Wilhelm Philipp, Baba Desi - The Belgrave Wizard (PEOPLE 2025)

Known as The Belgrave Wizard, 95 year old Baba Desi is a healer, free spirit and lifelong protester of over 4 decades with a motivation to give power back to the people with a defiant spirit for justice. 

 Desi makes wizard-like staffs, collecting sticks from the local forest and crafting his unique art pieces of which he has made thousands to date.

Desi is a staple of his community of Belgrave, Australia, with murals and photos on the walls and inside shops around the town. He is a true icon of Melbourne. Tattooed on his hand is his proposed version of the Australian flag, replacing the Union Jack with the Aboriginal flag for a more united representation of the nation.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.