Abdullah has been a member of Fight for Peace since 2022, and after initially taking interest in our boxing sessions, he soon propelled into making the most of our wider sports offer, as well as accessing Youth Leadership and Employability opportunities. He has now secured a new role as a personal trainer in a well-known gym chain after completing his Level 3 Qualification with us earlier this year. 

“At first, I was just coming to Fight for Peace for the boxing sessions after my brother told me about it because I was looking for somewhere to work out and train. He told me Fight for Peace was free because he used to go there a few years back. So, I started going and doing some boxing but eventually it led me to the personal development sessions.

I think my first one was with Jamie (Head of Academy), and I really enjoyed those so I started going to Man Talk. That’s when I really started interacting more with people, getting to know the people at Fight for Peace and finding out how nice of an environment it is. 

That then led me to some of the other martial arts that people were recommending to me, so I think by the end of the year I was doing everything – Judo, muay thai, MMA and boxing all at once.

I did that and kept interacting with people and through getting to know Silvino he told me about the personal training course so I decided to do that at a time when I didn’t have much else to do that was actually worth my time.

I did it more just to teach myself, I wasn’t thinking of it as an employment route when I was doing Level 2, but then as the course went on I realised how beneficial it was and how much it could take me further which is why I decided to take it seriously and waited for the Level 3 to start. Everything was free so it was good for me. I did Level 3 and tried my best, but Silvino helped me a lot. I don’t think I could have passed without Silvino (Sports Development Manager).

They taught me everything I needed to know. On the same day I got my certificate I started applying for roles, bearing in mind during the past two years I was applying for a lot of roles on Indeed and never really got far with it.

As soon as I sent in the application for the personal training roles I was qualified for they gave me a job just a week later. That’s when I settled down with The GymGroup and that’s what I’ve been doing. 

The part I’m enjoying the most about my new role is the networking and the people I’ve met. I’ve gone to a few events and festivals, and I’ve found a few mentors to help me take it further because it’s mostly about finding clients and networking more than anything.

For a long time, my goal has been to eventually move out of the UK, perhaps Qatar or Dubai, and I recently discovered that Virgin gyms have different roles that can move you around so I want to take my personal training from here to Qatar. If I end up doing that, it will be an easy transition job-wise. So having this qualification sets me up for the future I want.”

Fight for Peace combines Combat Sports, Employability, Education, Youth Leadership and Support Services as part of a Five Pillar Approach aimed to support young people to reach their full potential.