A PUNCHER'S CHANCE
Hollywood star Idris Elba explains to KERRI-ANN ROPER why he and his team are taking a group of young people under their wings and giving them the opportunity to change their lives through boxing
IDRIS ELBA was filming the 2013 biopic, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom when he experienced something that would inspire his latest project.
The Luther star, 49, gained plaudits for his portrayal of Nelson Mandela in the movie, which also starred Naomie Harris, and discovered he shared a love of boxing with the late South African president, fondly known as Madiba.
Idris, star of The Wire, films like Pacific Rim, The Suicide Squad and more, joined a boxing club as a youngster, an experience he describes as a “real turning point” in his life, which taught him “discipline and control”.
Now Idris Elba’s Fight School, on BBC2, will see the Hollywood star explore whether boxing can help a group of young people turn their lives around and better their future.
During his time in South Africa, Idris visited makeshift gyms where young kids were being trained to box, to help them stay off the streets.
“They were inspiring to me. These are kids that have not very much in the way of support, but the gym was a nervous system for them – a place where they became young men,” he reflects.
The series sees Idris join forces with former National Boxing Champion Rachel Bower and fitness coach Greg White. The group they take in lives together in a house
I needed to sort my life out... I walked into my local boxing gym and never looked back...
while gaining boxing training, nutrition advice, and access to a life coach and mentors. The goal is for them to be able to get into the boxing ring to compete in an amateur fight after just five months of training. “I was just like, ‘Wow, I would love to experiment [with] that discipline’... I’ve got this real passion to fight knife crime,” says Idris, talking about the new series. “I think it’s a really, really dangerous, bad thing that’s happening in our country and it’s avoidable.
“[It’s about] finding ways to shift that energy, that anger, that sense of loss, that sense of bewilderment. You come from a neighbourhood, there’s not much around there for you, so you carry a knife, you feel part of a gang.
“Well, with boxing, when you’re in the gym, you’re in a gang. You’re in a group with a bunch of people who are like-minded and you all put the work in, and when one person fights, you all fight, and that’s what that feeling is.
“I think it is overlooked how exercise and training can help people readdress stuff.”
Greg, 35, who is the head coach at the Rathbone and Camden boxing club, had his own reasons for getting into the sport.
“I got in trouble with the police when I was younger. I lived on a council estate in South London and I just fed into what was happening in the community, causing problems for everyone. I needed to sort my life out and boxing did that for me. I walked into my local boxing gym and never looked back,” he says.
Rachel, 39, is the head of amateur boxing at Rathbone and Hawley ABC and an England Talent Pathway Coach, as well as a Met police detective sergeant.
“I’m a police officer,” she explains. “That’s my day job. I moved to London, had loads of time off through the week and fancied
Fitness coach Greg White
something to do. I thought I’d have a hobby, and I’ve always been really sporty. I got hooked very early on after my first fight.”
The wannabe boxers who feature in the TV show include Chanika from London, Finlay from Scotland, Jess from South Wales, Ash from the Wirral, Kerryn from West London and Naeem from Manchester. They are joined by Sophie from Solihull, Zeb from North West London and Katie from Northern Ireland.
Talking about meeting the group for the first time, Greg says: “Me and Rachel both thought, we’ve got a tough job on our hands here.
“There were only a couple who liked boxing, as in watched the sport and knew what it was about. The rest signed up and had no clue what was going to go on.
“Trying to get them interested in the sport is one of the biggest challenges, and then getting them to understand and respect the sport.
“But if there was one success, that’s a success. Just managing one person to come through.”
For Idris, taking the time to “correct old habits” and form new ones has been key.
“I’m someone that realises there are some really practical, small, satisfying and gratifying ways of changing your life if you feel like you’re in a rut,” he says.
He hopes the series encourages everyone to take more notice of the young people in their environment and reach out to them.
“Young people all over the world, especially now, are going through stuff.
“We all live in some proximity to a teenager or young person, and we overlook them because it’s none of our business. It might be a neighbour, might be a friend’s son... reach out.
“See how they’re doing, offer them an experience... [for] young people in this day and age, their therapist is their phone, and the phone gives no empathy back.
“It just stares back and offers emojis, where human connection really, really does help.
“It takes a village as they say – it’s one of my mom’s sayings. People watch the show and go, ‘Is it about boxing?’ Yeah, it is. But it’s [also] about people needing people.
“I hope people might pick up boxing, or realise they have a skill set they can share once a week, to help someone out.
“Fight school might end up being culinary school next season, I don’t know. But it’s about getting people out of their ruts and showing the viewers there are other options.”
Idris Elba’s Fight School is on BBC2 and iplayer tomorrow at 9pm