DAVENPORT, Iowa — It's been a big summer for people and stores named 'Raygun.'
Social media exploded during the inaugural breakdancing portion of the Paris Olympic Games, but not for the reason traditional b-boys and b-girls might have hoped for.
Australian b-girl, Rachael Gunn, represented her country in Paris. The 36-year-old university professor from Sydney was widely ridiculed for her questionable moves, which included a "kangaroo dance." Gunn, who goes by the dance name "Raygun," did not receive a single point from any of the nine judges in either round.
She was subsequently mocked for her efforts, including a parody on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in the United States. Gunn has now said the backlash has been "devastating."
At the same time, Des Moines-based design and clothing store, Raygun, says sharing a name has led to an increase in web traffic.
"I started getting more and more text messages, and then you go onto the internet and it's like holy mackerel! This is everywhere," said Mike Draper, founder and owner of Raygun the store.
While it hasn't necessarily led to an increase in sales, Draper says it has meant a lot more clicks for the store, which has locations throughout Iowa, including in Davenport. Now, the website has a big note at the top that it's for a store, not the Australian breakdancer.
"But that hasn't stopped people from emailing us," Draper said. "We've gotten reviews, emails, social media messages, all sorts of things."
That has also included some hate mail, which Draper says hasn't been fun for him, so he can only imagine what it's like for his Australian counterpart.
Raygun has long had a dancing cat mug for sale that does show a rather eerie similarity to the dancer's moves at the Olympic Games, but Draper says his version has been around for years.
"So there might be an intellectual property dispute if we think that this dancer was taking her floor routine from one of our mugs," Draper laughed.
The store also has a variety of t-shirts for sale, poking fun at Gunn's performance and the shared name.
As for a potential sponsorship for Gunn, Draper said his team reached out to the dancer but has yet to hear back.
"It depends on how much it costs, because we're not made of money. But we are interested in just about anything! Unless it's really expensive, then we're normally not interested in it," Draper joked.
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