In Moss Side, Manchester, the Champ’s Camp was started in 1981 by the late great Phil Martin after the riots, providing young people with Somewhere To Go, Something To Do and Someone to Them. However, it was set up with no funding, but it was provided with premises by the Co-op, which has since been renamed the Phil Martin Centre. Furthermore, Phil became the first black person in Britain to be a registered professional boxing coach, manager and promoter at the same time. The Champ’s Camp is now part of the Moss Side Boxing club.

The Youth Charter launched in 1993 following the tragic murder of 14-year-old schoolboy, Benji Stanley, on the streets of Moss Side, and the Champs Camp and Phil Martin, were one of the first organisations contacted and are an inspiration for the Boxingwise programme and our ongoing work to Engage, Equip and Empower young people and their communities. Phil Martin was the archetypal Social Coach/Social Professional who lived the Ali Six Core Principles.

This initial contact saw the Champs Camp delivering a pad session with young members of the rival Doddington and Gooch gangs at the Moss Side Youth Centre. Following on from this, two young boxers from the Champs Camp, Daniel Coyle and Haroon Headley, participated in the Spirit of Hulme and Moss Side tour of LA (1994), where they visited the LA Boxing Club. These two young aspiring boxers have both gone on to become Social Coach/Social Professionals themselves, setting up a health and fitness club and a boxing club respectively.

Daniel was selected for the tour of LA trip because of his aspirations to contribute socially to the area, as well as fulfil his potential abilities to become a World Boxing Champion. Although initially shy and introverted, Daniel’s selection and inclusion as part of the highly successfully tour saw him improve in all areas of his overall personal development and social skills and to maintain his contact with the Youth Charter. Daniel also possesses and expresses great artistic ability and was instrumental as a Youth Charter Ambassador in leading and developing the Youth Charter Graffiti project in Salford Quays (1996-97) and contributed to the development of the Youthwise programme that launched in 1997. Daniel’s overall personal and social development went from strength to strength as his confidence developed. Following a successful amateur boxing career, Daniel is now co-founder of Longford Health and Fitness Club in south Manchester, having graduated from the University of Salford with a BSc in Exercise and Health Science and over 12 years of personal training experience.

At the time of the tour of LA, Haroon, was an aspiring boxer who was aiming for Olympic Gold, but despite his potential had a lot of negative energy that required channeling and turning into positive energy. Despite being inspired by his visit to LA Boxing Club, on his return to Manchester he did not have the training opportunities for his aspirations, which saw him return to a negative lifestyle. Nevertheless, the Youth Charter and his boxing coach continued to provide him with support through the Youthwise programme with Haroon regaining his discipline and developing his confidence and self-esteem. Whilst, he did not achieve his aspirations for Commonwealth and Olympic golds, Haroon has gone to have a successful career as a Firefighter with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, where as part of giving back, he helped to set up Moss Side Fire Station Boxing Club in 2008, which is committed to: “help develop the personal attributes of the young individuals within the community we serve to reflect the qualities and attributes we value as fire fighters. We aim to act as role models and mentors to help mould our members to be role models to the wider community.”  Haroon also coached boxer, Jordan Thompson, and being the son of Geoff and Janice Thompson, he was born in the Youth Charter as it launched in 1993. Jordan is now a professional boxer and Youth Charter Ambassador. Finally, Haroon’s son Emilio Kyzar Headley is now professional boxer, ensuring an intergenerational boxing legacy.

Another boxer turned boxing coach, who has lived the Youth Chater journey and is now Social Coach/Professional giving back, is Jonny Roye, who has established a boxing school in Preston. Jonney grew up in south Manchester and Trafford, between Moss Side and Sale, during the 1990s in the challenging environment of the then ‘Gunchester’. Boxing was his way out, having started the sport at the age of 6, at a gym close to his house, he went onto compete in 60+ amateur fights but after suffering a detached retina, Jonney crossed over to Muay Thai, achieving British, European, Commonwealth and World titles. However, despite his fantastic achievements in the ring, it is coaching children and young people at his JR Gym in Preston which has brought him happiness and satisfaction.

The Boxingwise programme was inspired by an international trip to India by Haroon and Jonney in 2016, where they visited a school. Jonny and Haroon have become Social Coaches/Professionals in the truest form and are both living the Ali 6 Core Principles, as they give back to young people and their communities through boxing. Following this visit, Youth Charter founder and chair, Prof. Geoff Thompson MBE FRSA DL QP JM, was invited to present at the 2017 Boxing Writers Awards, with both Haroon and Jonney also in attendance.

Since 2006, the Youth Charter has been working the Muhammad Ali Center and Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace & Justice, after hosting a Muhammad Ali Scholars Tour Group in 2006, during the UK leg of their global trip. A further tour group was hosted in 2010 with our American friends meeting with young people from across the North West of England and then taking part in a London 2012 Olympic Legacy conference organised by the Youth Charter in conjunction with the University of Roehampton. The Youth Charter has established a 20 relationship with the Muhammad Ali Centre in Louisville and has participated in, and contributed to, the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards and has delivered the Float Like a Butterfly (FLAB) Social Coach Leadership Programme (SCLP) in Manchester and Louisville, with the Ali Six Core Principles now a key part of the Social Coaching Values the Aliwise Education Pack, and the Boxingwise programme.