Breaking
Breaking
How B-Boy Phil Wizard overcomes imposter syndrome and negative self-talk
Breaking champion and Red Bull BC One winner B-Boy Phil Wizard opens up about his experience with self doubt and what strategies he uses to manage it.
Canada’s flagship B-Boy Phil Kim AKA Phil Wizard, rose to fame by claiming a variety of championship titles and most recently winning the Pan American Games 2023 in Chile. He opens up to Mind Set Win host, Lisa Ramuschakt, about his struggles with negative self-talk and how he handles imposter syndrome.
In the Mind Set Win podcast, Lisa Ramuschakt and York-Peter Klöppel unlock the winning mental tactics of high performers and elite sports professionals and show how we can apply the same strategies to our daily lives. Every Tuesday, Ramuschakt hosts an in-depth conversation with a new guest, with a focus on the role mental strength has played in their journey. Then, on Thursdays, she's joined by York-Peter Klöppel, Head of Mental Performance at the Red Bull Athlete Performance Center, for a breakdown of the interview, with Klöppel bringing expert insight and clear takeaways for us all to follow. Check out the full podcast below.
How he broke the downward spiral
Like most of us, Phil Wizard likes to talk to himself - frequently. But the breaking star admits that he struggles with talking to himself in a way that also negatively impacts his daily life and his competitions, something that he finds quite frustrating. ”It’s annoying, and I’m tired of this, and I’m tired of living this way,” he explains.
Phil Wizard works hard to break negative self-talk
© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool
I’m thankful to be here and I want to have a good time
Recognising his behaviour of falling into negative downward spirals, he eventually was fed up with the strain it put on him mentally. “I think over time I just got tired of it. I just realised, ‘Look, I have to live with myself my whole life and I have to live with these thoughts’,” the B-Boy tells Mind Set Win host Lisa. He has come to rely on vital strategies and routines that help him put a stop to this downward spiral, which is especially vital before competitions. “I find that journaling really helps ... and I’m going into everything with gratitude. I’m thankful to be here and I want to have a good time,” he reveals. Other things like listening to podcasts, staying off social media right before a competition and forcibly shifting his self-talk in a more positive direction have massively improved this mentality.
Phil Wizard’s struggle with this was most intense at the beginning of his career when he had just decided to drop out of college to pursue dancing full-time. The B-Boy explains that the breaking industry was especially competitive when he started competing in 2017. This meant that the number of dancers that could pursue breaking as their full-time career was small, with an even smaller percentage being Red Bull athletes. So the goal of joining this elite group of dancers felt “so far away,” he explains. “It took me a long time to gain momentum,” and it was only during the COVID-19 pandemic that he started to become a household name.
Phil Wizard is not a household name
© Mpumelelo Macu/Red Bull Content Pool
“Think like an artist, train like an athlete”
Throughout Phil Wizard's successful career, his guideline has always been to "think like an artist and train like an athlete." A balance between the two is the key to making sure his body stays healthy, and his mind flexible. This is especially important when the breaker is making up another gravity-defying move, like his 'swimming' move, which he came up with while watching swimmers. Being able to copy that move onto the floor is why the physical side is equally important as his creativity. To sustain his physical health, the B-Boy gets his inspiration from other sports that would experience similar physical issues. "I would look up gymnastics wrist-strengthening routines, and then I would follow that," he explains. However, 'practising' his creativity takes on different dimensions in his daily life." The creative element never turns off for me. I'm always thinking about breaking, and I'll be finding inspiration in different things," the B-Boy explains. For him, watching anime and playing video games plays a big role in fostering this creativity.
Do you want to watch the full conversation between Phil Wizard and Lisa? Check out the Mind Set Win YouTube channel.
Watch out for Thursday’s Part B episode, in which the Head of Mental Performance at the Red Bull APC, York-Peter Klöppel, extracts the most valuable takeaways from the interview.
