The Biography

Leon "Vietnam" Carswell was born in Oxford, England at Radcliffe Hospital by his parents, Leon A. Carswell and Perlita Arcalas Candelario. He then was moved to the Phillipines, his mother's nationality and they settled in the United States in '85. He saw the break dancers like Alfonso Ribeiro(Carlton) and the break dancers in Wildstyle and Beatstreet from the United States which influenced him to dance. Allways full of energy, he took up every sport he could think of and focused on academics as his mother was an employed school teacher and nurse. At 17 he began to battle the bboys all over the US, entering competitions and at 18, he and his crew Rock Force won the world title in a very controversial decision. Afterward his good friend Gerald was shot in the head, therefore pushing him to take his crew to even higher world dominance. In '99 he took the world title again in Offenbach, Germany and was pronounced best solo artist(best individual). He then continued to dominate the underground breaking scene, and his crew RockForce/Killafornia still holds the world title. He was featured in countless hip hop publications around the world. In 2000, he and crew were cast to appear on the Discovery Channel show Popular Mechanics for Kids starring Lawrence Arcouette(Tyler) and Elizabeth Cuthbert. Vietnam decided to take his talent to television and began working with an agency in L.A. He did his first tour in 2000 with Nike and did a commercial after and continued to be one of L.A. s working dancers. With hip hop as his platform, he began to take on acting roles and has met many talented directors, casting agencies and friends in L.A. He still resides in Los Angeles and in his spare time, works on his crafts. Hel tours the world with Missy Elliot(3 years). I" love Missy cuz she lets me do me. Im on stage doing me." I love performance of any type whether it's me or just watching, so I'm here to stay in L.A. cuz this is a performance playground. I couldn't find this environment back home in the San Joaquin valley.(Merced, Ca) Everyone is either drinking or has like 5 kids at 19 years old. That's not for me." I march to a different drum." (July 19th 2007) - IMDb Mini Biography By: Vietnam