5 questions with Phil (Wizard) Kim, Canada's first Olympic breaker

Breaking, or breakdancing, makes its Olympic debut in Paris and a Canadian man happens to be among the best.

Vancouver's Phil (Wizard) Kim won gold at the 2022 world championship and silver in 2023.

The 27-year-old also became the first Pan American Games champion in men's breaking last year in Santiago, Chile, where he punched his ticket to Paris.

The Canadian Press had a few questions for Kim as he prepared to compete at La Concorde, which is an urban park also hosting BMX racing, skateboarding and three-on-three basketball. The interview has been condensed and edited for space.

If someone was dropped onto this planet from Mars and asked what breaking is, what would you tell them?

"Whoa. We're starting hot. Breaking is a type of movement that derives from hip-hop culture. It's a combination of athleticism, artistry, you're going to see people spinning on their heads and doing some really crazy creative movements."

There's a real kind of in-your-face element in a breaking battle. I saw the hand gestures, I saw the facial expressions, but when it's over, you in particular are really huggy. Can you turn that switch on and off?

"Breaking comes from battle culture, street culture. Competition has been a big part of breaking since the early inception of it. They used to go to clubs and call people out randomly at the clubs. It comes from that culture. The way I approach it is less aggressive. I used to be like that when I was a kid and I feel like it wasn't very authentic. For me, it's all love. A lot of the people I'm competing against are my friends, are people I look up to and really respect, so I try to show that respect, love and joy on and off the field. You will see people get aggressive and you will see it get heated."

I remember when snowboarding became part of the Olympic Games. There was a little bit resistance because snowboarders felt its inclusion in a very corporate, multi-sport festival would take away from its organic essence. Is that a concern in the breaking community?

"Skateboarding probably went through a very similar process. Breaking comes from the street. It's a street culture that comes from hip-hop culture, so for it to go into such a corporate environment, I guess it's definitely something different. It's just change and change is uncomfortable and people are not used to it. I also want to emphasize that this is just one avenue. We still have cultural events that are non-sport related events. People have the option to just do those. People have the option to do the sport side. You can do both."

Do you listen to music when you are not competing? Do you always want to have a beat in your head?

"I'm always listening to music, but what I break to and what I listen to are very different genres. When I'm breaking, it's hip-hop music, or kind of jazzy music or break beats that we listen to. When I'm just kind of chilling on my own, I like to listen to a lot of neo-soul music, a lot of R & B and then a lot of, I call it sad-boy music, like Adele and Billie Eilish. Stuff like that kind of hits me in the feels."

Because breaking is not included on the 2028 Olympic menu, do the stakes feel higher in Paris?

"I don't know if the stakes feel necessarily higher for me because I'm just focused on this one. We all just want to put on a good show and put on a good representation for breaking and kind of be like, well, you're missing out now."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2024.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press