Marcellus Baz
Marcellus Baz BEM is the founder and CEO of Nottingham School of Boxing and Switch Up. In 2016, Baz was named the BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards for his support of young people in Nottingham, UK. The same year he also received the British Empire Medal for services to youth boxing and the community.
Marcellus Baz | |
---|---|
Born | 1975/1976 (age 45–46)[1] |
Occupation | Founder and CEO of Switch Up and Nottingham School of Boxing, Public Speaker |
Years active | 2013–present |
Awards | British Empire Medal; BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award |
Website | www |
Baz has been interviewed about youth violence,[2] knife crime,[3] and UK drug culture.[4][5] He also completed a TEDxYouth talk in 2018 entitled Your Tribe is Your Vibe.[6]
Early life
Baz was born and raised in the Meadows, Nottingham. As a youth he spent a lot of his time on the streets and soon turned to selling drugs and carrying weapons.[5] He took up boxing at a leisure centre, however injuries from an attack ended his chance at a boxing career.[5]
Charitable work
Baz set up the Nottingham School of Boxing in 2013. It is the sister organisation of Switch Up, a charity that uses sport, mentoring, counselling and education to deliver outreach services to young people in Nottingham.
Patrons of Switch Up include Olympic Skaters Torvill and Dean and Frank Bruno.[7]
Awards and honours
- BBC Sports Personality of the Year Unsung Hero Award: 2016[8]
- 2016 BBC East Midlands Get Inspired Unsung Hero award[1]
- Sport Nottinghamshire Community Champion of the Year[9]
- British Empire Medal: 2016[10]
- 2017 UK Coaching National Community Coach of the Year[11]
- Ambassador of UK Coaching[12]
- 2017 Community Coach of the Year, Nottingham Post Sports Awards[13]
References
- "Unsung Hero finds new boxing school home". BBC News. 9 January 2017.
- Walter, Stephen (2017-03-04). "Gangland stabbing victims 'pay vets to stitch up wounds to avoid police over snitch fears'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- "Jaden Moodie: Family of murdered 14-year-old deny he had gang links as they warn London's streets are no longer safe for anyone". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- "Middle class drug use". Channel 4. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- "From selling drugs to meeting the Queen – one man's extraordinary story | Article | News". UNISON National. 2018-10-12. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- "Your tribe is your vibe". TED. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- "British Boxing News: Nigel Benn, Frank Bruno, Billy Joe Saunders". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- "Sports Personality 2016: Marcellus Baz wins BBC Unsung Hero award". BBC Sport. 18 December 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- Hunt, Liam (2 February 2017). "ROUND-UP: Who won what at the Nottinghamshire Sport Awards?". Notts TV News.
- "Inspiring Nottingham boxing coach among New Year's Honours". The Times. 30 December 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- "Notts coach wins UK Coaching Award". Active Notts. 7 December 2017.
- "UK Coaching - Man on a Mission: Breaking the Vicious Cycle of Crime". www.ukcoaching.org.
- Curtis, Leigh (29 October 2017). "Winning Community Award 'means the world to me' says Marcellus Baz". nottinghampost.