For 31 years, Andy Robinson has watched thousands of children across Liverpool take one of the biggest steps of their lives. But it's not stepping into a boxing ring that impresses him most, it's walking through the door.
At Huyton ABC Boxing Club, now Brin's Gym, Andy has spent more than three decades helping youngsters build confidence, discipline and respect, seeing first-hand how a community boxing gym can change lives. Now, alongside his work in schools across Merseyside, the 55-year-old from Huyton is taking those same values beyond the gym after being inspired by his six-year-old son, Teddy.
Walking Through the Door
But for Andy, the mission has always been the same. Having volunteered in boxing for more than 30 years and previously worked as a youth worker in Knowsley for almost 12 years, he believes too many young people are written off before they're given the chance to succeed.
Andy told the ECHO: "We're trying to make positive citizens. When people walk through the door, it doesn't matter what trainers they've got on, what clothes they're wearing, where they're from, their background, or their ethnicity. Everybody is welcome."
"As soon as they come through that door, we say that's the bravest decision they make. Not stepping into the boxing ring - walking through the door."
More Than Just a Sport
While many people see boxing simply as a sport, Andy said community clubs provide much more than fitness. He said: "The first thing we ask them is, 'How are you? How's your day been?’. You get to know the kids. If the loud one's suddenly quiet, or the quiet one's suddenly loud, you know something's going on. We want to know about them."
"We teach respect, good conduct, and knowing when to walk away. People think boxing creates fighters, but boxing is controlled. It's about discipline."
Over the years, he has seen countless young people transform their confidence. Andy remembers a boy arriving at the gym aged just 12, weighing around 110kg, and struggling to complete basic exercises. Today, he attends sports college, boxes regularly, and has transformed both his health and confidence.
Andy said: "I told him, 'Even if you never box again, what you've achieved has changed your own destiny’. It's a fantastic example of what boxing gyms can do."
Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour
Andy believes boxing clubs are already helping tackle many of the issues communities face, from improving mental health to reducing anti-social behaviour. He said: "They're all run by volunteers. People forget that. We're ticking every box - helping reduce anti-social behaviour, improving school attendance, improving health, and helping with young people's mental health."
Growing up with four brothers raised by a single mum during the 1970s and 1980s, Andy said he understands the challenges many families face. He said: "I always tell the kids you don't want people judging you because of your situation or where you're from. You want to prove you're a good person."
His experiences in the gym and as a youth worker eventually inspired him to launch Andy's Positive Programmes, a six-week initiative delivered in primary schools aimed at giving children ownership of their communities rather than simply telling them how to behave.
He said: "I've created an anti-social behaviour programme aimed at younger children to give them a voice. What I say to them is, don't moan about stuff. No one's interested in moaning. What people want are doers. If they're the future, I think they need to be part of the solution and not the problem."
The programme encourages pupils to identify issues in their schools and neighbourhoods before finding practical solutions themselves. At one school, children successfully campaigned for new litter bins. Another group created "Freddie's Friendly Corner", a safe playground space for pupils with anxiety after raising the money themselves. Andy said adults often fail to listen properly to children's ideas.
He said: "We ask kids questions, but we don't really hear the answer. Young people come up with brilliant ideas if you give them the opportunity."
From Bedtime Stories to a Book
Those same values of kindness, inclusion, and understanding have now found their way into his first children's book, Teddy and Crocksey. Inspired by bedtime stories he invented for his son Teddy after the youngster became fascinated with crocodiles during a family holiday in Spain, when he held one at a crocodile sanctuary, the book follows a fearless little boy who befriends a crocodile everyone else is scared of.
Andy said: "My wife started noticing there was always a message behind my bedtime stories. They became about inclusion, isolation, and bullying, and asking children how they'd feel if nobody wanted to play with them. It’s a good educational tool as well as a story."
The book also proudly embraces its Merseyside roots, with Scouse phrases and slang woven throughout the story, such as ‘boss’ and ‘sound’. Andy said: "I've written it how we speak. Why shouldn't children's books have local dialect? If we lose that identity, we're writing for someone else instead of our own children."
All proceeds from Teddy and Crocksey will be reinvested into Andy's Positive Programmes, helping him continue delivering projects in schools across Merseyside to help prevent anti-social behaviour.
Andy said: "Anti-social behaviour is like a pandemic now. If we can make even a tiny difference and help reduce it in years to come, I'll be proud of that. In the last three years, I've worked with nearly 500 children. All I've ever wanted to do is help make a difference."
