Luca’s Story

Luca “Lazylegz” Patuelli was born on July 28, 1984 in Montreal, Canada.  He was born with Arthrogryposis (multiplex congenital), which is a muscle disorder that limits motion in the joints. Typically, this rare disorder can affect the whole body but fortunately in Luca’s case, it affects only his legs.

At the age of 8, he was diagnosed with Scoliosis, a condition that affects the curvature of the spine. 

By the time Luca was 13, his spine had a 60˚ curvature, resulting in immediate surgery, where 8 of his vertebrae were fused and titanium rods were inserted alongside the spine to help reinforce the fusion.  In total he has had 16 surgeries on his legs and spine. 

While growing up in Bethesda, Maryland, he actively participated in swimming, diving, skiing, skateboarding, sailing and driving too. 

Today Luca resides in the city of Montreal, attending Concordia University, majoring in Marketing.  Luca’s crutches are used in the same way as shoes; ‘’they are more of an accessory than a necessity’’. His disability never stopped him from accomplishing what doctors and most people considered impossible and according to Luca, it has helped him become the man he is today. 

Breakin’ It Down

In 1999 at age 15, Luca an avid dancer started to “break” during high school. The real reason for his newfound interest was actually on-going knee surgery that left him unable to continue skateboarding. Noting his muscular arms, and natural athleticism, Luca’s friends thought he would do well in this extremely dynamic activity. They took him to his first Break-Dance competition, and since then, it became his passion. 

In 2002, ‘‘Lazylegz’’ moved back to Montreal, and began learning the secrets of the vast, evolving Street Culture that helped form his greater appreciation of the Hip Hop Community.  Through hard work and dedication, Luca developed a unique style, which incorporates both strength and crutches.  He gained opportunity to compete and perform in prominent cities including Los Angeles, Paris (France), New York, Rome (Italy), Chicago, Washington DC, Montreal and Toronto to name just a few.  His massive impact on the Montreal community began when Lazylegz competed at top level events such as Freestyle Sessions 8, City vs. City 5, Evolution 2, War is War and many more.

In 2004, he joined forces with Canadian break-dance crew, Illmatic Styles, and won major North American events such as Back to the Underground, Last Man Standing.  Following their successes, ILLMASK, was born a combination of the finest members of Illmatic Styles and Red Mask, another well-known Canadian crew based in Montreal. His newest crew ILL-Abilities, is a unique International BBoy crew that he founded consisting of disabled dancers only.  Presently there are 4 “Ill-Abled” dancers, each with their own distinct style and character. 

To date, Lazylegz has performed on stage with world-renowned artists such as Kanye West, Talib Kweli, K-OS, and the Nappy Roots.  In 2007, He also made a brief appearance in the movie “Kickin’ It Old Skool“.  As for television, he was featured on many different International Media sources including America’s Got Talent, Much Music, Music Plus, MBC Korea, CBC, TVA, TV5, RAI International, NBC Today Show and much more.  In Montreal, Luca has actively organized several Break-Dancing events and is always looking forward to the next one. For Chicago’s City vs. City in 2005, he organized Team Montreal (with ten Montreal dancers from different crews), actively raised enough money with the team to get all dancers to Chicago, and once there, they placed in the top 8 cities out of 14.   In 2006, Luca organized the Montreal Pro-Am, and although he did not compete, he focused his energy to have this event a success.

Recently, Luca has dedicated his time to sharing an important message - “It’s about taking the bad and making it good” - with the faces of the future.  He has Speaking Engagements and visits with Children Hospitals, Schools, Universities, and Corporate Conferences to discuss what he truly believes. Notably, in 2007, he had the opportunity to speak at the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA), the biggest College Activity Conference in North America.  This exposure made Motivational Speaking aimed towards the College crowd more viable. He affirms that any situation; however bad it may seem, may be transformed into a positive one. As a child, his father always taught him that, “Your first failure is not to try.” He believes that life is about the experiences you have even if you may dislike some of the experiences, but most important, once you try you will know what drives you. Luca’s draws his inspiration from many different people and all walks of life.  He strongly believes that we can always learn from one another.

As for his own future, Lazylegz wishes to bring his B-Boying career to a higher level of strength, power, skills and ingenuity. As for everyone else, he eagerly anticipates his future speaking engagements and visits to motivate individuals to see that really, “It’s about taking the bad and making it good”.