{"id":25610,"date":"2025-07-26T18:29:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-26T18:29:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/25610\/"},"modified":"2025-07-26T18:29:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-26T18:29:13","slug":"i-was-on-crack-at-14-and-feral-like-a-street-dog-i-should-be-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/25610\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I was on crack at 14 and feral like a street dog – I should be dead’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Inspiring story of how mixed martial arts is transforming the lives of forgotten young men in Sunderland has been turned into a film tipped for Oscar success<\/p>\n

15:00, 26 Jul 2025Updated 15:07, 26 Jul 2025<\/p>\n

\"PoisedA gym in the north east has become a lifeline for struggling teens <\/p>\n

Violent teenage drug-taker Aaron was on a path of self-destruction heading towards prison or death until he received a shock to his system. Police were locking him up virtually every week and his loving parents, Danny and Elaine, had almost given up on the lost soul.<\/p>\n

But then he started going to fighter and community activist Steven France\u2019s Made 4 The Cage gym in Sunderland.<\/a> Aaron is just one of many forgotten lads from a city ravaged by cuts and austerity<\/a> whose lives have been turned around at the mixed martial arts gym. Aaron and Steven\u2019s stories of growth, discovery and redemption \u2013 along with those of Sam, Faiz and Lennon \u2013 feature in Poised, a powerful documentary being tipped for Oscar <\/a>success.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: He was a bin man for 23 years, then his son died and his pay was cut by \u00a3500 a month<\/a>\"AaronAaron with parents Elaine and Danny, who were pushed to the limit by their son’s bad behaviour <\/p>\n

Aaron said: \u201cI was a bit feral. Honestly, I was like a street dog. If you got too close to us, said the wrong thing, straight away I was going at you.\u201d He said the gym is \u201cthe best therapy I\u2019ve ever been to in my life\u201d.<\/p>\n

Steven, 46, is battling the poverty and hopelessness, helping the next generation avoid the same traps that almost consumed him. He reached a junction in his own life 20 years ago when his father killed himself. He said: \u201cI had to say to myself, the writing\u2019s on the wall. The odds are not good. There\u2019s people around you who are going to prison for a long time. The way they were already coming to a dead end in their life at such a young age. We\u2019re thrown on the scrapheap. Your options are very slim, work at Nissan or a call centre. I\u2019m grateful for those places but if you do have ambition it\u2019s hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steven found solace in MMA<\/a> and went on to become a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and an England coach in the sport. He said: \u201cIt transformed my life and it\u2019s doing the same with these young lads. It\u2019s about me trying to get people from troubled, difficult backgrounds. Getting these kids, with some complex issues, to stick to what is the hardest sport. The main thing about MMA is discipline. You forget about everything because you haven\u2019t got time to think about anything else. It\u2019s that intense.\u201d He added that the sport humbles people and is a powerful tool in the fight against violence.<\/p>\n

\"StevenSteven France is helping turn the lives of young men around in Sunderland through mixed martial arts <\/p>\n

Aaron, 20, said: \u201cIn 2020, I was at rock bottom. Drugs, fighting, getting locked up. I was taking MDMA [ecstasy]. At 14, I did crack cocaine. I lost loads of weight. It got to the point where my hair was falling out, I was that stressed. I was scratching at my face all the time. I thought I either make a change now or I\u2019m going to live like this until I die. I thought the only way I\u2019ll get out of this is if I rob a bank and get millions and move abroad. Or just kill myself. I was either gonna end up in prison or dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he was linked up with Steven through Sunderland\u2019s Positive Steps programme in April 2022, Aaron was told to be at the gym each morning at 5am. It was the shock to the system he needed. \u201cEvery day I used to wake up and think, what on earth have I got myself into? I\u2019m going there to get picked up, to get slammed back on the floor, to get picked back up, to get slammed back on the floor. It wasn\u2019t even physically draining, it was mentally draining. But over time you build a strong wall.<\/p>\n

\"AaronAaron says MMA has been better than therapy and saved him from prison or death<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes all your pain and all your past trauma away because all you\u2019re thinking about is fighting. Once you\u2019re at rock bottom there\u2019s only one way to go and that\u2019s up and this kind of sport will help you get there. Those who\u2019ve got inner anger and just need a release, this is the best thing I\u2019ve ever done that\u2019s helped me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aaron now works at events space The Point in Sunderland and wants to become cabin crew for Emirates. He is one of many lads who have been helped by Steven\u2019s programme.<\/p>\n

Sam, 25, spiralled into nefarious activities after losing his mum to kidney failure… until he found salvation in mixed martial arts. Steven said he was banished from Newcastle by his family and moved to Sunderland where his dad lived. \u201cSam spent three months in his bedroom. His mental health was not good. And then he came across me and the rest is history,\u201d Steven added. Sam and his brother now own a demolition firm which works across the country.<\/p>\n

\"SamSam’s world fell apart when he lost his mum – but he found solace in Steven’s gym<\/p>\n

Faiz, 20, left Iraq<\/a> because of death threats and persecution. He walked from Minsk in Belarus to Calais and has had no contact with his family since. Steven said: \u201cFaiz talks about how hard it is to get to Britain as an asylum seeker. He was 14 and licking leaves to get water. Now he\u2019s got a full-time job, drives a BMW, got his own house. He doesn\u2019t do any martial arts now but it\u2019s fantastic he\u2019s part of society. He\u2019s a taxpayer.\u201d Lennon was just 14 when he joined the gym to escape the streets.<\/p>\n

The film also highlights a 78% cut to the area\u2019s youth services in recent years, leaving people like Steven to plug the gaps. His project itself was nearly scrapped when funding was not available. He said: \u201cThe money I get literally just keeps the project running. I feel like the North \u2013 and especially the North East \u2013 gets left behind. We\u2019re left up here to defend ourselves. We are the forgotten part of the world<\/a>.\u201d Steven hopes Poised will show the need for better investment in youth services. He said: \u201cPrevention\u2019s got to be better than cure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Poised was celebrated at last month\u2019s Raindance Festival, where it was nominated for Best Documentary Feature and Best Cinematography. That means it now qualifies for British Independent Film Awards selection, which could take it all the way to the Oscars.<\/p>\n

\"FiazAsylum seeker Faiz has gone on to flourish in work and at home after the film wrapped<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really trying to help other young people,” said Steven. “There\u2019ll be other Stevens, other Sams, other Aarons. There\u2019ll be hundreds, if not thousands, of them across the country. Through me doing this film, we can try to make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has certainly made a difference to Aaron\u2019s life. He said: \u201cI was watching the \u00addocumentary and I seen my younger self and I just thought he didn\u2019t deserve it. I just wanted to give him a big hug through the screen. When I look back, I really did not think I was gonna make it past 16. I thought I\u2019d have been dead or in prison. I think I would have if it wasn\u2019t for Steven. He showed me what I can do with my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

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