PacoDunks Blog #2: creating dunk content as an innately born introvert

Hi, it's me again. Yes, it's Paco. I hope you aren't too annoyed by me after my long-winded article last week. I had a blast writing that blog, so I might as well start early and get this done. I have so much on my mind that I don't know where to start, but I'll try my best to elaborate on my thoughts.

It's been a week since my social media presence has been active. I posted my first reels and podcast with Juan Pescador last Sunday. It was such a blast connecting with so many like-minded dunkers that I often forget that we're miles away from each other. Having lived in Hong Kong for 19 years, I have yet to discover a community as supportive as the dunking community. I've only known the guys for a few months!

I had my first podcast with my boy Juan Pescador on March 30th. To give you all some context, I met Juan through the Skool community on THP, and he has always been contributing to the THP community by providing constructive feedback and compliments to fellow dunkers, making him a recognizable figure on Skool. When I first posted my jump session videos on YouTube, Juan immediately pointed out my issue with my armswing timing. He told me to fix it by watching pro dunkers. Puzzled, I tried to replicate Isaiah Rivera's form. Still, I came to no avail due to a lack of understanding of the proper timing. Fortunately, Juan was generous enough to spare his time after the podcast to show me the ropes of jumping with appropriate technique. With each successive attempt, I got better and better at coordinating my penultimate step with the pendulum armswing, which got both of us hyped.

Juan and Paco on the Hangtime Podcast

We also discussed other jump-related topics off-camera. Since you are fortunate enough to stumble upon this blog, I want to give you the inside scoop on what we discussed. 

The biggest issue we both touched upon is the unfairness of the dunk contest judging system. Having watched Isaiah's video on his reason for retirement, we both resonate with how poorly the judges give scores for professional dunking or dunk exhibitions in general–someone just did a 360 Eastbay: eh, 8. OH, but when someone did a dubble-up X while hyping the crowd up and wearing a Superman outfit, that's an automatic 10 across the board. I know that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point. It's easy to get away with push-offs, and it's borderline unfair to the other dunkers who work for their bounce. Alas, the current public view of pro dunking is nothing but a circus act (except for Dunk Camp). Still, I think the situation is improving with the rise of Fiba dunk contests and more objective judging with the WDA.

Another thing we also talked about is the amount of shitty jump programs in the market. With absurd guarantees such as gaining 10 inches of vert in 2 months or even less, I have fallen victim to these false claims. Sure, someone might be super genetically gifted and has achieved that. Still, they're way beyond the median amount of vertical inches gained. Having your vert go up is a slow process: your body has to go through extended periods of stimuli (and, in my case, an extreme makeover in body composition) to get to a respectable vertical. With most programs just putting you through plyo exercise stacked with more plyo exercise (not saying that plyometrics are innately evil; it's just that you have to implement them in the right situation), you're more prone to injury than anything beneficial to your athleticism.

To tell you the truth, I was super hesitant when starting my social media account. I didn't even have a personal Instagram account before dunking! But after a talk with a fellow gymgoer (shoutout to Jason), he believes that I have the potential to inspire the next generation of dunkers by sharing my journey as a THP athlete. Being the former host of a Hong Kong television show, Jason saw that I could post content that could reach my local audience and internationally. I had second thoughts before posting my first introduction post (especially since I failed as a calisthenics content creator last year (long story, maybe I'll touch on that next time)). Still, I've found something I can work on here for the long run, mainly because I have a passion for dunking and the dunk community in general.

I haven't been much of a social guy since I was a child, sticking to only 1 or 2 good friends throughout my life, so you can imagine how nerve-racking it was for me to put myself out there as a dunker from Hong Kong.

I was your average introvert. I spent my childhood days watching YouTube videos of Pewdiepie and DanTDM instead of going to the park, and I also played games on my Nintendo Wii. Occasionally, my parents would force me out of the playground to play with the other kids. Still, the only memory I could recall was me jumping off a very high slide (hmmm, depth drops??).

But now, I am getting slightly comfortable with social media and putting myself out there. In the future, I might even start teaching English if time allows! (Dunk Camp is quite expensive, with the plane tickets.) I've got a lot out of my chest already, so I'll end it here. I hope you have a good day, and see you next week!