SILVINO
Fitness professionals are a varied bunch, as we all
know. Suzanne Wrack meets someone whose calling
came under extraordinary circumstances.
Y
ou can’t
miss the
Fight for
Peace
building. The
blue mesh-panelled cube
rises up from its nestled
position among London’s
Docklands estates for all
to see.
Founded in the favelas of
Rio de Janeiro by its
director Luke Dowdney in
2000, Fight for Peace (FFP)
– an organisation that
counts double Olympic
gold medallist Nicola
Adams among its
ambassadors – uses
“
I just
didn’t
want to
be a 35
year old
punk
doing
nothing.”
boxing and martial arts
alongside education to
engage and offer
opportunities to
disenfranchised people
aged 25 and under.
So it’s apt that I meet one
of the organisation’s
biggest success stories in
a place that represents
opportunity, something that
was missing from his area
growing up.
With a gym bag slung over
his shoulder, 29-year-old PT
Silvino Domingos unlocks
the gates and lets us in. It’s
clear this is a building
going through change: new
toilets and showers are
being built to help
encourage more young
women to use the gym.
@REPsUK
FM 13