It raises the question: was Sam the one truly deluded by her “skill”?
The most heartbreaking thing here is actually the reaction of the other B-Girls (performers) who have come to terms with the fact that the sport will never be at the Olympics again.
No one remembers who won the only gold medal for breaking – only the woman who jumped like a kangaroo and rolled on the floor.
On the surface, “Untold” Raygun: Breaking Badly may appear to be another way to cash in on the hate craze of the most meme’d moment in sporting history, but it instead gives us a very good look into how the train wreck came to pass.
For the first time, I feel like I have been given legitimate answers to the mythology of Raygun, and that’s the best thing a documentary can do.
“Untold” Raygun: Breaking Badly is now streaming on Netflix.
