For about a year now I have been telling people about a dunker out of Poland named Piotr Zawiślak. I usually explain him with a movie reference, because it is the fastest way to get people to understand what watching him is like.
“if you guys know the Rocky movie where there’s that really insane Russian dude… he comes and just beats the crap out of Rocky. That’s how I always think about this guy.”
Dylan Haugen
That is genuinely how his dunks look. I first found him on Instagram when he was 17, doing 360s off both legs and combos most people never land in their life. I am 18 now, he is 18, and it turns out our birthdays are two days apart. In America I am probably the best 18-year-old dunker going right now, and then this guy pops up on the other side of the world doing things that make you sit up. So when he told me he was flying to The Dunk Camp in Utah this year, I was genuinely excited to finally meet him in person.
We are pretty different as dunkers. Different styles, different builds, different countries. But we are the same age and both good for 18, and there is a mutual respect there that does not need a lot of words. I asked him how his week at camp went, and his answer said everything about why this trip mattered to him.
“It was crazy, man. That was one of the best weeks of my life. I’m very grateful to having opportunity to dunk with all of you guys.”
Piotr Zawiślak
He earned it. He told me Jordan was hyping him up and the whole room was going crazy after his dunks, and I saw it happen. He also got to session with Nathan “Hoopin Nate” Kenney and the rest of the crew. If you want the whole thing in his own words, Piotr wrote about it in his first post about the week, and it is worth reading from his side.
Connecting Across Two Countries
The part I keep thinking about is how far apart our paths are and how much they still overlap. I compete in American contests and I am in DunkMan, Shaq’s league, which is an American thing right now that keeps expanding. Piotr is out in Poland and around Europe doing contests all over the world. Two completely different lanes, same sport, same age, both chasing the same thing.
“So super cool to always connect with people, who’s just different, man. The life, the things you do are super cool.”
Dylan Haugen
That is the whole reason I love this sport growing internationally. You get to meet someone from a completely different background who lives and breathes the same thing you do. Piotr put it simply at the end, and it summed the trip up for both of us.
“I’m just happy to finally meet you, dude.”
Piotr Zawiślak
We talked more about what it means to have two of the best young dunkers on earth link up like this in our Dunk Talk conversation about the meeting. And here is something most American dunk fans do not realize: Piotr is one of the best in the world and most people over here have never heard his name. I got into why that gap exists over in the Dunker Spotlight feature on him.
After meeting him, I did what I do for dunkers I believe in: we started building his real presence online, including his own site. If you want to see how one short interview turns into an actual personal brand foundation, that is broken down in how we built Piotr’s site from one interview. Watch the clip at the top, and go give the best 18-year-old dunker in Europe a follow.
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