Inspired by the Los Angeles lifestyle, it was the experience of taking part in the tenth year of the B-Boys Summit, a festival that "lives breaking with the city", held in iconic Hollywood locations, that rekindled in Max this flame for breaking and transformed it into the way of being that moves him today.

"It was a movement of people who shared a common love and who enjoyed a city dancing, competing and vibrating at different points and places, with different energies, different vibes, different setups," says the athlete, adding that "the genius of it all" was in doing the opposite of the standard competitions in pavilions, "for four days, doing and seeing just that".

And so it was: from inspirations to ideas, from ideas to plans, from contacts to partnerships, EuroBattle was born. "A distant dream, a nice thing" which, with determination and devotion, grew and evolved into the World Battle, and which in this edition has more participants than last year.

Competition in the middle of summer

Among the many new features of this edition, with around 1,500 registered to compete, the Breaking Gala brings sport to the table on 28 August, with an arena set up where eight of the best b-boys and b-girls in the world will compete.

Another novelty is the approval of the Team Battles taking place on the 29th, an initiative born out of the co-organisation of the event with the International Federation. These are inclusive battles, made up of a b-girl, a b-boy and a Junior in a competition that "highlights what we have always cherished and fought for: fairness and parity", she reveals.

From a freestyle soccer performance to new competitions, new structures are also expected to be installed to include disciplines such as skateboarding, BMX, scootering, lots of partying, not forgetting the versatile and immersive Street Vibes Lifestyle Market at Alfândega between 29 August and 1 September, with food, drink, lots of art and energy for anyone who wants to come along.

Sport in the Neighbourhood already on the streets

Despite the fact that an event of this size requires a lot of resources and logistics, as it is a continuous planning process that goes from the end of one edition to the beginning of the next, Max says that "the potential of this is huge", and the inclusion of the sport in the Olympic Games is not only the result of the growth of breaking, but above all the door to a path that will only expand more and more.

In addition to the World Battle, Max Oliveira is also involved in one of the most important sports programmes of the Municipality of Porto, Desporto no Bairro, which supports the practice of new sports among young people in the city. A project whose success speaks for itself, says the mentor, highlighting "Miss Risoleta" as an example of the programme's success.

"I believe that Sport in the Neighbourhood will continue to be, I would say, a great project, a meeting point, but above all, a source of pride for the effects it creates and the message it sends to the city's young people."