Rangers star Calvin Bassey has said his main ambition when he was a young footballer was to be successful enough to "move his mum out of the hood".
The 21-year-old grew up in the London Borough of Newham and admits most who lived on his estate have "been through bare trauma".
The defender, who joined the Ibrox side in 2020, says his upbringing made him "thick-skinned" - and after signing a professional contract in Glasgow, he now wants to inspire others.
Speaking to Rising Ballers on YouTube, Bassey recalls playing football on the streets of London as a child - admitting the sport kept him on the straight and narrow.
Bassey said: "When you are from an area like like this, you're going to be hard skinned. Because you've probably been through bare trauma.
"The two options you have are football or going on the streets or something.
"It's easy to be distracted and get sucked in. Having football kept me on the straight and narrow.
"It literally gave me structure in my life."
After a number of knock-backs from a string of London football clubs, Bassey considered quitting football.
But he remained focussed - and in a desperate bid to keep his dream alive he trained almost everyday before finally getting his break, signing for Leicester City in September 2015.
Despite never playing for the Premier League side, Bassey worked hard - and he was scouted by Rangers five years later.
He said: "For me it was just about moving on to the next level and then Rangers gave me the opportunity to play first-team at such a big club.
"I remember seeing [Steven] Gerrard on the first day. I had to pinch myself, like, 'is this real? A month ago I was just in the end, and now I'm in front of Gerrard - and he knows my name!
"The likes of Steven Davis, Alan McGregor, Gary McAllister and I'm around Jermain Defoe. It was just crazy being around these top professionals that I used to watch.
"Winning the league unbeaten. Just being a part of it was just amazing. I just thank God every single day."
Bassey wants to use his story to inspire other youngsters from the poorest parts of London.
He said: "'When I grow up I want to move my mum out the hood' - every kid has that dream.
"Bare people - especially in our area - are going to tell you, 'you can't do that'.
"There's bare haters in this world. Even though I am from the hood, why wouldn't I want to go to training? Why wouldn't I want to become better? Why wouldn't I want to be in the starting 11? Why wouldn't I want to play every week?
"That's where you get the happiness from.
"When you are playing that's when you are happiest. Just enjoying life.
"I'm just trying to show the younger generation, 'look - don't let anyone tell you that you can't do this, you can't do that'.
"Do you know how many school teachers said, 'I don't think he's good enough'. But look where I am.
"I ain't at my destination yet, but I'm happy where I'm at - and I've worked hard for it.
"They can do it as well, why not? They can be bigger, better than me.
"What I want for them is just to stay focussed. If it's not football, whatever it may be - just stay focussed."
To watch the full interview head to Rising Ballers' YouTube page.
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