Taz Timeless Speaks On Usain Bolt’s Move To Trademark ‘To Di World’ Victory Pose

Taz Timeless, from the Timeless Dancers in Spanish Town, St. Catherine which conceptualized the ‘To Di World’ Dancehall dance move, says that he feels no animosity towards Usain Bolt for moving to re-acquire the trademark for the signature ‘To Di World’ victory pose, but he and his dance crew would have appreciated some acknowledgement for coming up with the name. 

According to Taz, whose real name is Kevin Giltress, it shows the enduring significance of a dance move that was created 14 years ago. 

“Bolt ah mi G, mi genna, we don’t have no problem with it. We and him party inna dance and dem ting,” Taz told DancehallMag.

On August 17, the retired Jamaican sprinter submitted an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for the ‘To Di World’ logo to be used in connection with products including jewellery, clothing, bags and purses, sunglasses, shoes and sporting goods, as well as restaurants and sports bars, offering services such as VIP areas, catering and loyalty plans.

Bolt, 36, had first applied for the trademark in 2009 for a variety of products, but the Washington Post noted that the registration was cancelled in 2017 because the sprinter did not provide proof that he was actually using it to sell goods in the United States.   

Bolt is known globally for the pose—in which he leans back and pulls back an arm, archer-like, as he aims for the sky after winning gold medals and setting world records.  He still holds world records for the 100m and 200m, making him the fastest man in history.

However, Taz wished that the speedster had slowed down enough to grant him a courtesy phone call or gesture. 

“Show we some form of innovation, ah we come up wid it, put something inna we pocket, oonu deserve this fi oonu creative idea, hold this, and have a piece ah the ting and know say the ting set a way, that’s all we looking for…no animosity, no disrespect to the legend,” Taz said. 

Dance is considered a creative work that can be copyrighted if it’s a coherent whole and not just individual moves—so if you’re a dancer or choreographer, be sure to protect your work. Intellectual copyright lawyers have warned creators that if you create choreographed dances on platforms like TikTok, your creations may be eligible for copyright protection.   

However, Bolt’s trademark application is not for the dance, it is for his pose. 

“Ah just a highlight and give we a little gratitude. The pose belongs to Bolt, him just draw back, put him hand forward, the pose different from our dance, ah just the name and the dance we originate,” Taz explained.  “I never did the pose, and say ‘To Di World’, but we came up with the slang, and even today, mi a read pon Facebook and somebody say who come up with catchphrase ‘To Di World’, a white lady asked the question, people ah see it and even tag me.” 

“Up to this day, people from Japan call me and ask me how I come up with this idea, how did I come up with this dance move, what was I thinking? And if me still willing to come and do dance classes, especially in Europe and Japan, even though I am living in the USA and not in the dancehall in Jamaica,” Taz continued.

The Timeless Dancers comprised Taz Timeless, Johnny Time (Oran Bariffe), Doctor Bird, Teddy Shernam, now deceased, and Sky.  They created dances such as Boston, Power Cut, Fraction, New York, Jinga and Jog. Doctor Bird eventually left the group and formed his own Move Dem Up squad in 2008-9.  Eventually, the group broke up as several members migrated to live overseas. 

Taz said he would have appreciated it if Bolt had reached out to the dance crew, even though the members are overseas, they all have active Instagram accounts.

“Mi pretty sure Bolt know about it, even when Bolt win the race, people start call me. There was a show on the waterfront, big free concert, dancing To Di World, mi perform it all over Jamaica and people all over the world see it,” he said. 

“Bolt, mi no hard to find, he should have reached out to me, no bad vibes, and say, ‘Timeless, To Di World ting, ah you first mi hear come wid it, Elephant Man sing about it, RDX sing bout it, Roundhead sing bout it, to the way it tek off, so mi feel say Bolt shoulda show me some respect and reach out and say Timeless crew, you know this was oonu idea, ah oonu first mi hear come wid it…show we some respect on it,” he mused.

Bolt explains his pose’s origins

In August 2008, Usain Bolt shocked the world by winning the Olympic men’s 100-meter in a then-world record of 9.69 seconds. Then on August 16, 2009, he wowed the world again when he ran 100 metres in 9.58 seconds in the final of the World Athletics Championship to break his own world record.

