BALTIMORE — It’s one of the most popular dances on social media, known all over the world as the “Park Heights Strut,” but if you ask Rodney “Bunkey” Snead Jr. where it all started, he’ll tell you it was way before there was a such thing as Instagram and TikTok.
"It goes back far, probably like 20 to 30 years,” Snead said. He says back then it was a simple two-step that people did around the neighborhood and then he added a slide along with a couple of other freestyle moves to make it more of a “Bunkey Jr. Strut.”
Named after the neighborhood he grew up in, the dance has since become famous across many platforms all over the world. He knew he had something special when Sean “P. Diddy” brought him out so he could learn Baltimore’s famous strut for his birthday celebration.
"He said I need you to come down here so you can teach me.. soon so i got down there and didn't know it was his birthday so I’m at this big party,” he remembered.
Snead, though, is still motivated by bringing joy to his hometown and specifically, his Park Heights community. It gives him a purpose.
“That's like my therapy right there,” he said. “Dancing is therapeutic to me, so when I got a lot going on or whatever i just go out and dance and have fun.”
Snead is always aware of the negative stigmas that have been associated with his city and Park Heights being recognized for crime over the years. That’s why he wants to keep the movement going.
"Everybody always talk about the bad things, now we got something good to talk about for life. This is legendary. They'll never forget."
