Paul Edwards’ Story.
My name is Paul Edwards and I run a local boxing gym called the Salisbury Boxing Club. I was a professional boxer from the age of 20 to 25, and then I went straight into coaching at the amateur club. I grew up on Salisbury Street in Everton, which is literally five minutes away from the Shewsy.
I’ve been coming to the Shewsy since I was five or six years old, and for most of my life I’ve still popped in every now and then. I think it’s a really special place. It’s one of the youth clubs that’s still going and still very local. From when I was young, it kept us off the streets and helped us a lot, especially because of the people who worked there. We felt like a family at the Shewsy, and it’s still going strong to this day.
One of my first memories is going to Shrewbury School. I went a few times, but the first time I went I think I was about 11 years old. I remember getting there, playing cricket, and staying overnight. I hadn’t been on an overnight trip before, so that was one of my first and best memories. It was just a change from being around here. We already had a good relationship with the people there and their students, so when we arrived it was great to interact and do something different from our normal everyday life.
I think having somewhere to go where you feel safe is really important, and The Shewsy truly provides that. That’s what I see now with my daughter and my son as well. It’s somewhere they can enjoy, be themselves, be looked after, and get fed. Our area is very close-knit, but like every area it has its problems. The Shewsy helps kids come together instead of being out on the streets and influenced by the wrong people. I like how the age groups work too — you stay with your own age group and move up as you get older. It’s just a place where you can be yourself and be cared for.
I’ve been at the Salisbury Boxing Club since I was six years old, and I’m 39 now, so that’s about 33 years. We have over 100 boxers as members, plus people who come for fitness sessions, so altogether you’re talking about around 200 people. For us, it’s really about discipline. Of course we try to create champions, and we travel all around Britain. We coach kids from their first fight right through to national champions, and even fighters competing all over the world. I boxed in Russia when I was about 14 at the European Championships, and I’ve travelled to many countries as an international boxer. We’re trying to pass that experience on now and show our boxers that if you keep discipline, you can achieve a lot.
I’ve only become the leader of the gym in the last year or two, so my focus now is on building stronger relationships and helping the area as much as we can. We do have our challenges, and it can be tough, but if we come together and support things like this, it can only help the area massively.
Watch the video here.
