A CHARITY that has changed lives through boxing in Egypt has started working with underprivileged young people in Bridgwater.
Valley Kings was founded by former boxer and MMA fighter Faisel Ghazghazi, who was moved to help children in Hurghada after visiting on holiday.
His Young Fighters Academy was created to get vulnerable children and young people (aged four to 18) off the streets and into the gym. The initiative allowed them to train for free, with the full support of their parents.
The donation-led organisation gives them a safe space built on the qualities of discipline, perseverance and respect.
In October, Valley Kings set up its first UK project in Bridgwater – Faisel's hometown – based in an upstairs space at Blake Hall.
Trustee Chloe Prince spoke to the Bridgwater Mercury about the project's launch, ambitions and plans for the future.
“We started the gym there in October, but it’s been since February that the classes have been running,” she said.
“We set up the gym in 2021 in Egypt, which has worked so well with the kids.
“We kitted out the (Blake Hall) space with donations from other gyms. We’ve got five trustees who all volunteer and help out, plus a couple of coaches who volunteer their time.
“There are probably about 10 of us behind the scenes trying to make this work.”
The volunteers currently run three classes per week, each of which include up to 12 young people.
A rise in anti-social behaviour in Bridgwater – which is being tackled by a ‘multi-agency approach’ and days of police action – encouraged the charity's trustees to bring the concept to the town.
Boxing allows the children to channel their “frustrations and testosterone” into something constructive in safe environment, with no financial obstructions during the “ridiculous” cost-of-living crisis.
“Any children can go, but our focus is families with kids who can’t afford after-school clubs or who might be having problems at home,” said Chloe, who started her own boxing training in October.
“We’ve applied for funding from Hinkley Point as we want new equipment, and we’ve got a planned charity boxing show in September.
“We’re reaching out to as many children as we can to increase our classes. We want more people to know about us.
“Everybody thinks Blake Hall is a music venue with a pub downstairs. They don’t really know there’s a gym there at the moment.”
She added: “We just want to help as many families as we can. We want to help change the children’s perspectives.
“We don’t want angry kids to be leaving our gym. We want them to have respect, and we want to help nurture them. We want to provide a brighter future for the kids, really.
“I’m local to Bridgwater, and people said there’s not a lot that kids can go to that doesn’t cost anything.
“And I thought, ‘let’s put their anger and frustrations into boxing’.”
For more information, visit valleykingsgym.com.
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