After Hours

YOUR PASSIONS AND PROJECTS OUTSIDE THE 9-5

SHARE WITH READERS A FEW BUSINESS DISTRICT FAVOURITES?

Food… now we’re talking! I’ve gone mad on Thai the past few years; Thai Express and Giggling Squid are personal faves. I also love stew chicken, rice & peas with a dumpling from Caribbean takeouts. Since working as a mentor, I’ve spent a lot of time by the canal. Running into work or walking canalside with my mentees. There’s something tranquil about water and greenery.

I absolutely love the galleries that Birmingham has to offer such as Clarendon Fine Art, Castle Fine Art & the Ikon gallery. I also can’t forget Pure Gym Snowhill and McCracken’s Gym in Tyseley.

THIS FEATURE IS CALLED AFTER HOURS… WHAT’S YOUR POST-WORK PASSION?

One is boxing and the other is poetry.

Boxing: I’m a Light-Flyweight professional boxer and the current Commonwealth champion, becoming Britain’s lightest professional champion and the first Brit to capture this belt in its 120 year history. I’m also the British and

European No.1. I’ve had British Fights of the Year in 2019, 2021 and it was announced over Christmas that I won the Fightzone TV Fight of the Year in 2022 with my 11th round knockout victory over an unbeaten South African. I will defend my title in the first half of 2023 and then hopefully capture an Intercontinental title after that, which should rank me in the world’s Top 20 or higher!

Poetry: I’m the former Young Poet Laureate and Birmingham Poet Laureate. I was the first male in the country to hold the title of Young Poet Laureate. That happened in 2007 and since then I’ve made a living as a freelance artist by teaching poetry in schools both nationally and internationally – I’ve reached as far as Malaysia and Indonesia with my school workshops.

My role as a poet also includes motivational talks and being commissioned to write and perform for businesses and events for the likes of the Commonwealth Games, Team England, Barclay’s Premier League, BBC, Royal Mail, Skinny Food Co, BT (I was commissioned to write the poem for their new building in Snowhill) and countless others. I love being able to encapsulate the essence of a company or help them to spread their message amongst current or potential clientele. I still do this alongside my mentoring and boxing.

WHAT PUSHED YOU TO DO THIS?

Boxing: I’m built to be a jockey but as a nipper we wouldn’t have been able to afford a horse, so my parents sent me to Warley Boxing Club for £1 a session instead and I eventually became a Light-Flyweight boxer! But, in all seriousness, I always had a passion for combat. My big brother