About Ryanimay
Ryan is a founding member of Quest Crew and says he owes his dance inspiration to many dancers including Bboy Ivan, Krazy Kujo, Homework, and the late 90’s Soul Train Dancers.
At the age of fifteen Ryan was breaking and, over the next few years, began competing with his crew The City Drifters, which included Aris Paracuelles, now also in Quest Crew. Later, they met Hokuto Konishi and together became members of the crew SickStep, where they met Steve Terada.
He did not begin ‘dancing’ until the age of twenty. In 2005, with no formal training, Ryan decided to audition for the first season of the television show So You Think You Can Dance and made it through to the Top Ten. The journey offered a bit of self-discovery as Ryan began to appreciate all forms of dance. SYTYCD opened doors for Ryan as he soon found himself traveling to places such as Singapore and Malaysia to teach at workshops.
After leaving SickStep, due to internal differences regarding future goals, he and Hok formed a new crew with their closest friends – who all share the same ideals – in October, 2006. Already having a secured gig they still needed a name. Looking toward the place which allowed them to practice under their roof – the Quest Learning Center – they named their crew Quest.
In 2008 Quest Crew auditioned for the third season of the MTV television show “Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew.” Being a selected crew found the guys practicing several hours daily for the competition. Majoring in English at UCI at the time, he decided to leave college and pursue the dance opportunities before him. Ryan says he never wanted to win anything as badly as he wanted to win this with his closest friends — and that he did. In March 2009 Quest Crew was crowned the ABDC Winners receiving the golden trophy and going on to perform, hold workshops, and meet & greets across the country for adoring fans. Quite the charismatic group, these guys have taken America by storm. One of the great things about winning ABDC, Ryan says, is that it not only has changed his life as a whole but now also allows him the opportunity to be an inspiration to those who need it.
Quite the music lover he has immersed himself into music mixing and production for the team. Ryan enjoys exploring his other artistic talents, such as music composition, jazz & blues piano, digital media, and hobbies such as modding pc games and researching old muscle cars. The crew has also coined him the official hair designer of the group as he often cuts and styles their hair.
Always his own harshest critic, open-book Ryan is a self-proclaimed deep-thinker and he wears his heart on his sleeve. His writing is often very profound – even though he doesn’t think so. He is driven by a childlike rebellion to prove he can, when he’s being doubted upon. Once he realizes surrounding support he often loses interest in the hunt to succeed. Always having a guarded, emotional response to every detail in life can be quite draining and Ryan pours it all out through his music, art, and writing – even poetry.
