They’ve taken over Miami Senior High and social media platforms with their energetic and popular dance performances, and this is only the beginning. The GOAT Gods are ready to take over the entertainment world and have huge plans for the future.

How it all started

The GOAT Gods have four main members – Seniors Giovani Clement, Ronald Christalin, Shavano Forbes, and Wildny “Whiskey” Present–but add in others from time to time.

The boys claim that they’ve always known each other and have been close friends throughout high school. This year they ended up making a video for what they called “the bus stop challenge.”

Ronald Christalin said, “This is a popular trend where a group stands in a spot mimicking a bus stop and then run to a new spot and have people join the wave as if a bus picked them up.”

The video received a ton of attention on Instagram, reaching over 5,000 views which made the boys realize they wanted to continue to do things as a group.

“We started playing around with a DJ system, and we sent each other the mixes,” said Ronald Christalin.

Here at Miami High, the boys went on to entertain and dance at events like the Senior Breakfast, the 2017 Black History Show, and the winter pep-rally. They believe that their best performance so far was the 2017 winter pep rally. “Just the fact that we got the crowd involved made it great,” they said.

Miami High’s activities director Ms. Rivero said that she saw the boys performing at the 2017 Black History Show, and the crowd’s reaction made her see them as a great fit for our school shows and events. She believes that the incorporation of the GOAT Gods into any school activity is very much appreciated by the students.

The G Gods credit their friend, junior Bernard Marshall, for their name. “He started off by calling us GOATS, and then one day he called us GOAT Gods, and it clicked,” said Wildny Present.

They claim that they are the Greatest of All Time in the entertainment industry, and they plan on expanding their craft to do more than just dancing.

Dancing

   The GOAT Gods, who value the art of dancing so much that they have had it incorporated into their lives, are all of Haitian descent and say that their favorite kind of dance is Kompa. “Think of it as Bachata for Haitians,” said Whiskey Present.

According to an article titled “Haitian Dance”, posted on the website Devoted2children.org, “Kompa is similar to meringue, but with a slower tempo. A dance style also popular in Haiti, konpa direk is danced in pairs or solo and most moves are made with the hips.”

The boys’ influences as far as dancing and music include singer/songwriter Chris Brown, social media influencer Shelovesmeechie, and musical artists Ayo and Teo. Their dance routines begin with improvisation.

“The whole process starts off with freestyling. If we like what one of us is doing, we add it in to the choreography,” stated Shavano Forbes. “We take what’s best and put it into the routine.”

“One dance that will always be in our routines is ‘the wood’ . That is like our anthem. Even if we don’t have the song in the mix, we’ll have the dance in the choreography. You will always see us Drilling ‘em down in our performances,” said Ronald Christalin.

They credit their mixes to junior Giovanni Castillo. They get together and give him suggestions on how he should mix it. Once he’s done, they just touch up on it and make it perfect for their performance.

Manifesting the Vision

This is the GOAT Gods’ last year here at MHS, but they do not plan on leaving behind what they’ve started. They plan on going into the entertainment industry at full force. They’d like to be seen as more than just a dance group and branch out into things like clothing, comedy, and even making their own music.

They believe that they’ve left their mark here at Sting town, making events more lively and energetic. “There won’t ever be another group like us,” said Giovanni Clement. “If we hadn’t started this, it wouldn’t be the same.”