From then, the William Knibb Memorial High School old boy had struck the pose on the track, at press conferences, and at every public event. For more than a decade many famous persons globally, including President Barack Obama, Prince Harry and Brazilian footballer Neymar and even Ambassadors to Jamaica, have copied the To Di World pose as a means of appearing ‘cool’.

Back in 2016, Bolt had told Yahoo News, in a video interview, that the pose was a derivative of a Jamaican dance called To Di World. The dance though, which accompanied Yahoo’s clip was the Thunder Clap.

“One day, me and my friend were talking and there was song and dance in Jamaica called To Di World,” Bolt said.

“It’s kinda cool and I was like ‘yow imagine if I did this.’  And then I just did it.  So I just kept the name and just called it To Di World pose.  It works and people love it, it’s brilliant.”

In September 2021, Bolt’s pose and Timeless’ dance move were the clue to a question on the popular US game show Jeopardy!  

I’m see if my peeps knows what’s up @Jeopardy pic.twitter.com/GrUQeO3PS3

— Usain St. Leo Bolt (@usainbolt) September 28, 2021

Taz on how the ‘To Di World’ dance was created

“To di world was created after we buss on the scene and we get booked for shows, as dance creators, we created another dance to keep the momentum, we build dance and put dem down,” Taz recalled.

In an effort to maintain relevance, Taz wanted a game-changer. And that was what sparked the creative search for ‘To Di World’.

“Mi de de and mi need something that like what Bogle come with. So mi say, ‘mek mi see’, and then World Dance come on the TV, and it click…mi need to do something like World Dance and call it a name close to World Dance so ah really offa that, mi come up with To Di World,” he said. 

“Bogle had a globe in the video when him did a dance, so that’s where I got the idea to bring the globe in the dance to promote the song,” he said. 

Taz said broadcaster Arif Cooper—who would later produce a Dancehall riddim project called To Di World—also gave him ideas to further conceptualize the choreography of the dance. The riddim, released Cooper’s on his Fresh Air label, featured songs such as Sean Paul’s Midas Touch, Elephant Man’s Pum Pum Pum, Vybz Kartel’s Body Wine, TOK’s Sexy and Ready and Voice Mail’s Up and Live.

“Me and Arif Cooper from Fame Fm rounda the studio and we were supposed to go on a Japan tour and he said one of the biggest dance them him ever see was with hand movements. Taz, when yu create a hand dance , it surplus over every other dance because when yu inna one packed crowd, yu can do the hand dance and everybody can do it,” Taz explained. 

Taz said Arif suggested that “hand movements” were key to audience participation and interaction. 

“Arif said he remembered when he went to a dance and told them to lock off the light light man and tun on oonu phone and when him say Signal the Plane, him see 10,000 people ah Signal, so when yu do a hand dance, nothing can defeat it, so when him say that, mi say what mi can do create it,” he said.

“So he had conceptualised a name, something to do with  ‘World Dance’, so mi start build the dance, and mi start do the hand movements come with the hips and everything and mi practise it, practise it, till me go out and go a party. Some people see it and the girl dem start love it,” he reminisced.

The dance began to catch fire when Timeless Dancers were overseas doing gigs in Canada. 

“Mi go Canada and mi get a call from mi bredrin, him say ‘remember the dance weh yu a do?’. Mi over Hellshire and mi see Kadillac dancers ah live inna the style. ‘Taz, wah yu a call the dance?’ him say, hurry up and forward and come buss back the dance, the dance bad and the boy dem look like dem about fi tief it and mi say, ‘yu mad!” dem caan tief da dance mova ya,” he related. 

Taz linked up the Timeless dancers and started to aggressively promote the song which became an instant hit with the girls because of the sexy hip movements. 

“Mi go ah mi bed one night and come up with the name and that was from 2009, that was way before Usain Bolt ever think fi run 9:58 to the world when him bruk him own record,” Taz said.  

Taz Timeless said that he would love if Jamaicans in Dancehall would “give man dem flowers”.

“Put some respect on wi name, mi nah fight nobody or any youths inna dancehall who ah dance right now, mi respect everybody, but Jamaicans find hard to give man dem flowers,” he said. 

Taz tried to enter the music world, and even recorded a song called Mad Move with Beenie Man on an Arif Cooper riddim project shortly before he migrated. Now, he hosts dancehall events in Orlando, Florida.