"Shakade was considered by his teachers to be one of the brightest and most dangerous students in his year. Predicted to get top GCSE grades, he had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and had racked up more fixed-term exclusions than anyone else at his school. His future hung in the balance. Then he was expelled for attacking another student and had to complete his GCSEs from a pupil referral unit."
"I ended up gambling at William Hill, racking up debt, hanging out on road, and getting up to no good. After nine months out of work, a chance encounter in Lambeth's Ruskin Park would change everything. Shakade stumbled upon a crowd of people who had assembled to mark the opening of a new outdoor gym and at the centre of their gaze was someone doing a handstand on a bar. He was transfixed."
Shakade faced ADHD diagnoses, repeated exclusions, expulsion, college dismissal, and unemployment that led to gambling and debt. A chance encounter at an outdoor gym opening introduced him to Steel Warriors. Steel Warriors melts down knives seized by the police and turns them into outdoor gyms, then runs calisthenics programmes to engage marginalised young people, improve fitness and confidence, and support routes into employment. Four grassroots London charities received £62,500 grants each from the Standard's Dispossessed Fund administered by The London Community Foundation. An additional £250,000 was pledged to fund employability programmes delivered by The King's Trust. One in six young Londoners is unemployed.
Read at www.standard.co.uk
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