The Empire Fighting Chance podcast

In this episode of the Empire Fighting Chance podcast, it's all about professional boxing.Neil chats with Empire coach and former British super lightweight title champion, Darren "Ammo" Hamilton. He's had 19 fights, 16 wins with three by knockout. He also had an illustrious amateur career with 27 amateur bouts, losing just four. But it's not all confined to the ring. He had to overcome many challenges as a young man and then as an adult; dabbling in criminality, spending time in custody and at one point in his life finding himself homeless.He's now supporting young people as part of Empire Fighting Chance's programs alongside training up and coming professional boxers at the Bristol Boxing Gym run by Chris Sanigar.

In this episode of the Empire Fighting Chance podcast, it's all about education. Empire works with schools across the city and beyond, and one of our key partners is City Academy the secondary school in St George. This week's guest is the Head of Inclusion at the school, Hardeep Konsal.Neil talks with Hardeep about the future of schools, challenges young people face, education, league tables and more.To support Empire Fighting Chance and to find out more about the work we do, head to www.empirefightingchance.org

In this week's episode of The Empire Fighting Chance, Neil talks to Dayton Powell about youth violence, gangs and criminality. Dayton has lived experience of this having spent time in prison for violent offences.Today, he supports young people to move away from criminality into alternative positive lifestyles via his organisation Each One Teach One.Dayton also works at Empire Fighting Chance delivering programs at the gym, helping teenagers overcome anxieties associated specifically with knife crime. So, why do young people carry knives? Why do they join gangs? How can we understand this better and how can we support and redirect positive outcomes for young people?

In this episode of the Empire Fighting Chance podcast, host Neil interviews Dr. Craig Johnson, a senior lecturer at the University of the West of England and co-founder of the Alliance of Working Class Academics. Dr. Johnson discusses the impact of class on young people's lives, drawing on his own experiences growing up in a council estate in Scotland. He explores the challenges faced by young boys in education and the effectiveness of referral units and the prison pipeline. Listen as Neil and Dr. Johnson delve into these important topics and discuss potential solutions.

In this episode of the Empire Fighting Chance podcast we go across the pond to Canada. Neil Maggs talks with Jan Fox, the executive director of REACH Edmonton, Alberta.REACH is an organisation which brings together communities to develop safety strategies for the city, they support current social programs and fill any gaps in the system. REACH have partnered with Empire Fighting Chance through their shared interest as members of the international Peace in Our Cities initiative.Neil and Jan talk about this partnership, the importance of building international networks when it comes to violence reduction work, her trip to Bristol and much more.To support Empire Fighting Chance and to find out more about the work we do, head to www.empirefightingchance.org

In this episode of the Empire Fighting Chance podcast, we go all celebrity.Host Neil Maggs talks with his old mate Joe Sims, an actor known for being in hit TV series Broadchurch who has recently become the presenter of the BBC radio Bristol breakfast show. Neil and Joe discuss his career and why he's crossed the rubicon into radio broadcasting as well as the difficulties of breaking into media and acting based on class.They also discuss Joe's work in charity: he's linked to various good causes in Bristol, supporting sport for development trusts and setting up his own project called 500 reasons, with another unannounced project in the pipeline...To support Empire Fighting Chance and to find out more about the work we do, head to www.empirefightingchance.org

In this week's episode of Empire Fighting Chance, Neil talks about the role that business can play with young people in offering opportunities to avoid a path into youth violence, crime and unemployment. It's Nick Day; a businessman of 30 years who is supporting Empire through 'Box Careers' and recently became an Empire community ambassador.However, he is better known as the voice of Bristol Rovers Football Club. He was the MC at the ground for many years, known for his catchphrase "I can smell gas". He has interviewed top boxers, including world champion Lee Haskins from the Sanigar stable, and his son has benefited from programs at Empire and gone on to fight as an amateur boxer.Neil and Nick discuss business, boxing, and football.To support Empire Fighting Chance and to find out more about the work we do, head to www.empirefightingchance.org

In this episode of the empire fighting chance podcast its back to urban violence. Neil talks to Oscar Santiago Uribe Rocha aka Santiago, who was the first Chief Resilience officer of Medellin in Columbia; formerly the most dangerous city in the world, it radically turned that reputation around over the last 15 years.Santiago was heavily involved in that process of reformation. He was the world's second appointed Chief Resilience officer; a role that works with cities to build resilience and opportunity, and to address violence by building a more sustainable response to it, being proactive rather than reactive.From 2007 to 2010, he served as an administrative assistant on cultural and economic affairs at the Colombian Embassy in South Africa, working alongside Nelson Mandela. Neil and Santiago discuss his expertise in the field of violence reduction and what lessons can be brought home to Bristol and beyond.To support Empire Fighting Chance and to find out more about the work we do, head to www.empirefightingchance.org

In previous episodes of the Empire Fighting Chance podcast we've spoken about young people and the challenges that they face in today's society. In this episode Neil Maggs talks to a young man that stepped into the gym several years ago lacking confidence, suffering from social anxiety and being bullied at school. Boxing, in his own words, saved his life. So what was it that helped transform him? What was it about boxing that was instrumental in his development? His name's Matt Lawrence. He is now a coach at Empire, working with young people that were just like him. He's just signed a professional contract with Chris Sanigar to fight in Bristol and expects to make his debut in the autumn. Neil talks to him about his journey and how far he wants to go in the sport.To support Empire Fighting Chance and to find out more about the work we do, head to www.empirefightingchance.org