You know you’re doing some next-level shit as a b-boy photographer when haters resort to saying your pictures are fake.

Such is the case for 28-year-old Carlo Cruz of Long Beach, CA, who has one of the most amazing b-boy photography portfolios I’ve seen to date.

Cruz, who was born and grew up in the Philippines, has been taking pictures for eight years, shooting b-boys for three, and zero of his pictures are “fake.” In fact, after just a few minutes of speaking with Cruz, it became readily clear to me that he was one of the realest people I’d ever encountered.

Though he doesn’t b-boy himself, Cruz’s passion for b-boying is obvious. Though he works in architecture by day, he spends his free time as a self-funded b-boy photographer — a hobby he uses to spread his wings when his creativity is stifled at his job.

“I like b-boying because the people have different priorities,” says Cruz, who was introduced to the scene through his cousin. “They get paid, like, nine dollars an hour, and they teach and inspire kids. Some of these guys work really hard to buy a pair of shoes. And they’re happy with it, and it really puts yourself in a different perspective. It makes me appreciate life differently. It’s not all about the money, and it’s not all about being famous. I have yet to see a b-boy that’s not ‘cool,’ so to speak — everybody’s happy and has a great personality.”

So far, Cruz has photographed b-boys in Philadelphia, New York, Seattle, and even Dubai, where the culture is so conservative that b-boys are often picked up by cops and detained.

Cruz typically meets b-boys to shoot by networking through mutual contacts and Internet resources such as YouTube. Shooting with an importable set up and no permits, his shoots are typically fast and spontaneous, with a b-boy choosing a pose or doing an entire set.

After some touching up on Photoshop, the result is what I can best describe as a collision of the rawness of b-boying, the epic tendencies of 300, and the vibrance of, uh, something vibrant.

In 2009, he hopes to shoot b-boys in Japan, Korea, and the Philippines, but be sure to hit him up and leave him props in case he’s swinging by an area near you — especially since one of the things he loves about b-boying is that it can be done by anyone, anywhere.

“In my photography, I always find that I’m trying to get its essence,” Cruz says. “The essence of breaking being non-exclusive. It is art made for everyone, everywhere. You’re not bound by race, class or location. That is what I hope for people to see in each picture.”

LINK: The Photography of Carlo Cruz