Forrest Webb’s nickname is Get ’em Gump.
It’s a play on Forrest Gump, the movie character who broke free of his leg braces running as a child and rediscovered the skill when he ran clear across the country after his mom died.
Like Forrest Gump, Webb ran as a kid, only to rediscover his love for running long distances when he moved back to Akron several years ago after the unexpected death of his mom.
But that’s not how he earned his nickname.
“Get ’em Gump” is what people would shout to him when he was on the floor dancing.
Webb was a world-class competitive “b-boy,” or, in layman’s terms, break dancer — a term, he said, only used by people who know nothing of the high-energy hip-hop dance.
His first exposure to breaking was in junior high when he saw people dancing competitively between classes.
“I went home to try it that night and never stopped,” Webb said.
Through the 1990s, Webb danced and battled in New York City nightclubs alongside some of the best b-boys in the city.
From 1999 to 2011, breaking took Webb across the world as he performed shows with dance groups, some of which even won Bessie Awards for performance and choreography. During that time, Webb performed for the likes of Michael Jackson and Princess Stephanie of Monaco and in countries from France to Australia.
“[Australia] was a very enlightening time,” Webb said. “One of the greatest times of my life, actually.”
That time came to an abrupt halt, though, in 2013 when Webb moved back to Akron, his birthplace, from New York.
Webb said he had a falling out with a business partner in a dance company he started. Shortly after, he received the news that his mother died. In a short matter of time, Webb had fallen from a career he had worked so hard to achieve and was left with little direction on where to go next.
“I think I was kind of angry in that period of time,” Webb said. “I had all that at one time and it just kind of fell out of my hands.”
Webb spent the next three years in a haze. He had been a DJ for years, but the scene changed once digital music came into play, and the only group he was breaking with was a local one he formed in Ohio called Illstyle Rockers.
One day, his wife, Marlo Cook, looked at him and noticed how much weight he’d put on after years of inactivity.
Webb agreed to start looking into exercise, and naturally, he went back to his roots.
“One day I just got up and said, ‘I wanted to run a marathon,’ ” Webb said.
Webb took to running well, as he had done it in grade school, and he soon signed up for his very first race, the Thirsty Dog 8k.
That was in 2015.
Since then, in just a year’s time, Webb has run 19 races. His 20th race will be the Akron Marathon relay, part of the Akron Children’s Hospital race series this Saturday.
“Running kind of set me free. It puts my whole day in motion,” Webb said. “It’s something I can do by myself. With breaking, you’re always the center of attention. There’s always pressure on you to perform. ... With running, the only competition is myself.”
Webb, now 46, still DJs in local clubs and breaks when he hears good music, but he finds running is a peaceful break.
“Running calms me, relaxes me, it helps me channel my energy,” Webb said. “It kind of helps me put my thoughts in order, put my feelings in order.”
And for Webb, running a race is a lot like dealing with life’s many changes.
“You start out, and you know you never know what’s going to happen in the race,” Webb said. “It’s just synonymous with what goes on in life. You’re supposed to have a goal. So you start, and you finish.”
Theresa Cottom can be reached at 330-996-3216 or tcottom@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @Theresa_Cottom.