Nearly a year since Beijing - time to start looking to London...
Martial arts athlete opens brothel to fund Olympic bid
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 2:38 PM on 13th July 2009

A martial arts enthusiast has opened a brothel to help fund his bid to compete at the 2012 London Olympics.

New Zealander Logan Campbell, 23, told the Sunday Star-Times newspaper he hoped his Auckland 'gentleman's club,' which provides escort services, would help him raise £500,000 toward representing his country in tae kwon do in London.

Campbell, who finished in the top 16 in the featherweight division at last year's Olympics, said he spent around £230,000 preparing for the Beijing games.
brothel owners Logan Campbell and Hugo Phillips

Most of the money came from his parents, he said. His father, Max, worked two jobs to support his son's Olympic quest.

Campbell said his desire to avoid being a burden on his parents led him to open the brothel with business partner Hugo Phillips, 20.

He said: 'Mum was hesitant but she met the girls, a couple came over to her house and she was sweet as.

'She realised they were just normal people supporting their kids and stuff.

'When people think of a pimp they think of a guy standing around on a street corner with gold chains. Pimps are more tough-type guys. I'm an owner of an escort agency.'

Asked if he was bringing the sport into disrepute, he replied: 'Some people on the team will not think highly of me for doing this. If they saw this place and how it's operated, they'd change their mind.'

He said he had introduced several of his female employees to his mother who 'realised they were just normal people supporting kids and stuff.'

Tae kwon do New Zealand funding manager John Schofield said the governing body of the sport in the country would have to consider whether Campbell was suitable for international selection.

'Selection takes into account not just performance but also the athlete's ability to serve as an example to the youth of the country,' Schofield said.

New Zealand decriminalised prostitution six years ago.