#BestYourself Episode 2: Myree "Reemix" Bowden challenges perceptions, gravity, age and life

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Dunking is perceived to be a young man’s game. The last three NBA dunk contest winners were under 24 when they won the All-Star event – a competition that once admitted only those in their first three years in the league. The thinking was that a “veteran” in his mid-20s or beyond probably doesn’t have the “hops” of someone in his early 20s. Of course, there are exceptions – for example, “ex-dunkers” now in their 30s like Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant – but every time they throw down a highlight-reel dunk, it’s greeted with shock by fans and shouts of “Vinsanity” or “afro Kobe” from the announcers and people on social networks, references to the early days of the players’ careers.

If you search for dunks on YouTube, you end up browsing through countless videos of gravity-defying dunkers in their early to mid-20s. I have even seen videos of 16-year-olds executing dunks that would have earned 50s across the board in past NBA dunk contests.

In this young man’s game, there is one exception. A 30-year-old exception, with exceptional hops, arguably superior even to those of present-day Vince and Kobe. Myree Bowden is not only one of the top 5 dunkers in the world, but, like wine, he only seems to improve with age.

Better known in the dunking community as “Reemix,” Bowden has been displaying his rim-kissing prowess for more than a decade now. Dunk fanatics (and the ladies) first took note of Reemix back in the 2004 NCAA dunk contest, where he showed off his windmill dunk, dancing skills and, from beneath his cowboy hat, an ability to make the cheerleaders smile. His other skills took him from a spot with the Harlem Globetrotters to the TV show SlamBall, before landing him a seat next to LeBron James at every NBA All-Star game as a co-judge of the Showdown Dunk Contest finals.

The key to Reemix’s success has nothing to do with finding the fountain of youth. It comes from the countless hours he spends in the gym making sure his body is as strong and healthy as his faith in God and dedication to his family. When he’s not dunking over somebody’s head on the court or lifting weights in the gym, you can find him in a classroom teaching kids or running along the sidelines with of one of his own kids at soccer or basketball practice.

Myree “Reemix” Bowden has not only proven that dunking isn’t just a “young man’s game,” but he’s also shown he can “best himself” to be a standout in every aspect of a “grown man’s game.”

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“We start each day with a new opportunity. A chance to be better than the day before. For me, it wasn’t easy – I didn’t follow the crowd, didn’t try to be like everyone else. I was just me and that’s when my journey began.”

“When you’re on this journey you’ll have failures but you’ll also have successes. What matters most is you’re willing to work harder, think bigger, be yourself, only better everyday. So there are two ways to think about this, there’s the world around you and how it affects you then there’s how you affect the world because when each of us gets better we all get better.”

“So forget about the competition. Forget about the circumstances. We can’t control those things. What you can control is: You. You can challenge yourself, push yourself, best yourself. And at the end of the day, the only question left to ask yourself is: What are you going to do next?” – Nick Cannon

Best Yourself Website: http://access.honda.com/
Visit Honda: http://automobiles.honda.com/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/honda
Twitter: www.twitter.com/honda
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HondaCivic

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Grayson “The Professor” Boucher is arguably the most recognizable face in streetball. He first made a name for himself on the popular And1 Mixtapes and ESPN show “Streetball” in 2004 and in the past 9 years he’s been on the cover of Sports Illustrated, the lead actor in a film with Ludacris and Academy Award winner Melisa Leo, appeared in numerous commercials, played in international exhibition games alongside NBA legends like Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady, and most recently been the star of a series of viral videos and travelled around the nation as part of the Ballup Streetball Tour.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/professorlive
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Professor12

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Bobby Brown is a 28 year old professional basketball player that has played for the Kings, Timberwolves, Hornets and Clippers. He also played overseas and earlier this year he won the Euroleague Alphonso Ford Trophy, an award given to the league’s Best Scorer. Not just a scorer, the former California State University player also was 3rd in the Euroleague in assists and 9th in blocks even though he’s only 6’2!

Instagram: http://instagram.com/bbrownsix
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BBROWNLAU

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Nicknamed “The Dunk Inventor” and known to most of the dunk and Youtube community as “the best contest dunker in the world,” Kenny Dobb’s videos have accumulated millions of online views and built a fanbase that even includes many NBA players. He even had LeBron James and Kobe Bryant congratulate him after his see-it-to-believe-it performance at the 2012 Sprite Showdown contest that took place during NBA All-Star weekend. When he’s not putting on international dunk exhibitions or appearing in commercials, Dobbs is conducting basketball clinics and visiting high schools to talk to kids about the importance of hard work, education and staying out of trouble.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekennydobbs
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KD_DunkInventor

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They call Myree Bowden “Reemix” because of his ability to remix and liven up events. Starting with his memorable appearance in the 2003 NCAA Slam Dunk Contest, Reemix has been showing off his talents with everybody from The Harlem Globetrotters to the TV show SlamBall to the NBA Nation tour where he serves as an All-Star judge and host of the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown tour. Not just a performer, Mr Bowden, as his school students call him, spends time as physical trainer and teacher when he’s not on a basketball tour.

Instagram: http://instagram.com/myreebowden
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MyreeBowden

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6’10” Shawn Kemp and Blake Griffin are known as 2 of the best NBA dunkers of all-time. The other thing they have in common is 5’10 Haneef “Young Hollywood” Munir performed a between the legs dunk OVER both of them this past summer. Staying true to his name, aside from his Sportscenter appearances, Hollywood has also been casted in a lot of national TV commercials and ad campaigns and is the co-owner of basketball talent agency. Next stop for the half-time human highlight will probably be full length Hollywood films.