Phil Britten

As a young man, Phil’s dream had been to become and AFL player and at age 22, he was close to achieving his goals. What was supposed to be a fun holiday became Phil’s worst nightmare, when he lost 7 friends and was badly burned in the 2002 Bali bombing. After years of survivors’ guilt and indecisiveness about his future, Phil opened his first martial arts school. Shortly thereafter, a friend proposed a joint venture and in 2008, the pair bought the Allen’s Martial Arts Academy in Greenwood. Within a year, they had doubled student numbers and quadrupled profits. Today, the WA Institute of Martial Arts has almost 800 members and a second school has just been opened in Currambine.