32 MEN’S HEALTH
WORKING OUT
IN SHARP RELIEF
There’s more to a great gym than fancy kit.
Here, we champion Steel Warriors’ efforts
to combat knife crime with calisthenicsTHE BEST
GYMS IN
THE WORLD
A
t the time of writing, a
shocking figure is splashed
across the news: “London’s
45th murder victim this
year – an 18-year-old stabbed to
death.” The capital is in crisis, and
the police are no closer to a solution.
Enter Ben Wintour, an affable bloke
with a PR background and co-founder
of Steel Warriors calisthenics park and
charity. He set it up after dwelling on
a stark reality: if you carry a knife, not
only are you more likely to be locked
up, but you’re more likely to be killed,
too. “We wanted to understand why
young people carry. After research
at youth centres and charities, we
settled on two motives: protection and
bravado,” says Wintour. “Police seize
a ton of knives every month from
London’s streets, so we took that steel
and melted it down to create a space
that directly addresses those motives.”
Now, Wintour’s aim is to add more
locations to his first gym in east
London, run classes and introduce
on-site PTs, and develop partnerships
with local youth centres and schools.
“We want to create an app that
rewards people with points based
on how many minutes they spend
here. Those points would be used
on fitness-based incentives, and
we could even offer routes into
employment, with access to PT
qualifications,” says Wintour.
It’s early days and, rather than
crime statistics, Steel Warriors is
using alternative measures of
progress: full-time work makes gang
affiliations less likely, plus every
minute spent perfecting handstands
is another minute young men are
removed from the knife-carrying
culture. Here, the positive impact
that fitness can have on your life
has never been more pointed.CHANGING
PLACES
Choosing the first
location wasn’t easy: to
make maximum impact, it
required high knife crime
rates, a gang-neutral zone
and high footfall. Wintour
also thought it was vital
to be close to a school
and a youth centre, so
he could work with young
people in the community.TALL ORDER
Before tackling this
handstand, get
comfortable against
a wall. With your hands
30cm away from a wall,
walk your feet up into
a handstand position with
your glutes and abs tight.
Tense your shoulders and
triceps and hold for 30
seconds. Rest for one
minute, then repeat. WORDS:^ TEDLANE|^ PHOTO
GRAPHY
:^ TOMWATKINS