OMO.....
[size=8]Crazy John's founder dead[/size][size=3]Colin Kruger
October 23, 2007 - 1:21PM[/size]
www.smh.com.au
John Ilhan.
Photo: Will Salter
John Ilhan, the founder of mobile phone retailer Crazy John's, has died of a heart attack today at just 42 years of age.
"John collapsed during his morning walk near his house and could not be revived by ambulance officers," said the company in a statement to the media.
The high profile Muslim, and father of four, was the man behind the controversial Crazy John's persona, which became well-known through the company's sponsorship of sporting events.
Mr Ilhan, migrated from Turkey with his family at the age of three when he was known as Mustafa Ilhan.
Brought up in the working class Melbourne suburb of Broadmeadows, Mr Ilhan made his fortune on the back of the booming mobile phone industry as a reseller of Telstra mobile services. The relationship broke down in irrevocably earlier this year.
He lead BRW Magazine's Young Rich list in 2003 and had a personal wealth estimated at more than $300 million, largely derived from the mobile phone business he founded.
"This is a tragic day. John was an inspiration to everyone who ever knew or worked with him. He grew a business from nothing to become the biggest independent mobile phone retailer in Australia. John was always a big thinker, the difference was he always achieved what he said he would do,'' said Brendan Fleiter, Crazy John's Managing Director.
"All the thoughts and prayers of the entire staff of Crazy John's are with John's wife Patricia and his four children. There was nothing that John loved more than to be with his family."
Mr Ilhan, was prominent in the Muslim community and hit out at radical Muslim leaders who were promoting intolerance and hatred earlier in the year.
"Loyalty first and foremost to Australia should also be remembered by some religious leaders, including some radical Muslim leaders in Australia, who pretend to speak for the faith, but instead promote intolerance and hatred," he wrote in a letter published in a Sydney newspaper.
"My Muslim faith qualifies me to strongly denounce any racist and inflammatory comments made by any Muslim leaders because they perpetuate a stereotype that is unhelpful and dangerous."
He also wrote how proud he was to be Australian Muslim.
"I love Australia for what it stands for. It embraces opportunity, inclusion and, most important of all, mateship. What Australia has taught me is that if you give something - like the hand of friendship or provide a service that fulfils a need - you will be repaid many times over. They say that America is the 'land of opportunity', but I say Australia is. I'm a good example - a working-class boy made good."
His business career was not without its controversy.
Crazy John's was Telstra's biggest second-biggest dealer until July when it switched allegiances to mobile-phone operator Vodafone.
It marked the end of a relationship that had became acrimonious between Mr Ilhan's Melbourne-based company and Telstra.
Spanning more than a decade, the relationship soured last year when Crazy John's, which has more than 100 stores, sued Telstra for alleged underpayment of trailing commissions.
The legal battle ended in November when Crazy John's accepted a one-off payment of $5 million.
The company is not known to be shy on the publicity front either.
In 2003, A Perth council turned down $5 million in exchange for the West Coast Eagle's home ground being renamed "Crazy John's Oval".
The company then took aim at a different eagle with a proposal to buy the Manly Rugby League Club which also failed.
with staff reporters