Shakade was considered by his teachers to be one of the brightest — and most dangerous — students in his year. Predicted to get top GCSE grades, he had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and had racked up more fixed-term exclusions than anyone else at his school. His future hung in the balance.
Then he was expelled for attacking another student and had to complete his GCSEs from a pupil referral unit.
After that, things got even worse. He was kicked out of college — again for fighting — and was unable to sustain a job. “It was hard to hold down a job due to lockdown and I was laid off. I ended up gambling at William Hill, racking up debt, hanging out on road, and getting up to no good.”
After nine months out of work, a chance encounter in Lambeth’s Ruskin Park would change everything.
Shakade stumbled upon a crowd of people who had assembled to mark the opening of a new outdoor gym — and at the centre of their gaze was someone doing a handstand on a bar. He was transfixed.
That was his introduction to Steel Warriors, a charity that melts down knives seized by the police and turns them into outdoor gyms. They use these gyms to attract marginalised young people and run calisthenics programmes to improve their fitness and confidence — and get them into work.
Steel Warriors is one of four grassroots London charities supported by our Destination Unknown campaign to get unemployed young Londoners into employment. Alongside 20/20 Levels, Toucan Employment, and MyBigCareer, each charity has received a £62,500 grant from the Standard’s Dispossessed Fund, which is administered by The London Community Foundation. A further £250,000 from the Dispossessed Fund has been pledged to support employability programmes in London to be delivered by our campaign partner, The King’s Trust.
Destination Unknown in a nutshell
With one in six young Londoners unemployed, the Standard has joined forces with The King’s Trust to support unemployed young people into work or business. So far, £500,000 has been pledged by the Standard’s Dispossessed Fund — with half going to King’s Trust programmes in London and the other half to four grassroots youth charities across the capital. We are calling on corporations, foundations, philanthropists — and our readers — to donate. All funds raised will go to King’s Trust programmes in London
Founded in 2017, Steel Warriors has built gyms in four London parks — Finsbury Park in Haringey, Langdon Park in Tower Hamlets, Carpenter’s Estate in Newham, and Ruskin Park in Lambeth. Their new grant will fund ten “Made of Steel” employability programmes over three years, supporting 450 at-risk young people seeking jobs in the health and fitness sector.
It comes at a time when knife crime is again rising — by 9 per cent in the last year — and with London now accounting for almost a third of all knife attacks in England and Wales, with a total of 16,344 knife crimes recorded by the Met police and City of London police in the 12 months to March.
CEO Jenny Oklikah explained that Steel Warriors was borne out of deep concern about the impact of knife crime on young people. “The founders had the idea of turning the devastation of knife crime into something positive,” she said. “It takes about 8,000 knives — about two tonnes — to make a single gym.”
“It takes about 8,000 knives to make a single gym”
Shakade, now 26, was captivated from the moment he saw that handstand. “There was something about the grace of his movements that compelled me,” he said. “I wanted to know what it was.”
A coach explained that this was calisthenics — from the Greek word meaning “beautiful strength” — and a form of exercise that uses the individual’s bodyweight as resistance and which is done with very little equipment.
Shakade signed up to their free community classes and found he had a talent for it. “They ran sessions three times a week and I kept turning up for every single one,” he said. “It felt like a community — everyone helping each other, from kids to people in their fifties. I became totally committed and started winning calisthenics tournaments and became one of the best in the UK.”
Steel Warriors soon hired him as a part-time community ambassador and he started covering some of their classes as well. With new confidence, he landed a role as an instructor at a national gym chain.
“My life changed,” he said. “I stopped gambling and getting into fights. I channelled my aggression through fitness. I enjoyed coaching and realised I’d found my path.”
For the first time, Shakade had a stable monthly income. He began travelling internationally for calisthenics competitions — to India and Spain — and starred in photoshoots for major sports brands, pulling off showstopping moves like a front flip off a bar with a mid-air recatch.
Also read: From the call centre to the BAFTAs: A story of remarkable transformation
His story is proof of the adage: “Nothing stops a bullet like a job”. Coined in the US to highlight how employment can steer young people away from violence, it encapsulates why our funding of Steel Warrior’s new employability programme is so important.
Today Shakade gives back by coaching at-risk young people and visiting schools to mentor those on the same path he once walked. “I want to pass on the baton,” he said. “I want to help others change their story — like Steel Warriors did for me.”
How your money can help
£10 could help a young Londoner travel to a job interview
£20 could fund an hour of support from a trained youth worker
£50 could provide appropriate interview clothing
£90 could supply starter equipment, such as hairdressing kit for a salon apprenticeship
£150 could provide training and support through a King’s Trust course
£250 could enable a young person to attend a King’s Trust “Get Hired” event
Visit kingstrust.org.uk/destination-unknown for more information or to donate
The King’s Trust has contributed £80,000 to help the Standard cover the costs of this appeal. This funding has been used to raise awareness of The Trust’s charitable work, helping it to transform young lives. The King’s Trust is a registered charity incorporated by Royal Charter in England and Wales (1079675) and Scotland (SC041198).
