When did you first start playing Basketball?

I picked up the sport when I was 14, just to stay out of trouble and stuff like that. It kept me focused… it’s a fun sport that you can just play by yourself. Then I started coming to Turnpike Lane in 2018. At that point, I didn't really know anyone but then I started joining the community, really understanding the game. That was the point where I wanted to take this sport seriously enough, where it’s breakfast, lunch and dinner… training every day, you know?

Are you still aiming for a career in Basketball?

Not now, but at the time it was very much my only focus… playing every day, waking up, working out, doing the same thing over and over again, I was just trying to get better. I used to play for Haringey Hawks, for under 18s. So that filled up a lot of my time during college. Now that I’ve finished college, I still want to pick up the sport, but I see it as… someone explained it to me quite well, they see the sport as more of a bus pass to life. When you play sports, you meet so many new people, you go to events, you might even go to different countries. So that's really the way I see sports. Now I just kind of want to see where it will take me physically and experience-wise rather than financially.

How does sport benefit you, now you no longer want to be a professional basketball player?

By being more sociable and able to meet new people. Through sports, I can meet people with the same interests as me. That's really what it's about. As a kid, I used to be quite antisocial and angry and unpleasant to be around. I wasn't a bad kid but it was hard for me to communicate to people about the stuff that was happening back then.

But basketball was the first gateway into being able to actually talk to people… a simple ‘Hi, how are you doing?’. It’s the value of respect… I didn't understand it when I was younger… not to say I was disrespectful but I didn't understand that a ‘Hello’ could go very far for some people. You don't know what anyone's going through.

It does a lot for people to have this community. I mean the energy is so organic that… him (points to someone playing basketball), I've never asked him ‘Are you gonna come TPL?’. We just see each other and it’s automatically ‘How you been?’. It just starts with respect and just me knowing them over the years - so that's what I've learned. Respect goes a long way. Those are the sorts of things that helped me pursue life and do other stuff that not a lot of people are doing at my age.

How did you make that jump between being an angry kid to now being more open to situations?

It starts with humbling yourself, you gotta break yourself down and build yourself up to understand the triggers, the anger and try to understand things you may not be able to control. Things like trauma will obviously be stuck to you, but it's how you deal with it. I didn't do it on my own, there were a lot of people that helped me. But I would like to say I had the attitude and once you have the attitude you are able to pursue whatever you want to do in life.

I can definitely say that now just coming back from America doing basketball coaching at a children’s camp. I've definitely learned a lot about myself, so I'm able to step into any role that I want to. I was working at one of the best camps in America… a lot of rich and famous people's kids go and stuff like that - dealing with a lot of wealth for a couple of weeks. It was a good experience, just seeing like a whole different life.

That just started from, in 2018 seeing a random ball in my mom's house and saying ‘Well, I just want to not be angry or be upset’ or whatever I was at that point in time. I came to Turnpike Lane, that exact hoop (points), and I just started shooting. One hour went by, two hours, four hours, and then it was 10 o'clock at night. That's when I realised, I wanted to see where basketball is gonna take me, and it's taken me overseas to be able to teach other kids and show them the love of the sport through my eyes. It's a wonderful thing.
 

How has that process happened - to become someone that people can look up to?

It started with being humble... really and truly it started when I moved in with my Aunt. That was the turning point of my life. Before that, I was stuck in the mud. Something just happened… don’t get it twisted, it was a very bad summer… 2018. But I just kind of looked up and was like, ‘What if I could make it? What if I could be great? What if I could turn everything around?’

It was that ‘What if?’ that kept me moving on… to finishing year 11, college and now going to Uni. I have, you know (points to his little brother say by the side of the court), he looks up to me as well… he’s seen me in a very bad place. Now he sees me as someone that can go to a different country by himself, live there and really communicate and adapt to different situations. Bad things do happen but if you take that as your identity, then you end up becoming that negative person. I haven't had the best childhood. I've had a similar childhood to some people that are in jail, in very bad situations, people who do deal with suicidal thoughts and depression.

So, I say with me, trying to help my mental health first, and having more gratitude and appreciation. That's really all I'm trying to say, it just started with appreciation. Appreciating the small things, you're able to do the big things. My philosophy is just work hard, be proud of yourself, show gratitude, laugh and keep moving forward. I'm having this opportunity to speak to you about my life. I was going to sleep in today… I'm not gonna lie. So, the fact that we met, this is just God… I have a chance to share my story.

Who do you look up to now?

It's not one person to be honest with you. I'd be lying if I said it was. I look up to people who I want to switch positions with, people who are successful, who do have the method to become financially free and independent. If you're talking family wise, I would say my Nan because she is the epitome of ‘I can get it done if I really want’. Being a single young woman in her 20s, coming into Britain and not knowing what to expect, but just knowing she wanted a new life. Being able to give us the best that she can has definitely motivated me to want to move forward. I’d be in Jamaica right now if not for her. I'm not gonna put what my nan's done to waste.

What would you change about Haringey?

Just put the focus back on young people, to be honest with you. The narrative you can see in the news... they only want to say the negative, but not the positive stuff about this community. People make the place, but when you only take one demographic who make the place bad and that's the only thing you want to ride on… that's what news and people do in general. Hate runs the world… that's what sells papers, which I understand. I just wish there was a lot more youth clubs… it would do a lot of people wonders because people are just stuck at home. I know Coach Jonathan and Hesketh Benoit do their part, but again, lots of things cost money and there's not a lot of funding.

What’s your biggest struggle right now?

Balance. Like I said, I've done a lot of self-improvement over the last couple of years. I'm at the point where it's not stimulating for me no more. It's not like ‘I'm gonna do better… I'm gonna get in the gym, I'm gonna be this’, because I've been doing it for so long. So, it's more just understanding that there's a journey to be taken, and that I need to have fun. But I also need to work hard - I need to do this, I need to do that. There’s no point in working too hard and missing my early 20s or I don't work hard enough and end up still being here. So, it's just finding that balance.

When you say ‘here’, what do you mean?

‘Here’ for me means really just out of the area. I mean, when you live in an area where you can only see secondary school kids and then the next youngest person you see is about 30, you know you're not in a neighbourhood that’s thriving.

I want to be in a place where I can be successful, pushing forward. Not to say that's Uni per se but there's definitely better places than where I'm at right now. I'm happy, I'm appreciative, my Nan has done a lot to get us to this point. But now I put that pressure on myself to step in front of the family and put my people in the best position possible. Like, yeah… gotta get out this place. There's nothing here for me… nothing.

What’s your favourite memory of playing Basketball?

Oh, winning the little tournament they have every year. Being able to be part of the squad and push the boys forward. That was a very proud moment. When the buzzer sounded, everything was just snapshots. Everyone went on to the court, like it was really something out of a movie. Definitely, my finest moment of being around the game of basketball. The games done a lot for me over the years. But yeah, that's my favourite.

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