Philip Kim, a professional break-dancer, made his country proud by bringing home a Gold medal in the Paris Olympics 2024. Breaking or Breakdancing, as explained by BBC, is a style of dance that has its roots in the United States. Although, it was first popular at local parties, breaking soon made its professional appearance at international competitions. It is illustrated with specific and stylized footwork which decides the winner of the competition.

Phil Wizard’s Backstory

Phil Wizard’s real name is Philip Kim. He was born on January 25, 1997, to Korean parents. Phil went to the Magee Secondary School where his love for breaking took origin. He would skip classes to practice new moves that he learned from the internet. Phil then took admission to a university, only to drop out a while later. He then gave his full attention to breakdancing.

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Phil’s Career Accomplishments

By proving himself through breaking, Phil has ingrained the love for the dance in many youngster’s hearts. He continues to inspire them with his various accomplishments.

Phil was first intrigued by breaking when he witnessed the NON, Now or Never crew performing on streets in his hometown.

In his first competition, Philip Kim was mistakenly announced as ‘Phil from the Wizards’ which led to his nickname as Phil Wizards. In 2022, Kim won his first medal, a gold, competing at the 2022 WDSF World Breaking Championships in South Korea, his parent’s home country. He surpasses more than 250 competitors to earn the gold.

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In 2023, Kim went on to compete in the WDSF Pan American Breaking Championship that took place in Chile. He remained undefeated there as well, winning the gold medal. In 2023, he also competed at the WDSF World Breaking Championships again, this time earning a silver medal. The same year, Kim was also selected for the 2023 Pen American Games Team in Canada. In 2024, Kim won gold at the Paris Olympics 2024.

Philip Kim’s Olympic Win

The Paris Olympics included breaking into 2 categories, one for men and the other for women, in which 16 competitors faced solo battles. Participants use stylized footwork and specific power moves to impress the judges to have their votes. They also need to improvise to the DJ’s soundtrack. This was the first time that breaking was included in the Olympics.

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Although Kim was a public favorite at the Olympics, he was still nervous and stressed. After the battle, he admitted that he cried his eyes out as he was too scared to disappoint people but in the end, he was glad that he enjoyed himself.

He, initially defeated Lee-Lou Diouf Demierre from the Netherlands to secure his place in the semi-finals. Then, he proceeded to defeat Shigeyuki Nakarai in the semi-finals and advanced to the finals.

Phil Wizard then won all three rounds of his battles. He explained in an interview that he considers himself lucky as he already battled Danny Dan in the round-robin so he was prepared and knew what to expect.

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Kim also stated that to the people watching, it seems like a very easy sport however there are a lot of intricate details that make this hard. He further said that it is a dream that people continue to watch breaking and understand his point. Kim’s mentor who introduced him to breakdancing was proud of his achievement and was especially appreciative of the fact that he is inspiring millions of people over the world, especially younger kids.

Although breaking made its debut at the Paris Olympics 2024, it is already stated that it will not be a part of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Phil Wizard’s Ethnicity

While his family originally hails from Korea, Philip Kim was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. However, Kim recently moved to the city of Vancouver.

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Philip Kim continues to be an inspiration to all and is giving the limelight to a sport that was previously unknown by many. His hard work paid off as he danced his way to the gold medal.

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