Gloves Up Knives Down Launch New Community Gym In Tottenham

Three years after establishing itself in a virtual sense, as the UK’s premier anti-knife crime initiative, GUKD are now launching their first ever physical ‘Hub’ in Haringey.

Working in conjunction with the Tottenham Community Sports Centre, GUKD have formed a unique partnership that is intended to serve as a template for future rollout in the UK.

Kevin Lincoln, Secretary to the Trustees of the TCSC says: 

Tottenham Community Sports Centre was the first established sports centre in London. It has been in existence for 53 years. A small charitable trust we are run by volunteers for volunteers, constantly adapting to the changing needs of our community.

We firmly believe that sport crosses all divides and as well as health and well-being, we play a huge part in community cohesion both directly and through our 100 plus member clubs.

Although providing safe facilities for all ages, we concentrate on breaking down barriers in the teenage and young adult age group by offering them sport as an alternative path to crime.

We are delighted to partner Gloves Up, Knives Down who share the same aims as us and we look forward to fruitful partnership and making a positive difference the local youth.

GUKD’s Preventative Intervention programme, devised exclusively by Prof Joana Costa, originally targeted youngsters between the ages of 7-13 (now expanded to 5-16 ), and provides the opportunity of undertaking boxing training at licensed clubs, after having been gifted the GUKD starter boxing kit. GUKD has succeeded in redirecting youngsters from a potential life on the street, and all of its potential negative outcomes. Youngsters instead are given the opportunity to develop their mental and physical wellbeing positively, where they are surrounded by a nurturing alternative ‘family’ structure whereby they become part of a more positive whole. GUKD aim to develop rounded and responsible citizens.

Professor Joana says: 

I have worked with Gloves Up Knives Down since it was founded in 2019 to conceive and implement the Preventative Intervention ethos which is the central tenet of their activities.

I am pleased to witness the success GUKD has become, and am happy to send a message of support to the team on the occasion of the launch of the GUKD Hub.

I fully endorse the expansion of their activities to include Boxercise classes to fully involve the local community, who can now come together and share in the fight against knife crime in the UK.

Because the transformative effect of the youngsters involvement in boxing, which extends virally to siblings, parents, peers, and communities, the establishment of the GUKD Hub is the natural and fundamental building block for the greater community to become actively involved in personal development, by the introduction of our ‘Boxercise’ programme.

Simply put, the Hub can appeal to the whole community to be involved in the GUKD ethos. The youngsters undertake a boxing programme devised for them to achieve their potential with our dedicated coaches. The parents, friends and neighbours can undertake the Boxercise classes. The Hub will serve a a venue learn about the initiative, spread the word, socialise regularly and most importantly keep fit through our structured programmes. Come one, come all.

Impoverished as a great deal of boxing clubs are, only used in the main during the evenings, and yet situated in the heart of the communities, the clubs can be time-shared by conducting GUKD Hub Boxercise programmes during the day, or whenever boxing training is not taking place.

Endorsed by the boxing fraternity at large from day one, GUKD has continually attracted a great deal of media attention, and counts amongst it supporters politicians, the police, Premier League football clubs, filmmakers, designers, musicians, actors, media celebrities, influencers and most significantly parents of youngsters whose lives were cruelly taken in stabbing incidents.

A long time supporter and first professional ambassador for GUKD, who is fighting tonight and could not be here, Isaac Chamberlain says: Good luck to the team at GUKD with the launch of the Hub. Reaching out to the community with Boxercise classes for adults can only be a big plus for the borough of Haringey. The GUKD family continues to grow, and I look forward to visiting the Hub soon to see it in action.

GUKD have recently started to work with BOXXER, the new generation boxing promoter.

A spokesperson at BOXXER said: 

BOXXER is proud to be cultivating a relationship with GUKD. Our talent will be working in conjunction with the team, promoting the great work they do encouraging young people to pick up boxing, and the life-changing benefits the sport can bring. We are happy to be supporting the launch of the GUKD Hub today, and wish the enterprise every success.

The launch is being sponsored by the European Medical Journal, which delivers world-class insights to the key developments and advancements within both clinical and pharmaceutical areas.

Dan Healy – Executive Director at EMJ says: 

I am pleased to announce that EMJ is sponsoring the Gloves Up Knives Down Hub launch event at the Tottenham Community Sports Centre on Saturday 30 July.

The partnership between GUKD and EMJ is a celebration of personal development and redirecting energy in the community to channel positive outcomes and encourage young minds to aspire to become the best person they can be. It is for these reasons that I am proud to be an ambassador for GUKD, and will continue to dedicate my time to promoting the growth of this community.

David Edgell, one of the GUKD founders says: ‘

The GUKD family continues to grow, and we see the Hub as a strategic building block to having an increasing UK presence and impact. Today we welcome Michael Franzese, our newly appointed Ambassador to the USA, whose personal positive message to youngsters is in alignment with ours.

Written by:  Joe Brett