I watch a lot of content with my Netflix subscription, but the one area where I feel like I don’t watch nearly enough is their documentaries.
I do like their Trainwreck series, like when they covered the “Poop Cruise” (which, ugh!), as well as the Astroworld Tragedy (which, yikes), but the one I’m just getting into now is their Untold series, which goes into sports stories that you may not know much about. Typically, I don’t care for sports (Unless they’re sports movies), but I just HAD to watch Untold Raygun: Breaking Badly, which chronicles the Australian breakdancer’s disastrous performance at the 2024 Olympics.
I thought it was going to be hilarious (and parts are), but I have a new appreciation for Rachael Gunn. Here’s why.
The Doc Shows That The Only People Who Were Really In Raygun's Corner Were Her Parents And Husband
I, like most people, honestly had no idea who Racheal Gunn was prior to her performance at the Olympics. I mostly just watched her dance (as did the entire world) and laughed at her (also like the entire world), and then I kind of forgot about her unless somebody posted a meme or something. In truth, I didn’t even consider the hell she must have gone through after she was mocked on an international level, and it was revelatory to see that the only people who really supported her (at first) were her parents and her husband, Samuel Free, who was also a breakdancer.
This documentary actually made me feel bad for Gunn, who didn’t go out there to make a mockery of the sport, which was my initial thought, but instead thought she was really going to do her best. However, even more eye-opening was seeing that some of her “friends” really didn’t have her back AFTER the performance.
Yes, some of the other B-girls who knew her were polite in their assessment of her performance, but they definitely let the viewer know that they found her routine to be offensive to the sport. And the only people who really had her back were her parents, her husband, and a billionaire…but I’ll get to that last one later.
Raygun Genuinely Was The Best Breaker In Australia...At The Time She Competed For The Spot, That Is
Another crazy thing I learned was that Racheal Gunn, while not the most proficient B-girl, is actually not terrible. In fact, when she competed to get a spot at the Olympics, those who were present for her initial performance said they thought she won that day, and that she deserved to go to the Olympics. This was pretty shocking to me since I had heard all over the internet that the only reason she got in was that she found a way to keep other, better breakdancers out.
This internet theory is even addressed in the documentary, and the conclusion is that it wasn’t true. This is important because I have to admit, prior to this documentary, I didn’t like Racheal Gunn, seemingly based on misinformation. So, while she might have embarrassed herself on the world stage, when it came to at least getting INTO the Olympics, she was the best breakdancer on that day. That’s something I learned as well.
Richard Branson, Of All People, Pulled Her Out From Despair
Finally, the last person I’d thought I’d see in this documentary is “The Rebel Billionaire,” Sir Richard Branson, but he actually acted as a lifeline for Raygun.
You see, Sir Branson actually didn’t think Gunn’s performance at the Olympics was terrible. He actually thought it was original, and so he reached out to her and asked if she and her husband would like to go on one of his “Virgin Voyages” cruises. She even did a dance-off, which proved to her that some people actually appreciated her routine.
In fact, it was more than just “some people,” as Gunn actually had a big career boost after her disastrous performance. So, maybe there really is no such thing as “negative” publicity.
