Dewsbury gym to be ‘safe space’ for town’s youngsters

Danny Turton, who owns Team Agoge, has already installed a pool table, table football, and an Xbox One into the Bradford Road gym in a community mission to get children off the street, with the goal of being a mentor to inspire them to better themselves.

“My idea is to create a safe space for these kids,” the kind-hearted former British kickboxing champion told the Reporter Series.

“I want to run it as a mentor thing. They might not necessarily be interested in fitness or boxing. They might have problems at home, or their parents might be worried, but they can come in, play a bit of pool, have a game of FIFA, and we can have a chat and encourage them to go down a different route and use the boxing as the exit.

“I want to grab their attention by being a mentor and a friend, and then see if there is an interest where we can guide them down that other route.”

He added: “I want it open to the community where people are free to bring their kids or if there is anyone struggling with mental health and they need a chat or a coffee.

“We can then look at an outlet of boxing, fitness or gym work, or, if they like rugby league, pass them onto local clubs.

“The main thing I want to push is getting schools involved in this. I have worked with a lot of challenging kids, and I have all these ideas, but I do want to engage with all of the local schools.”

Danny, who admitted he has “changed himself” over the years, having not been the “best of people”, believes there is nobody in the local area doing anything similar.

He said: “I am doing something that nobody else is doing. Everybody in the authority knows me. I am a humble guy but I have not been best of people myself. I have an 11-year-old daughter and I have changed myself.

“This is a tough town but I am a straight talker and I tell kids how it is. They need that. Some of these kids don’t care and some speak to people how they want with no repercussions.

“We have failed them a little bit and that is the society we are building. But I am trying to build a community where everything is diverse. Nobody seems to be bringing our diverse communities together or seems to be working together.

“I have a huge presence in the Asian and Muslim community and I could have an open day and have 300 to 400 people from different ethnicities there.

“I just feel obliged to do it. I just need like-minded people working together. I already have loads of local businesses willing to jump on board and help, and offer work experience to older kids.

“This is good to go now. We just need to get it off the ground.”

Anna Lee, whose son attends one of Danny’s boxing sessions at Team Agoge, said:

“Danny is a fantastic role model for the kids. They really look up to him. He has a great way of making all the kids feel comfortable and supported, while encouraging them to bring out their best strengths and abilities.

“He has gone above and beyond by transforming the gym into this real community space, which is somewhere safe for young people to come, and stay off the streets. This kind of environment can have a huge impact, not only on the kids but on parents too, giving them peace of mind knowing their children are somewhere positive and safe.

“Danny is doing amazing work for the community. He’s a genuinely selfless person who deserves real recognition for everything he does.”

To learn more about Danny’s venture, or to help him in his community mission, you can contact him on 07736686040.