[1] Once the dance developed further, the originators used the word 'whack' (to strike with force or a sharp blow) borrowed from the onomatapoeia of the 1960s TV series Batman, to describe how they were executing their movement.
These men were Andrew Frank, Arthur Goff, Tinker Toy, Billy Starr Estrada, Lonny Carbajal, Viktor Manoel, Tommy Mitchell, Faye Raye, and Kenny "China Doll", with Michael Angelo Harris serving as the innovative DJ for the art form and movement.
[3] Through their exposure of the style in various clubs and contests throughout LA, many famous street dancers and choreographers would be introduced to the underground style, such as original locker and star of the TV series What's Happening Fred Berry Mr. Penguin or Rerun, director/choreographer/singer Toni Basil, original locker and star of NBC's The Big Show, Breakin', Adolfo "Shabba Doo" Quinones; locking pioneer, featured dancer of The Big Show, and Breakin' Movies, Ana "Lollipop" Sanchez, jazz dancer Dallace Ziegler, Choreographer Bill Goodson, and many others, publicizing the dance throughout numerous high-profile TV, stage, and screen productions and appearances.
[3] Punking is very action-orientated, involving constant momentum, high energy, and emotional performance in a style similar to silent film, which differs from the fashion-inspired dance voguing, which is from New York City.
The dance also borrows inspiration from many of its originators own personal influences, such as The Fabulous Four Faces, silent film, Musicals, gymnastics, ice skating, Bugs Bunny cartoons, Bruce Lee, Mexican Folkloric Ballet, and many other sources.
According to the book Writing Dance in The Age of Postmodernism, Basil states that although the creators of punking knew locking, they were interested in creating their own style by taking elements of locking like freeze frame points and wrist rolls, then transforming them into a gesture that moved decoratively around the head and incorporated campy poses that referenced movie stars and poses from Vogue magazine.
Harris was noted for using his platform to not only protect the collective group of men and what they were creating, as they were purely underground and primarily gay, but also for becoming one of the most innovative DJs to emerge from Hollywood's community.
The dance continue to be performed and influence styles such as the hybrid, streetjazz and become popular in nycs underground among club and house dancers , until its resurgence in the early 2000s.